Here is MY CLAIM of a Paranormal Event to take place as provided for by the JREF
Okay, here we go. I do have to note, TP, that you use way, way too many words. As a lawyer, I pride myself on precision in my writing. Even the sentence I quoted above has at least thirteen more words than appropriate for ease of reading.
I David Koenig <snip> Will sit on the Devil's Chair <snip> In Lake Helen Florida <snip> on 10/31/2008 and 10/31/2009 <snip> and perform the following Invocation. <very long snip>
I see nothing wrong with any of this.
James Randi himself must be present
Never going to happen. There are three reasons why Mr. Randi should not attend. 1) The MDC is an objective test, so the presense of Mr. Randi is unnecessary. Being there can only cause complications and confusion while not being there allows people to work more smoothly. 2) Mr. Randi is getting on in years and should probably be asleep at midnight for reasons relating to his own health. 3) As an established personality, Mr. Randi's presence might accidentally cause others to believe that he somehow endorses you or believes you to be a competent magician. His mere attendance would be an event in and of itself, warranting news and entertainment coverage - unfairly allowing you to share in the publicity he generates.
I do not represent the JREf but I believe Mr. Randi will not attend under any circumstance whatsoever. If this is a non-negotiable point for you, I suggest you abandon your attempt to state a claim right now. No amount of haggling over protocol will change this fact so there is no reason for you to continue.
I am constrained to point out, however, that those who accused you of being nothing but a publicity hound will find ammunition in your behavior.
Inside of a custom Faraday cage designed with clear and accepted scientific standards of effectiveness,
Please describe the exact design of the custom Faraday cage.
will be two video recorders, two televisions, two audio recording devices, and two laptop computers.
This is a whole lot of equipment. Is all of it necessary for your challenge? If so, how will you send power to all that equipment? Will there be a generator in there with the a/v equipment? Will it all run off batteries? Will cords come snaking out of the cage? If cords leave the cage, how can we guard against using those cords (or the hole in the cage) to send in a signal?
You will note that the two fake protocols I wrote used technology that was available at any K-Mart and worked right out of the box. Simplifying the technology cuts down the chances of cheating. Perhaps you should consider this.
The video camera/recorders and televisions will be set in a video loop with the camera facing the television screen and connected to cause this loop and turned on prior to the Invocation.. The audio recording devices will also be turned on as well as the audio/video recording programs in the laptops at the same time. All recording tape will be free of any previous recording. All other instruments will be free of previous recording, either erased or simply blank from the beginning of the test. All recordings will be clean and blank prior to the test.
That seems like a lot of work. How will the computers be made blank? And what would constitute an acceptible result on the computers?
The double testing will insure an effective test should any devices fail during the experiment.
Double testing? I count six things on which a recording could be made. Do you really need six?
The recording devices will be turned on before the initial Invocation and will be left on for 27 minutes.
Sigh.
If any evidence is found on the tapes or digital recordings that is NOT SCIENTIFICALLY EXPLAINABLE it will be considered a successful test of the Paranormal.
And here, at the very end of your long post, you put in the same sentence that you've said several times before. The problems have already been explained to you. This sentence just begs the question:
What evidence will be found on the tapes? How will such evidence be collected and evaluated so that no human judgment is involved? How will the evidence be examined so that, objectively, its mere existence will be proof of paranormal activity?
I would think that you could run a dB meter next to the recordings. You could say that the "answers" must be at least three-quarters as loud as your questions. You could say that Dragon Naturally Speaking must recognize the answers as the words you say they are with 80% efficiency. You could think of some other test.
Instead, you have left this entirely up to the imagination. I will use all caps because you did: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROTOCOL. You must be exact in describing the effect you expect and the manner in which it should be measured.
And, even then, the ways to cheat this protocol are so many and so varied that I can't see it ever being approved by any reasonable person.
This is a very testable claim and I can't wait to perform it on 10/31/2008 for the Million Dollar Prize!
It is not a testable claim because you haven't specified how to test it.
