About Randi's Prize

Randi's Prize argues the case for the existence of genuine psychic phenomena.

The 'prize' of the title is the Million Dollar Challenge offered by stage magician James Randi for anyone who passes his test for psychic powers. So far, Randi says, no one has even passed the preliminaries. This confirms the belief held by sceptics and many scientists that so-called 'psychics' are delusional or dishonest.

Randi's Prize agrees that this is sometimes the case, but sympathises with scientists who have investigated paranormal claims in depth and consider some of what they have observed to be genuinely anomalous. It pays close attention to the arguments of well-known sceptics like Randi, Ray Hyman, Richard Wiseman and Susan Blackmore. However it concludes that these fall short of a full explanation.

Randi's Prize proposes that we develop a more mature and discerning approach to these hugely challenging issues.

You can read excerpts from the book on Amazon, and a chapter on near-death experiences and children's memories of a past life here.

Feel free to get in touch at robertmcluhan@gmail.com if you have comments or questions.

If you want to know more about some of the topics discussed in Randi's Prize, the links below bring up further information and links to relevant source material.

Poltergeists (discussed in Chapter One: Naughty Adolescent Syndrome)

Eusapia Palladino (discussed in Chapter Two: Eusapia Palladino and the Phantom Narrative)

Leonora Piper (discussed in Chapter Three: Communicators)

Experimental Psi Research (discussed in Chapter Four: Uncertain Science)

Out-of-Body Experiences, Near-death Experiences and Past Life Memories (discussed in Chapter Six: Experience and Imagination (II)

A key resource is the archive and library of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), which was founded in 1882. Visit the SPR's excellent website, and if you are ever in London midweek, its lending library near High Street Kensington contains books on a wide range of paranormal subjects (open 1pm-5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday).

The SPR's Journal and Proceedings can be read at the online library Lexscien, along with the Journal of Parapsychology and several other key publications (requires a subscription).

A useful free resource is the Catalogue of the Society for Psychical Research, which contains detailed summaries of research papers, articles, correspondence and book reviews going back to 1882.  A quick scan will give you a good impression of the scale of the SPR's research, and of its discerning approach. Full articles can be read at Lexscien.

 

Media Enquiries

Please contact Helen McCusker at Booked PR

Marden House, 3A Penns Road, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 2EW, UK

+44 (0) 7951 078 388

helen@bookedpr.com

 

Sales

Please contact Orca Book Services

+44 (0)1235 465500

tradeorders@orcabookservices.co.uk

www.orcabookservices.co.uk/contact.html

 

Author

Robert McLuhan is available for talks, book signings, interviews, etc. He is also glad to receive queries and comments about the book and about psychic research.

Please email robertmcluhan@gmail.com

 

 

  • Occasional thoughts about consciousness, spirituality and psi research, by Robert McLuhan, a journalist and author living in London.

    robertmcluhan@gmail.com
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  • ‘These disturbing phenomena seem to deny all our usual scientific ideas. How we should like to discredit them! Unfortunately the statistical evidence, at least for telepathy, is overwhelming. It is very difficult to rearrange one’s ideas so as to fit these new facts in.’ Alan Turing

    ‘I have noticed that if a small group of intelligent people, not supposed to be impressed by psychic research, get together and such matters are mentioned, and all feel that they are in safe and sane company, usually from a third to a half of them begin to relate exceptions. That is to say, each opens a little residual closet and takes out some incident which happened to them or to some member of their family, or to some friend whom they trust and which they think odd and extremely puzzling.’ Walter Prince

    If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run - and often in the short one - the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative. Arthur C. Clarke

    When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. Arthur C. Clarke

    ‘Science seems to me to teach in the highest and strongest manner the great truth which is embodied in the Christian conception of entire surrender to the will of God. Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.’ Thomas Henry Huxley

    We can always immunize a theory against refutation. There are many such immunizing tactics; and if nothing better occurs to us, we can always deny the objectivity – or even the existence – of the refuting observation. Those intellectuals who are more interested in being right than in learning something interesting but unexpected are by no means rare exceptions. Karl Popper
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