A Lecture by James "The Amazing" Randi

Presented here is an infamous lecture given by James "The Amazing" Randi titled, "Search for the Chimera"
Presented at The Center for Inquiry / Transnational in Amherst, NY, 12 September 2008.
Recorded in front of a live audience by Inquiry Media productions.
Cameras:
Lauren Becker
Debbie Goddard
Henry Huber
Directed by Tom Flynn
Check out more of our reasonable talks: reasonabletalk.tv
Expand reason and learn more about CFI: centerforinquiry.org

[@no-prophet]

Rest in peace mister Randi, you were one of the rare gems on this planet and humanity suffered a great loss because of you parting with us. You will be truly missed and remembered in the mind of every sceptic on Earth and hopefully beyond.

[@jltrem]

This man will be missed. But not by Uri Geller.

[@apollyonkatastrefia1586]

The world is a lesser place without the amazing Randi.

[@moikkis65]

But it is a better place post Randi than pre Randi!

[@marcsalzman8082]

No, JIMNSHO, it's not. Maybe as a human, he was a fine man, IDK, as a Scientist he was full of shit & Another jerk-,off, a zillion light years from being a Scientist, a real skeptic, or a worthy researcher. Worthless.

[@richardmiller3998]

@@marcsalzman8082 omg Randi has died? I honestly did not know this...... When did this happen?

[@-V-K-]

less stupid

[@arainaz10]

@@richardmiller3998 He died just a cpl weeks ago. Yet another reason 2020 is the absolute worst!

[@Realbillball]

The word "amazing" does not describe well enough how amazing he was. RIP

[@PatchesJohnson]

I do have one prayer, please let this amazing mans legacy live forever.

[@lucisferre6361]

One of the great lights of the world has gone out. Let us honor this Amazing man by ourselves not dwelling in the darkness of ignorance. Stay skeptical.

[@BigHugsFromHell]

He's fighting a historical battle that's gone back a long, long time - some from before memory, some from mixtures of many cultures, some even hand-me-downs of reinterpretations of things handed down and pre-reinterpreted by groups like the nazis (like remote viewing and various other occult practices), where the greatest mystery is how the sorts of practices he discusses are so persistent to this day. I can't help but admire his vast knowledge and wisdom regarding the human mind, though, throughout it all, and wow what a great speaker!

[@BigHugsFromHell]

btw, I saw that NOVA clip he refers to before Q&A, with the students and their horoscopes, and I think that knucklehead may have just been trying to impress the girl next to him. I could be projecting, but just maybe... and possibly another reason some people get into these sorts of things? ;P

[@BigHugsFromHell]

On the one hand, it's understandable where they come from. Life can be really frightening. In fact, since I posted this I've been through a family loss and found myself almost naturally gravitating toward such thoughts -- just wondering, sort of like being watched. In the end, though, a certain level of action comes from trying our best to face simply, clearly, and honestly what is set before us, and it's a relief to find the courage to make it through... so yes, even if more difficult in other ways, a world concerned with realism while seeking a natural sense of virtue would certainly be more balanced, I think.

[@allpsychicsarefraudsfact9831]

The world needs more people like James Randi, his lectures are always a joy to watch and indeed can be watched over again; the way he debunks frauds such as so-called psychic ability (the very concept of the dead communicating is too ludicrous for words!), homeopathy etc is always entertaining.

[@spudlynicholas1036]

Ĺll

[@FractalZero]

Watched his TED talk literally minutes before this and i fell for the same glasses trick again. Just goes to show.

[@terrytibbs5678]

those who assume take u and me up the ass , as they say

[@howardsternisbatman]

Watch closely, he is wearing lenses at the beginning but switches out to no lenses before the explanation.

[@edwardmcmanus]

@@howardsternisbatman you sure?

[@cormandy9602]

@@edwardmcmanus 8:35 From the side, you can see his glasses refract the back wall. They even seem to be bifocals. And from the front, his glasses refract the spotlights on him, making it shine more brightly in focused areas on his face.

[@_-AB-_]

@@howardsternisbatman so he fooled by not really fooling! Does that mean I wasn't fooled, two negatives make a positive. Or did I get fooled twice. Or is it you who is trying to fool me.

[@blackice9088]

One way to tell if he's doing the glasses trick is to look at them and see if they are reflecting light off the lenses. I learned this after being duped by it at least a half dozen times myself. I'm not mad at him for it, because he is so brilliant!

