"Randi owes me a million dollars"

Show me

New Blood
S
Joined
Jan 25, 2007
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Hi All,

I'm new as a poster here, but I've been a reader of the site for a while now and a long time follower of the JREF and the challenge. I think I can't post URL's but I'll try, because this is what prompted me to get an account and post.

I saw this link in one of my RSS feeds "James Randi owes me a million dollars". It's on Matt Blaze's blog. You'll have to use google to find it (the web site is called "crypto.com", if I type any more it won't let me post).

Blaze is a VERY controversial figure in the security world, but he may have a point about the challenge. If you use google you'll see what I mean about controversial.

Maybe somone can find the URL and post it, and Mr. Randi should respond to this guy.

Al "Show Me"
 
Thanks Biker.

www crypto com / blog / psychic_cryptanalysis /

(Test the link before you post not sure I copied right)
 
No, I'm not him! I met him a couple of times at conferences, but I don't know him personally.
 
Unfortunately for him, whether he is correct about the contents or not, he has not applied for the challenge and therefore Randi does not owe him anything.
 
I was prepared for the worst, but it's actually a pretty good article.

For those who haven't read it, he's not being serious about having won the challenge, although his topic is serious.
 
Buckaroo said:
For those who haven't read it, he's not being serious about having won the challenge, although his topic is serious.
Click to expand...

I was surprised Randi did the ISBN thing again. Last time he did it as one of his Swift challenges, several people broke it. Unfortunately for me, although I new what dictionary he had ISBN'd, I didn't have it so I fell back to scaling the page numbers against a dictionary I did have and then selecting from his list of 20 objects as to which one I thought he meant.

He really should do some smarter crypto.
 
Can't be right

Excellent blog. If you know the guy, Show, why not get him to join. He advertises the site on his blog, so is clearly a supporter.

I smell coincidence. Surely Randi would have covered his tracks a lot better than that. Smart work, though.
 
Interesting...I'm guessing that Randi expected (or hoped) someone would crack the message in the Swift commentary and see that it was in fact a CD. Perhaps Randi will respond with yes--now tell me what CD and win a million!

In that case, read the commentary as "there is a CD in my locker, and I challenge the remote viewers to tell me which one."

How many guesses can I have? :D
 
My guess is it's Willie Nelson's.... Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Skeptics.

Gene
 
The Atheist said:
Can't be right

Excellent blog. If you know the guy, Show, why not get him to join. He advertises the site on his blog, so is clearly a supporter.

I smell coincidence. Surely Randi would have covered his tracks a lot better than that. Smart work, though.
Click to expand...

I don't know him personally. I met him a couple times at conferences, but I doubt he'd have any idea who I am. I think his email should be easy to track down though.


Al "Show Me"
 
I've read the article too, and he clearly states how he determined what's in the box, he's decrypting something and not showing paranormal powers.

Having said that, I don't believe that's what is in the box either. That would seem to be too easy. If I were to be the person to put something in the box. I would not use those numbers to lead you to what is in the box but lead you to what you think is in the box, a false answer that seems to fit.

I mean isn't misdirection the OLDEST trick in the book?
 
The thing I'm worried about is if the Dames group reads the post and then claims they can remote view the box, Mr. Randi could have a hard time explaining things, or at least they could do some serious PR damage. I think it may have been irresponsible for Blaze to post it without checking with JREF first, but I guess the damage is done.
 
Show me said:
The thing I'm worried about is if the Dames group reads the post and then claims they can remote view the box, Mr. Randi could have a hard time explaining things, or at least they could do some serious PR damage. I think it may have been irresponsible for Blaze to post it without checking with JREF first, but I guess the damage is done.
Click to expand...

Not in the slightest. If they claimed the million he can simply indicate that the matter was already public knowledge. Not that I accept yet that the item is as described.
 
Following up a little on the misdirection idea, possibly Mr. Randi wants the Dames group to guess, to show they were wrong; it would be better than silence.

And by someone else posting the description, it may further the argument that they were going on Matt Blaze's information (as opposed, perhaps, to them claiming they were just "looking" in the wrong locker or office.) That might be a stretch, but a thought I had anyway..
 
I don't know about that. I'll have to re read it, but didn't Blaze break the code to "prove" that the box has a CD? If it has something else in it, couldn't the group now use the code to make it look (to the public) like the box had a CD all along and JREF is trying to switch to avoid paying?
 
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