"Does it really exist? You decide!"

[poxpower]

So today I've been watching a couple shows on youtube involving the super-awesome James Randi where he went around some shows to talk about what he does, which is namely asking for anyone who claims to have supernatural powers to prove it to him.

Of course in the 40 years he's been doing this, none of the hundreds of applicants could, under their OWN terms.

So what pissed me off is that on a couple shows, like The View and Dateline, where he was invited, they'd state some shit like:

"Tonight, James Randi, a man who'll show you just how psychics to their tricks! Is there really such a thing as mental powers? YOU DECIDE!"
or "His opinion is that suchs things don't exist, what is YOURS?".

Basically they're saying that YOU, the viewer, have every right to make up your mind on something that is factually INNACURATE.
No, you don't get to decide if psychics exist. THEY DON'T. They have NO POWERS. It's not "up to you".

What a dumbass way of presenting things.

"Tonight, a man who studies electricity... does such a thing really exist? YOU DECIDE!"
"Tonight, president Bush comments on the war in Irak. Does that war really exist? YOU DECIDE!".

Retarded.

[GrammerNaziElite]

I like you.

A lot.

[LazyDrunk]

At 6/9/08 08:27 PM, GrammerNaziElite wrote: I like you.

A lot.

lol

[johnfn]

At 6/9/08 08:26 PM, poxpower wrote: "Tonight, president Bush comments on the war in Irak. Does that war really exist? YOU DECIDE!".

Did poxpower really just spell "Iraq" Irak? YOU DECIDE!

[NickBurns]

At 6/9/08 08:26 PM, poxpower wrote: So today I've been watching a couple shows on youtube involving the super-awesome James Randi where he went around some shows to talk about what he does, which is namely asking for anyone who claims to have supernatural powers to prove it to him.

Of course in the 40 years he's been doing this, none of the hundreds of applicants could, under their OWN terms.

So what pissed me off is that on a couple shows, like The View and Dateline, where he was invited, they'd state some shit like:

"Tonight, James Randi, a man who'll show you just how psychics to their tricks! Is there really such a thing as mental powers? YOU DECIDE!"
or "His opinion is that suchs things don't exist, what is YOURS?".

Basically they're saying that YOU, the viewer, have every right to make up your mind on something that is factually INNACURATE.
No, you don't get to decide if psychics exist. THEY DON'T. They have NO POWERS. It's not "up to you".

What a dumbass way of presenting things.

"Tonight, a man who studies electricity... does such a thing really exist? YOU DECIDE!"
"Tonight, president Bush comments on the war in Irak. Does that war really exist? YOU DECIDE!".

Retarded.

We live in an objective world, but perceive everything subjectively. The relative accuracy or belief in something is really tantamount to 'voting'. If enough people belief something to be true, for all practical purposes it is. The U.S. legal system works this way to an extent, specifically with respect to the premise of what a "reasonable" person would do in a situation. Groupthink is very powerful. I will grant you that the media is useless, but subjectivity is rampant in U.S. culture.

[poxpower]

At 6/9/08 08:46 PM, johnfn wrote:

At 6/9/08 08:26 PM, poxpower wrote: "Tonight, president Bush comments on the war in Irak. Does that war really exist? YOU DECIDE!".

Did poxpower really just spell "Iraq" Irak? YOU DECIDE!

Crap, you must have modified the NG database with you mental power to make me look foolish.
Or did you?

YOUR DECIDE!

[ByronicHero]

At 6/9/08 08:26 PM, poxpower wrote: Retarded.

It's good to know that I'm not the only shallow materialist on Newgrounds.

[RadioactiveRabbit]

Well, it would be opinionated based on the evidence. You would decide your own opinion.

YOU DECIDE!!!

[reviewer-general]

At 6/9/08 08:27 PM, GrammerNaziElite wrote: I like you.

A lot.

*gets popcorn and settles in to watch*

[JackPhantasm]

You should read the infinite mind.

[SmilezRoyale]

Money comes before all sense, logic and reason pox, i wouldn't be so offended by it. It's just a gimmick to get people to watch, not a deliberate attempt to defy the laws of logic.

[reviewer-general]

Dude...

Does this THREAD even exist? YOU decide!

;

[homor]

sounds like you've decided.

[Grammer]

At 6/9/08 08:27 PM, GrammerNaziElite wrote: I like you.

A lot.

Agreed.

Psychics piss me off. They make a living off of the lives of stupid people.

[Cuppa-LettuceNog]

All that proves is that the psychics he debunked are full of shit.

[poxpower]

At 6/9/08 11:03 PM, Cuppa-LettuceNog wrote: All that proves is that the psychics he debunked are full of shit.

And by this you are insinuating what?

[Earfetish]

At 6/9/08 11:44 PM, poxpower wrote:

At 6/9/08 11:03 PM, Cuppa-LettuceNog wrote: All that proves is that the psychics he debunked are full of shit.

And by this you are insinuating what?

