Yesterday we lost a giant in the critical thinking community. James Randi died at the age of 92. This is an interview with him from August 2010. Randi began his career as a magician and later devoted his life to investigating paranormal, occult and supernatural claims. He will be missed.
Download direct: mp3 file
James Randi’s passing is a terrible loss to the world, and also to me personally. While he eschewed the title “debunker” it has to be said that his hundreds or thousands of investigations did a lot more than help people think more clearly and not be scammed: His work saved probably tens of thousands of lives, directly or indirectly, not to mention the life’s savings and countless tears of many vulnerable people.
Always ready and thoughtful, yet even when he was giving a prepared speech his emotion, his passion, was always as clear as the lessons he was teaching us. Best of all, he was able to remain relatable and kind, and even with his undeniable flair he kept himself humble to the cause, not all self-important like too many “great thinkers” nowadays. When people did fall prey to so much poor or malicious thinking he didn’t belittle the victims, but instead expressed compassions for them.
On top of all that, Randi’s ability to inspire generations of critical thinkers who are just as tenacious helping others avoid being outright scammed or, worse, self-deluded into ruin has been truly astounding.
As far as I’m concerned, all of you at The Reality Check are among the best of skeptical movement that James Randi brought to life, and there is no better tribute to him than that. Thank you all, and especially thank you James Randi, always amazing.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comment, Rich. To me, it’s been fascinating to see how many of my friends have posted pictures of themselves with Randi on social media in the last couple of days. A tribute to how accessible and generous he was with his time.
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