JREF Challenge FAQ

[RemieV]

The new Challenge FAQ is up. If you have additional questions and comments, or if you notice any mistakes, please let us know either here or at challenge@randi.org

http://www.randi.org/research/faq.html

[Startz]

The new - very nice - challenge FAQ says Convertible bonds will be given within ten days of passing the formal testYou mean "negotiable" bonds, not "convertible" bonds. And do you really intend to pass over the bonds, rather than having them sold and paying with a check?
-Dick Startz

[RemieV]

The new - very nice - challenge FAQ says You mean "negotiable" bonds, not "convertible" bonds. And do you really intend to pass over the bonds, rather than having them sold and paying with a check?
-Dick Startz

Thank you for catching that! The FAQ has been altered to say 'negotiable'.

No, the bonds will not be handed over. They will be liquidated, and the claimant will receive $990,000 within 10 days. What form those monies are in (check, wire, whatever) will be negotiated with the winner.

[CFLarsen]

All correspondence concerning the challenge should be sent to challenge@randi.org. Please do not contact Randi directly.

If you don't want people to contact Randi directly, emphasize it by changing "should" to "must".


In fact, we ask the applicant to design the test.

This could be perceived as if it is only the applicant who designs the test.


If someone’s head spins ‘round the wrong direction during an exorcism

....OK. What if it spins 'round the right direction? :)

4.1 How do I apply?

Send it with your affidavits, proof of media presence, a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and a summary in three paragraphs or less of the nature of your claim, the conditions required to perform it, and the accuracy rates with which you can perform it...

It could be a good idea to present an example, so applicants have a better idea what is expected of them.

It's done in 4.8, so it should be done here, too. Would save a lot of trouble.

Jot down lots of notes regarding “hits” and “misses” to make sure you aren’t retrospectively improving your results.

How about: "Keep records regarding..."? "Jot down lots of notes" sounds a wee bit casual.

Otherwise, very well written document. To be referenced in excess...

[tkingdoll]

Ditto Claus' feedback with the exception of the last one which I quite like.

I think

"Where did Randi get this great idea for a Challenge?" is editorialising. Who says it's a great idea? Seems a tad arrogant to me (in the nicest possible way!)



"Issue 1: I don’t want the publicity.

Response: You will get the publicity if you pass the Challenge, which you believe you can do. If you don’t want publicity, it’s best not to apply at all."


It sounds like the JREF will sell the story to the press or something...kinda cynical to say you WILL get publicity - it would be useful to clarify that "winning the challenge is likely to attract significant publicity" instead of the first sentence.

2.7 This particular rule shouldn’t apply to me.

It does. Again, the application is a contract.


Surely it's only a contract once accepted? If I apply and my application is rejected, no contract exists. Merely applying doesn't obligate me.

Did you include "where did the million dollars come from?". That's the question I hear the most often.

Nice FAQ though :)

This is particularly great:

2.4 Why do you reject claims that might cause injury?

Because the JREF doesn’t want anyone to get hurt or die, for both legal and humanitarian reasons. The JREF will not condone or support any claim where injury may occur. We don’t even want you to try it at home first.

For example, if you claim you can jump off a ten story building and survive, the JREF is not going to test you at it because people jumping off buildings doesn’t normally end well.

[stonesean]

Ditto Claus' feedback with the exception of the last one which I quite like.


Did you include "where did the million dollars come from?". That's the question I hear the most often.



I've always understood it was private donations....though it grew exponentially at different points...

I've sort of assumed that Randi's friend Johnny Carson was a big part of that $10,000 becoming $1,000,000

[Darat]

"Issue 1: I don’t want the publicity.

Response: You will get the publicity if you pass the Challenge, which you believe you can do. If you don’t want publicity, it’s best not to apply at all."


Given the requirement now for a media presence before the application is accepted is this not a bit redundant?

[jojonete]

"Issue 1: I don’t want the publicity.

Response: You will get the publicity if you pass the Challenge, which you believe you can do. If you don’t want publicity, it’s best not to apply at all."
Given the requirement now for a media presence before the application is accepted is this not a bit redundant?

People is going to ask. Wether redundant or not, it has to be there.
Indeed, that quote is part of the answer to "The media requirement shouldn't apply to me".


Now, some comments of mine:


1.1 How long has this Challenge been open?

The Challenge was first introduced in 1964 when James Randi offered $1,000 of his own money to the first person who could offer proof of the paranormal. When the word got out, donors began stepping forward to help, and soon the prize had grown to One Million Dollars.


(bolding mine) If I'm not wrong, the million dollars is available only since 1996, i.e. 32 years after the initial $1000. Maybe for Randi 32 years is "soon", but for me it's my whole life!


