The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled scientific experimental conditions.
The organization administers the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars which it will pay out to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. The JREF also maintains a legal defense fund to assist persons who are attacked as a result of their investigations and criticism of people who make paranormal claims.
The organization is funded through member contributions, grants, and conferences. The JREF website publishes a (nominally daily) blog at randi.org, Swift, which includes the latest JREF news and information, as well as exposés of paranormal claimants.
History
The JREF officially came into existence on February 29, 1996, when it was registered as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Delaware in the United States. On April 3, 1996 Randi formally announced the creation of the JREF through his email hotline. It is now headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.
THE FOUNDATION IS IN BUSINESS! It is my great pleasure to announce the creation of the James Randi Educational Foundation. This is a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational foundation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, incorporated in the State of Delaware. The Foundation is generously funded by a sponsor in Washington D.C. who wishes, at this point in time, to remain anonymous.
â€" The Foundation, Randi Hotline, Wed, April 3, 1996
Randi says Johnny Carson was a major sponsor, giving several six-figure donations.
The officers of the JREF are:
- Director, Chairman: James Randi, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
- Director, Secretary, Assistant Secretary: Richard L. Adams Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
- Director, Secretary: Daniel Denman, Silver Spring, Maryland.
In 2008 the astronomer Philip Plait became the new president of the JREF and Randi its board chairman. In December 2009 Plait left the JREF due to involvement in a television project, and D.J. Grothe assumed the position of president on January 1, 2010, holding the position until his departure from the JREF was announced on September 1, 2014.
The San Francisco newspaper SF Weekly reported on August 24, 2009 that Randi's annual salary is about $200,000.
The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
In 1964, Randi began offering a prize of $US1000 to anyone who could demonstrate a paranormal ability under agreed-upon testing conditions. This prize has since been increased to $US1 million in bonds and is now administered by the JREF as the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge. Since its inception, more than 1000 people have applied to be tested. To date no one has either been able to demonstrate their claimed abilities under the testing conditions or have not fulfilled the foundation conditions for taking the test; the prize money still remains to be claimed.
The Amaz!ng Meeting
Since 2003, the JREF has annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. Perennial speakers include Richard Dawkins, Penn & Teller, Phil Plait, Michael Shermer and Adam Savage.
Podcasts and videos
The foundation produced two audio podcasts, For Good Reason and Consequence. For Good Reason was an interview program hosted by D.J. Grothe, promoting critical thinking and skepticism about the central beliefs of society. It has not been active since December, 2011. Consequence was a biweekly podcast hosted by former outreach coordinator Brian Thompson in which regular people shared their personal narratives about the negative impact a belief in pseudoscience, superstition, and the paranormal had had on their lives. It has not been active since May, 2013.
The JREF also produced a regular video cast and YouTube show, The Randi Show, in which former JREF outreach coordinator Brian Thompson interviewed Randi on a variety of skeptical topics, often with lighthearted or comedic commentary. It has not been active since August, 2012.
The JREF posts many of its educational videos from The Amazing Meeting and other events online. There are free lectures by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Carol Tavris, Lawrence Krauss, live tests of the Million Dollar Challenge, workshops on cold reading by Ray Hyman, and panels featuring leading thinking on various topics related to JREF's educational mission. JREF president D.J. Grothe has claimed that the JREF's YouTube channel was once the "10th most subscribed nonprofit channel of all time, though its current status is 39th and most non-profits do not register for this status.
The foundation produced its own "Internet Audio Show" which ran from Januaryâ€"December 2002 and was broadcast via a live stream. The archive can be found as mp3 files on their website and as a podcast on iTunes.
Forum and online community
As part of the JREF's goal of educating the general population about science and reason, people involved in their community actively run one of the most popular skeptic based online forums at http://forums.randi.org with the overall goal of promoting "critical thinking and providing the public with the tools needed to reliably examine paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific claims".
On October 5, 2014, this online forum was divorced from the JREF and moved as its own entity to International Skeptics Forum.
Fellowships and scholarships
The JREF has named a number of fellows of the organization including Senior Fellow Steven Novella and Research Fellows Karen Stollznow, Tim Farley and Ray Hall. Kyle Hill was added as a fellow November 2011, and Leo Igwe was added October 2012. Farley's position as a JREF Fellow ended in February 2014.
In 2007 the JREF announced it would resume awarding critical thinking scholarships to college students after a brief hiatus due to the lack of funding.
The JREF has also helped to support local grassroot efforts and outreach endeavors, such as SkeptiCamp, Camp Inquiry and various community-organized conferences. However, according to their tax filing, they spend less than $2,000 a year on other organizations or individuals.
See also
- An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (by Randi)
- Debunker
- List of prizes for evidence of the paranormal
- Pigasus Award
- Rationalist Prabir Ghosh increases his challenge amount to $50,000 against any claim of paranormal, after surviving nine assassination attempts.
- Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll
References
Further reading
- Christopher, Milbourne (1975). "Mediums, Mystics, & the Occult". Thomas Y. Crowell Co. ISBNÂ 0-690-00476-1.Â
- Polidoro, Massimo (2003). "Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims". Prometheus Books. ISBNÂ 1-59102-086-7.Â
- Randi, James (1982). "Flim-Flam!". Prometheus Books. ISBNÂ 0-87975-198-3.Â
External links
- Official website
- The Amaz!ng Meeting â€" Information on past and upcoming Amaz!ng Meetings and Amaz!ng Adventures
- Videos from The Amaz!ng Meeting on Youtube
- Videos from The Amaz!ng meeting on Vimeo
- The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge â€" Official website
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