[@tomarctus7587]

Thank you for all your important work James Randi (et al.) and thank you for the movie - you are truly amazing

[@TheWuschi]

Still sad, that he left us. What a wonderful man!

[@wolfeyez300]

RIP James. August 7, 1928 - October 20, 2020

[@evolutionaryadvantage]

Thanks for putting his DOB and day of death. That’s a lot of amazingly years.

[@ruicorreia7882]

Rip. He was really amazing.

[@NitpickingNerd]

my favorite person in modern times

[@comradesky5931]

@@NitpickingNerdHe is definitely in my top ten, but I think Christopher Hitchens might take #1. (I assume you mean anyone active in the last, say, 50 years)

[@paulthepotato9311]

I was sad to see him go but he lived a long life

[@ChrisHyde537]

I’m thinking of John, Jack, James? James! Yes, James wants you to know that he appreciates your warm memories of him. Wait, now I sense someone else. Does Maria or Margaret enter your mind at this time?

[@tinfoilhatter]

@@NitpickingNerd really? why? is he a philosopher then? what does he believe? he seems to disbelieve everything and everyone! remarkable, right?

[@Ztertis]

A man like James Randi deserves to live for as long as he likes

[@NitpickingNerd]

:(

[@Youtubehandle9000]

That’s an oof from me

[@Mrch33ky]

Willing to give up your organs for transplant into him? May you wake up and leave the cult one day Devil Beard. Dominus Fobiscum.

[@Youtubehandle9000]

@@Mrch33ky there is a middle ground between dying for somebody and helping to keep them survive. I hope you have people in your life you would die for :(

[@hackebeil20]

"walking in the footsteps of Charles Darwin" - he sure looks a lot like him ;-) great men, both of em :-D

[@colaboytje]

Randi is a hero of mine. He tries and risks a lot to expose fraude. Nobody has got the courage to do what he has done. And still he remains humble.

[@Josh111485]

Thank you so much for posting this! Randi is my hero!

[@inoshikachokonoyarobakayar2493]

I am glad so many of us learned from him.

[@indymagicmonthly23]

I always thank Randi for introducing me to Teller. He's a great magician, a wonderful speaker, and a really nice guy. My life is better because of him.

[@handsup48]

I saw an interview where he talked about how he and derren brown are good friends. They're both awesome and entertaining to watch, and if only I could see them in the same room together, it'd be amazing

[@damaged05170]

HA! You made me smile....a lot!

[@worldmenders]

What a lovely man, a real inspiration.

[@imaginaryfriend3827]

I just learned about this legend of a man by Rationality Rules. The hype is well deserved.

[@nicholasgiokas3111]

RIP MR. Randi. You were one of the greats, not just as a magician but also as a human being.

[@jfcc9086com]

The 800th like is from me. Mr. Randi is very very strong. He must have known it was me through remote vision in the future!! Tx for the upload. Loved it!

[@DelphanGruss]

Thank you.

[@lisablacker3102]

The skeptical world lost a (tiny) giant, with James Randi's passing. I remember watching him on Carson, when I was a kid. Miss him so much! 😭

[@Thefoxgod9]

@BWGgy what a stupid comment

[@Thefoxgod9]

@BWGgy I’m not the one making assumptions on what is or what isn’t, without at least some shred of evidence to back my claim. You are declaring that god exists, yet you have provided no proof. So please tell me again how stupid my comment is. And before you say that I can’t disprove god let me tell you this. You can’t disprove the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Alah or any number of other gods because there isn’t anything there to disprove. It’s an impossible task that need not even be attempted. Instead we focus on what CAN be proven. We look at the evidence and based on that evidence we draw a likely conclusion. If that conclusion turns out to be false then so be it. We update our understanding and move on. This is the opposite of religious belief, where what is written is the truth no matter what even in the face of evidence. While we may not be able to disprove the existence of a god, we are more than able to pick apart the “holy” texts.