2.5 Why can’t I submit a religious or spiritual claim?

Because they are, for the most part, untestable. For example, you can look at a series of events – say surviving an automobile crash, surviving a plane crash, surviving a near-drowning and say “This was the hand of God,” but the point of the Challenge isn’t to give anecdotal evidence. It is to give something testable. Most religious people believe it’s impossible to test God. We’re pretty sure they’re right, though perhaps for different reasons.


This question (and answer) assumes that religious and spiritual claims are banned.
As I see it, they're not. Untestable claims are banned, but testable religious or spiritual claims are not.
I would change the very first sentence in the response to something that makes it clear that religion and spirits are not a problem, but untestable claims are. Say, start the answer with "You can if your claim is testable, however most religious and spiritual claims aren't".


It's important to realize that if at this point you still doubt that the money exists, your doubt is in the entire American bond system in general and Goldman Sachs specifically, and not with the JREF.


I'm Spanish and have never been in the U.S., so I don't understand anything about the American bond system and have about no chance at all of understanding it better than the average American. I mean: If the JREF wanted to cheat me about the million's existence, it'd be really easy for them to do so, no matter what I tried.

In other words: if I had doubts about the JREF's fairness (which I haven't), and if I had some paranormal power (which I haven't), and if I were considering taking the Challenge (which I'm not), I would be concerned about the existence of the money, and any American paperwork the JREF (or Goldman-Sachs) sends me would be completely meaningless. I just wouldn't trust it.

I admit I can't think of anything better that the JREF can do, but that doesn't change the previous two paragraphs. I also admit this is off-topic here; if this point starts a discussion I'll start a new thread on it (unless someone else does it before).


Arrangements will be made with Goldman Sachs to liquidate the remaining $990,000 and present it to the winner within ten days of passing the formal test.


I think this is not clear enough. How about the following?


No, the bonds will not be handed over. They will be liquidated, and the claimant will receive $990,000 within 10 days. What form those monies are in (check, wire, whatever) will be negotiated with the winner.


I really, really, really find it much more clearer the "the bonds will not be handed over" quote than the "arrangements will be made" one. I would just copy and paste the second wording directly into the FAQ.

[Darat]

...snip...

(bolding mine) If I'm not wrong, the million dollars is available only since 1996, i.e. 32 years after the initial $1000. Maybe for Randi 32 years is "soon", but for me it's my whole life!

...snip...

I think the million dollar prize is older than that - what the "million dollar" prize used to consist of was personal pledges of individuals to pony up the money if the challenge was won, than later on some mystery benefactor donated the lump sum of a million dollars to be used for the prize money.

[CFLarsen]

Given the requirement now for a media presence before the application is accepted is this not a bit redundant?

A more astute response would be: "Dude. You already have media presence. What's the hubbub?"

"Dude" is optional.

[Rasmus]

Thank you for catching that! The FAQ has been altered to say 'negotiable'.

No, the bonds will not be handed over. They will be liquidated, and the claimant will receive $990,000 within 10 days. What form those monies are in (check, wire, whatever) will be negotiated with the winner.

I agree that this should be much, much clearer. The issue has come up several times in the past in the forum, too.

If the winner gets $1.000.000 then it shouldn't matter (at the payout stage and the reelvant section in the FAQ) if Randi has previously held the money in bonds, on a regular checking account, kept them under his matress or converted them to smarties which he now has to sell.

These things matter when it is asked "How can I be sure there are a million dollars around that Randi can get to me as soon as I've won?"

So, stating that the bonds will be convereted within n days after which the sum (!) of one million dollars will be handed over should be better here.

[Jaggy Bunnet]

I agree that this should be much, much clearer. The issue has come up several times in the past in the forum, too.

If the winner gets $1.000.000 then it shouldn't matter (at the payout stage and the reelvant section in the FAQ) if Randi has previously held the money in bonds, on a regular checking account, kept them under his matress or converted them to smarties which he now has to sell.

These things matter when it is asked "How can I be sure there are a million dollars around that Randi can get to me as soon as I've won?"

So, stating that the bonds will be convereted within n days after which the sum (!) of one million dollars will be handed over should be better here.

Agree with the principle, but I wouldn't use the term "liquidated". Although it is perfectly clear what it means, I have no doubt that someone wishing to avoid the challenge would "misunderstand" it to mean something similar to a company going into liquidation.

How about "No, the bonds will not be handed over. They will be converted into an equivalent amount of cash, and the claimant will receive $990,000, in cash, within 10 days. The exact form in which this cash is to be transferred (check, wire, whatever) will be negotiated with the winner."

[Rasmus]

Yes. Of course, one should be very careful about the wording: You do not transfer "cash" by check or wire, you transfer "money" that way (in a more abstract form).

Of course I think the option of receiving a nice see-through suitcase full of green bits of paper is very appealing and should possibly be offered explicitely. It works on TV!

(I keep wondering if those showcases are for real, or only for the show. I would rather have the money wired to my account within a week or two than having to cross town with a suitcase full of money ..)