Re: Re: Re: a critical look at Kent Hovind.
Jellby said:
Wouldn't that make the $1 Million Prize illegal?
No. It can be won quite easily. All you have to do is scientifically show you can do something unquestionably paranormal.
What I actually meant by "a monetary prize that no-one can actually win" refers to the fact that even if you do apply, Hovind refuses to accept ANY applicants whatsoever - this has been shown year in, year out, time after time, even though the applicants clearly were quite serious and had very reasonable and reasoned responses to Hovind's challenge.
You might care to compare that with the JREF challenge - applicants are accepted happily and with reasonable regularity, and their testing is progressed as quickly as possible in each case.
In other words, Hovind's so-called challenge is not an actual competition at all. And the chances are very good that Hovind does not have (access to) the stated US$250,000 in prize money either. It's all just a self-promotion gimmick, aka
advertising. The problem is that when advertising, there are usually local laws about what you can and cannot say, and your liabilities to your "consumers" from your advertising
(there is a delicious story about a Californian car dealer who advertised a car for sale for "8,000 bananas" - a humourous slang term for "dollars" apparently. A prospective buyer accepted the deal, and promptly emptied a truckload of rotten bananas on the lot driveway...and drove off in his car!). My request was for someone who knows of such things to expand on what possible breaches of local regulations Hovind may be making in this regard.
Incidentally, I have actually contacted the Miami Prosecutor's office myself to discuss this - they say he is actually breaking the law (didn't say why) but they are reluctant to pin Hovind because he's a religious nut-case, and they don't usually get involved with them if they are no trouble. I gather the Miami law enforcement people have enough real crime on their plate without having to deal with cranks like Hovind - fair enough. [cue Miami Vice music!]