Even Randi doesn't say 'psychic powers don't exist', he says 'there is no sensible reason to believe in psychic powers, they have never been demonstrated to scientific satisfaction and they break all the rules of nature'. Perhaps the nuance is overblown and he's basically saying they don't exist. But he's keeping philosophically agnostic about it, which I suppose makes him more palatable to the general populace, and granted you've got to stay philosophically agnostic about everything, even facts.

I think they call 'YOU DECIDE' and providing two sides to an argument that's already been lost 'pseudosymmetry', like Creation-Evolution or Randi-Geller, when in reality they should have almost every intelligent person who has studied it on one side and a couple of crackpots and some gullible people on the other.

Like even when the media is being sceptical they still love to push nonsense. I guess inviting Randi on your news programme is about as 'soft news' as inviting Geller on, but at least Randi is promoting a healthy scepticism rather than belief in charlatans.

I thought watching Randi talking to a young Oprah and Oprah being convinced and sceptical would be healthy for Oprah fans to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0mEYm9UW Ws

[poxpower]

At 6/10/08 12:01 AM, Earfetish wrote:

Even Randi doesn't say 'psychic powers don't exist'

Well once you're done watching all the videos, you'll also know the trademark:
"Well Santa Claus might be real too, but I've been waiting at my chimney for 78 years in a row now so I think next year I will go to bed early".

He's learned to be EXTREMELY careful with his language because he knows very well that con artists will use any possible character flaws in him against him in low-handed ways. That's what atheists and skeptics always have to do around these people. Always walking the razor's edge to try and be as nice and polite and open-minded as possible so that when they get busted, they have NOTHING to say.

It's a joy to see. Those shit-eaters really deserve to be fucking JAILED. It's like saying I'm a plumber, asking for 100 bucks to fix your pipes and then ending my session with "check with another plumber to see if the problem is all solved".

Man I'd go to jail so fucking fast.

But no, no one does a thing with these dipshit psychics and faith healers because it's "religion". Man I'm sick of this bullshit.( surprise to all ).

'pseudosymmetry'

that's a cool word.

I thought watching Randi talking to a young Oprah and Oprah being convinced and sceptical would be healthy for Oprah fans to watch.

Yeah I saw that.
I was like "holy fuck Oprah must be fucking old, that video is ancient".

[Earfetish]

At 6/10/08 12:12 AM, poxpower wrote: Yeah I saw that.
I was like "holy fuck Oprah must be fucking old, that video is ancient".

And Randi looks exactly the same age. He might actually be a magical demon.

So there's still room for belief!

[poxpower]

At 6/10/08 12:33 AM, Earfetish wrote:

And Randi looks exactly the same age. He might actually be a magical demon.

I can tell his age when I check the videos.

Now = really thin and super-bushy eyebrows.
90s = white normal eyebrows
80s = black eyebrows
70s = shorter beard
60s = black hair omg

haha
:P

[JackPhantasm]

Thing is a plumber could do that. He wouldn't go to jail. He just wouldn't get any repeat business ever. (like most psychics)

[SmilezRoyale]

At 6/9/08 10:54 PM, Grammer wrote:

Psychics piss me off. They make a living off of the lives of stupid people.

The same applies to everything, the strong defeat the weak.

[morefngdbs]

At 6/9/08 09:39 PM, reviewer-general wrote: *gets popcorn and settles in to watch*

;
Hmmmmmmm

* Grabs a couple of cold beers & sits next to RG *

[puddinN64]

At 6/9/08 08:54 PM, poxpower wrote:

YOUR DECIDE!

Did poxpower just spell "You" as Your?

YOU DECIDE!!! =P

[Baalphegor]

Should a democracy be able to vote against the laws of physics for the common good?

YOU DECIDE!

[SadisticMonkey]

At 6/9/08 10:54 PM, Grammer wrote: Psychics piss me off. They make a living off of the lives of stupid people.

It's called natural selection.

[ILovezoms]

trust me as i can read people and hypnotize there are i do not use psychic powers reading people is harder than trying to hypnotize people trust me

[LazyPint]

At 6/11/08 11:09 AM, ILovezoms wrote: trust me as i can read people and hypnotize there are i do not use psychic powers reading people is harder than trying to hypnotize people trust me

Hypnosis is mostly bullshit. Derren Brown talks about it a lot. It's all suggestion with just a hint of Dark Magic.

On psychic powers, I like this comic. They can't be disproved, but I just don't think they exist.

[poxpower]

At 6/11/08 09:20 PM, LazyPint wrote:

On psychic powers, I like this comic. They can't be disproved, but I just don't think they exist.

hehe those comics are pretty neat.
But horribly drawn. As usual.

[LazyPint]

At 6/11/08 09:30 PM, poxpower wrote: hehe those comics are pretty neat.
But horribly drawn. As usual.

Yeah, but the writing is good.

I think Randi is doing a UK show soon, or maybe it's already been recorded. I;m sure it was supposed to feature some people fai- attempting the Million Dollar Challenge.

At least we'll get a cheap laugh. The woman who tried to make that guy wet himself was one of my favourites.