[@Thefoxgod9]

@BWGgy Again. Trying to use the Bible as proof to validate the Bible. Please come back when you have an actual argument other than, “the Bible said so.” Even if some historical contexts of the Bible turn out to be true, that still doesn’t prove the existence of an omnipotent being. It’s clear to me that you have no scientific knowledge whatsoever. Nobody is saying that nothing came from nothing. That is preschool thinking that people such as yourself like to jump to. You also seem to be jumping to the conclusion that just because something exists that there has to have been a creator. This statement is also false. There is no evidence to suggest that there had to be a creator. In fact all evidence suggests that there WASN’T a creator.

[@joyfulness9968]

@BWGgy did God teach you how to copy paste?

[@and__lam1152]

Science is just the logical brain's form of self defense against it's fear of dying. Which completely falls apart on the quantum level ..... no one knows what's going on, but in my belief this man will be blown away when his consciousness survived his death

[@kingdom0aerith]

I really like Randi's demeanor. He's one of my favorite celebrities at this point. He's so well-spoken and has a great sense of humor.

[@shewee5246]

+kingdom0aerith What has he done that anyone with common sense couldn't do?

[@kingdom0aerith]

she wee Common sense is rare, I guess. I don't understand what you're trying to say.

[@shewee5246]

kingdom0aerith Common sense would tell you these morons James Randi debunks are fraudulent. James Randi points out the obvious. Did anybody really think Uri Geller or Peter Popoff were the real deal until James Randi debunked them? And how many years has Johnny Carson been dead? Yet Randi is still using his Carson show debunking on his resume? He is a retired magician/illusionist. He now spends his time ratting out the tricks of the trade and calls it debunking. Check out his FB page and see what Randi charges to "save" you from scammers. His million dollar challenge is a fraud and he has NEVER debunked a medium.

[@kingdom0aerith]

she wee ok, cool. What does that have to do with my original comment?

[@shewee5246]

kingdom0aerith Alrighty then. So now we see why you would find James Randi your favorite "celebrity"

[@Willam_J]

He has certainly earned the name ‘amazing’. Now, I’m off to go find out how he did that trick! LOL :-)

[@Serioussmile51]

...very good point...thank you...

[@cherylcallahan5402]

Excellent

[@asfdghkjxzcvnbm2580]

Amazing darwin

[@CusterFlux]

Dammit, give 'im a staff and make him Gandalf the White already! ;)

[@ribo2007]

All hail the amazing Randy. A true champion of reason.

[@bbalila]

RIP. What a genius Guy he was.

[@Halfpennystudiosonline]

Great show! The titles, credits and music sound like something from the late 80's, bizarre!

[@phantombandersnatch4006]

If to take anything away from this and to learn from life and the Amazing Randi is to think for yourself.

[@GoryYogi]

Amazing He Is...

[@GaryLeventhal]

What greater way to patron Randy by everyone goggling, and asking Websters and every other dictionary to add Woo Woo.

[@Robert-vq2od]

He is a sweet old man

[@farvision]

No, I think that spirit is of this world - in our minds, something we evolved for reasons I don't understand yet.

[@SH-bm8yp]

I swear, Randi is my hero lol Love him :-)

[@Brusselpicker]

I'm time obsessed too. I have a radio controlled watch also. I like to be early so I'm on time for everything.

[@Bluelight132]

This guy is amazing.

[@truemanc]

James is a good guy and Uri is a bad guy.... its that simple.

[@NobleNemesis]

+truemanc Truly!

[@batmmannn2900]

James is a Bad Guy he broke the laws of the US for over 20 years, keeping a too young illegal alien hispanic male lover in the US changing his name and lying to everyone about his Homosexual life and the immigration laws he was violating for his own sexual needs. He's a fucking liar.

[@NobleNemesis]

"A young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

[@GeoStreber]

Source please

[@stefanforrer2573]

batmmannn oh yeah, he's terrible.... much worse than the guys that "heal" people and then let them die for a bit of money.... much worse.. a bit like your face

[@JayJayAbels]

@lank05 1. I love how you mixed Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Hawking together to form... Christopher Hawking. lol @ you. (That would be a frightening love child though.) 2. Neither the "fine tuning" argument nor quantum physics supports the evidence of ANY supernatural deity - let alone yours. (There are over 2,300 "gods" currently out there.) 3. I don't HAVE to explain how the universe was created. 4. It's okay to NOT know. 5. And... I DON'T KNOW. 6. And neither do you.

[@shoseki]

It didn't take an indepth understanding of fabrics and materials to realise that the emperor was naked.

