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Paranormal phenomena have a habit of going away whenever they are tested under rigorous conditions. This is why the ?740,000 reward of James Randi, offered to anyone who can demonstrate a paranormal effect under proper scientific controls, is safe. Why don't the television editors insist on some equivalently rigorous test? Could it be that they believe the alleged paranormal powers would evaporate and bang go the ratings?

Richard Dawkins#113

EvidenceSkepticismMediaParanormalTesting

About this quote

What does it mean?
Paranormal claims vanish under rigorous testing which suggests they are fake and media ignores this.
In plain terms
Paranormal powers fail tests so media avoids rigorous checks.
What can you take from it?
Paranormal claims fail under testing so be skeptical.

Where it applies

  • evaluating paranormal claims
  • critiquing media coverage
  • demanding evidence

Putting it to work

  • demand rigorous testing
  • critique media standards

Questions to consider

  • Why does media avoid testing claims?
  • What do test results tell you?

Another view

Not all paranormal claims are necessarily fraudulent.

More from Richard Dawkins

  1. Yet scientists are required to back up their claims not with private feelings but with publicly checkable evidence. Their experiments must have rigorous contro…

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  2. Consider this. If a paranormalist could really give an unequivocal demonstration of telepathy (precognition, psychokinesis, reincarnation, whatever it is), he …

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  3. Scorpio could go retrograde up Uranus and it wouldn't make any difference.

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