An earlier post featured three TED lectures by the behavioural economist Dan Ariely, each of which revealed some of the predictable ways in which the human mind falls short of the ideal of perfect rationality. Ariely is just one of a large and growing number of researchers interested in human irrationality. These researchers come from the fields of cognitive and social psychology, behavioural economics, behavioural ethics, and experimental philosophy. And just as the research in this area is increasing, so too are the findings concerning the full extent of human irrationality. The following extensive list from Wikipedia summarizes some of…
The paranormal challenge
James Randi, retired professional magician (“The Amazing Randi”), author, lecturer, and amateur archaeologist/astronomer, dedicated his life to debunking the paranormal, pseudo-scientific, and supernatural. To do so, he founded the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) and with the help of generous donors set up the “One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge“. The official description reads as follows: At JREF, we offer a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event. The JREF does not involve itself in the testing procedure, other than helping to design the protocol and approving the conditions…
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