[@captcorajus]

The Amazing Randy would LOVE to find TRUE evidence of the paranormal. However he refuses to allow his WANT of such a thing to descend into self delusion.

[@NondescriptMammal]

Sad to hear of his passing. There are too few like him in the public eye, who address the truths of things, with passion and eloquence and inteligence, and with a genuine desire to examine and analyze those things objectively for what they really are. The late C. Hitchens comes to mind as another example, people like this are each unique and so are irreplaceable once they are gone.

[@MisterTechnologic]

This man was a gift. RIP

[@MagicForever1]

I totally agree with you!

[@grandpasez996]

Wonderful man, it is a good thing he used his power (of logic) for good.

[@mars71100]

80 yrs old he rocks ...

[@nicholascremato]

In "secrets of the psychics he did the spoon bending trick better than anyone on earth and that was after he showed you how it was done!!!!

[@alanhussey]

James Randi; an individual searching for enlightenment, that's what these talks are about. In the mean time he is debunking frauds, those individuals who make money out of those who are more gullible than the few.

[@MrCanis4]

I hope I have the same wit and virality at the age he had before he died. "Hello, I'm back.". Hilarious.

[@Muonium1]

the confusion about the MichelsonMorley experiment here is a result of the fact that Michelson's experiment at Mount Wilson wasn't to detect the nonexistant ether, and therefore wasn't an interferometric type experiment needing 3 points. it was only a speed of light measurement. only 2 points needed.

[@Daedalus4]

Anybody know how he does the word guess trick? That's the second time i've seen him do it.

[@PhilReither]

Akhamesh Perhaps her pen, when circling the word, went through the paper and marked the next page. She tears out the page, he takes the rest. He has a second copy of the issue with him and checks what the word is.

[@certaindeed]

Akhamesh Ever been to one of these and screwed the magician? One time one was doing a watch trick and while he was handling the watch I reached over with my other hand and tapped the back of his three times to mess him up. Looking back...it was a lame thing to do. The guy was just an entertainer doing his job.

[@Masowai]

Love you James. Thank you for teaching me how to think rationally in this superstitious world.

[@goopah]

That word trick is really bugging the SHIT out of me!

[@DjCyaneyed]

its funny how revealing someones lies could earn you the same profit as lying itself.

[@farvision]

jennyrgar "Something made ancient civilizations believe ..." Yes, there is a series of effects that are now beginning to be understood. If something in the room moves, one jumps and looks - assumes it is alive. This is better than the reverse action, which could lead to death. So we evolved to assume things are alive ... trees, rocks ... it's in our brains. There are a number of other such effects. I think Danielle Dennett has done work on explaining these things.

[@Serioussmile51]

i agree with you 100%...

[@rooflee]

@farvision Well put.

[@dougthemoleman]

Or did he really have frames on the whole first half hour. I could've sworn I saw deformation and reflections in the lenses.

[@PoetlaureateNFDL]

My brother has met James Randi, and is quite impressed with him apparently.

[@Apocalyptikai]

I know. It's upsetting that some can't embrace these things and take them into account.

[@Aiser56]

"oh do we know youtube" lolol " : )

[@tinfoilhatter]

how can the speed of light be a constant, when, if it travels thru a dense medium, like water, for instance, mustn't it necessarily be slowed down just a little? that's just a guess, maybe it really does go just as fast thru water, tho not as far, right? does anyone know? i'm sure someone does!

[@totallynotlogic9849]

it does slow down, that why when you're at the swimming pool or in the bath things look slightly out of place. When light bends it's either slowing down (if it goes into something with a higher refraction index)or speeding up( lower refractive index) if you want to read more into this i would encourage you too look into refraction. The reason why we say the speed of light is a constent is when in a vacuum it always travels at the same speed of roughly 3x10^8.

[@tinfoilhatter]

@@totallynotlogic9849 in a vacuum, eh? sure! yes, so i guess i was right, that i had heard this before! thank you, sir!

[@totallynotlogic9849]

@@tinfoilhatter No worries friend, always happy to share!

[@WrestlingHeretic]

@carneyfex Not only that, but in his lecture, he gives all the hints one needs to figure it out. He mentions the ball point pen, he mentions the tearing out of the page, and then he writes on a large paper pad--- not a chalkboard--- with a pen, and tears that off too (rather than just leaving it up there). He doesn't outright tell you how it's done, but he is hinting at it, perhaps to encourage the kind of critical thinking he's talking about.

[@Seirunir]

So much love going on down there in the comment section *_*

[@Transfixed]

@WrestlingHeretic Ah! I think i figured it out thanks to your hints. The trick made quite an impression on me ;)

[@possumverde]

Since he asked her if she used her pen or his, I'm going to assume that some part of her instructions required her to either write the chosen word or to circle it (though in his setup he never mentions a use for a pen he just says to "remember" the word.) If so, all he'd really need to do is make sure that he "ambushed" her away from any good writing surfaces and then the trick is as easy as a blind person reading braille...of course I'm probably way off since I suck at figuring out tricks...

[@noeldown1952]

Why can I not find that Carson episode where Randi exposed Popoff, on KZbin?

[@matthewjoyner1595]

Look up James Randi debunking on the Tonight Show. It’s toward the end of the segment

[@diegotartaglia]

Just loved how he dodged the question about the word trick...

[@DontMockMySmock]

I like how Randi assumes we know how to spell Archimedes but has to spell out "codex"

[@farvision]

Obelisk2290, I would say that the questioning leads to the strength of science. I find the beauty in the amazing things I discover that suddenly fit apparently separate facts into a unified whole.

[@nallenthepuh]

what does he say at 10:50? "the most books are, whats the category? something something

[@dougthemoleman]

The switcheroo with the glasses was cut out of the video? :O

[@andythompson2009]

34 minutes ish... wasnt looking...

[@PibrochPonder]

It’s when they show the Carson video at just over an hour in.

[@BVAutoService]

I understand he passed at 92, but does anyone know what his actual cause of death?

[@tboman4128]

age-related causes

[@theredraven]

You'll get a fright if you snuff it and wake up somewhere that isn't the spirit world.

[@TheRhinehart86]

So how did do the magazine trick?

[@johnpanter9714]

Any questions from people we can understand?

[@wesbaumguardner8829]

The Michelson Morley experiment did not determine the speed of light. It was a test for the variance of the speed of light with respect to the earth's rotation on axis. It was found that there was no variance of the speed of light with the earth's rotation. This is often posited as proof that there is no aether, however it actually does not disprove the aether. All it does is prove that the aether does not move horizontally with regards to the earth's surface. However, the Pound Rebka experiment proves that the aether moves perpendicularly to the earth's surface.

[@iliketha]

0:00 to watch the into, it's good :)

[@MrCandyman64]

yes definitely

[@srgtfelixlee]

first member of the "Holy Beard Of Randy Church Comunity" Meetings everyday at 11:00 and 20:00 bring your own beard XD

[@MrMZaccone]

Actually, I think James is wrong on one point here. The "tubes" that the Chinese found that were "empty" as he says, were parts of the Lymph system. It doesn't mean acupuncture works, just that "meridians" do actually correspond to some interesting stuff. But then, I could be wrong.

[@moikkis65]

He really destroyed those woo-woos( adj. descriptive of an event or person espousing New Age theories such as energy work, crystal magic, bizarrely restrictive diets, or supernatural/paranormal/psychic occurrences) out there!

[@Wistful77]

Wow I thought I was alone in here- lol

[@Femroe]

Oh yeah because being right about grammar is more important than being right about the creation of the universe, how the world works and all that, you're absolutely correct my good sir.

[@Weendigo172]

There's all sorts of ways you could do the magazine trick. An especially prepared magazine, for example, or some shenanigans with the pen, because you'll note that not only did he hand her the magazine, he also provided the pen. Also, it's easy to use surveillance or a spy to get to know it before the show starts. There is probably at least some significance to the fact that he had her draw a ring around the word.

[@Thomas-os6bu]

R.I.P Randi❤

[@whirledpeas3477]

Absolutely ❤

[@OhhhMyAxels]

At 36:20 ish, what the hell is that random music cue?

[@americo8568]

Thank you Randi for waking up many.

[@wildz0634]

We lost a giant amongst men. :(

[@Kedai610]

A psychics advertisement came up when I was watching this video…

[@ArrogantAtheism]

"Ello im back!"

[@HikoSeijuroXIII]

Shit, I wish I had a comeback as witty as that one.

[@berglen100]

Neville Goddard proved Randi was wrong past he mortal knowledge.

[@RoninTF2011]

How?