MIKE MAGGIO, Spirit Reader

[GzuzKryzt]

Another test. Finally.

A similar question has been asked before but I'll ask again: Why does he go for anything less than 20 correct hits?
Do the "spirits" mumble?
Does he have a "spirit-hearing disability"?
Do "they" speak swedish and he sucks at translating?



Any thoughts?

[Terry]

This is just a guess, but I imagine it's because the JREF folks think that 5/20 is sufficiently above chance to show that there's something to it. The claimant probably believes he'll get them all right.

[GzuzKryzt]

Originally Posted by Terry

This is just a guess, but I imagine it's because the JREF folks think that 5/20 is sufficiently above chance to show that there's something to it. The claimant probably believes he'll get them all right.

Agreed.

Here's where the video documentation "Before/After" hopefully comes in. Being a TV crew, I expect them to get the money shots.

Shall we open a pool for his first excuse?

I go with:
"Let me rest a little, right? You know, I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were gonna ask me. I have to have time, um, um, (long pause) I don't feel strong. It's not, all tonight, right now I'm feeling being pressed and I can't, can't, (fade)"

[Reno]

I guess this puts edge's fannying about into perspective.

[GzuzKryzt]

Originally Posted by Reno

I guess this puts edge's fannying about into perspective.

Please elaborate.

[Reno]

While we have been reading edge's blathering on about this and that and a whole load of tosh for a year (known in Scotland as 'fannying about'), this Maggio chap has, out of nowhere, stepped up to the plate. No year long discussion about having to have a certain type of paper bag over his head, or flecks of fairy dust sprinkled in concentric patterns around him, or having to find a building not owned by someone or blah blah blah...He just steps up to do the test.

Puts edge's fannying about into perspective.

ETA: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fannying

[CynicalSkeptic]

Didn't Edge already step up to the plate once?

--and fail miserably...

So perhaps, he's making sure he gets it right before wasting Randi's time again.

[Helpless Kitten]

Um, I'm more than a little new. Where do I go to see more about this claim?

[Reno]

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=83823

There ya go Helpless Kitten

[Helpless Kitten]

Ooh, thanks! This must be the Japan trip I saw people talking about on other forums.

Five out of twenty hits does seem a little low.

[Reno]

Aye. If you read the current edition of Swift, you'll see James Randi mention the trip to Japan in the 'In Conclusion' segment at the end.

http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-06/060107.html

[Spektator]

So does anyone have any word on how Maggio did? I'm on puns and noodles.

[lister]

Also, I'm not clear on whether this counts as the preliminary test, or whether passing just enables him to officially apply for the challenge?

[GzuzKryzt]

Originally Posted by lister

Also, I'm not clear on whether this counts as the preliminary test, or whether passing just enables him to officially apply for the challenge?

From here: http://forums.randi.org/showthread.p...79#post2657079

"...
If Maggio is able to correctly name the contents of five out of the twenty envelopes, he will be invited to take the formal Challenge on a future date.
..."

[Cuddles]

Originally Posted by Spektator

So does anyone have any word on how Maggio did? I'm on puns and noodles.

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.p...70#post2664270

[catbasket]

Quote:

Maggio was only able to properly determine the contents of one envelope (which is exactly the number that chance predicts).

No real surprise.

Quote:

Maggio conducted himself very well, and did not offer any excuses for the failure.

Quote:

He does, however, remain convinced of his abilities, and will apply for the challenge again in one year.

Sadly, also no surprise.

[GzuzKryzt]

Did the spirits mumble?
Did they have more important things to do?
Did they participate in a Challenge to prove they can communicate with humans?



"What we have got here is failure to communicate."

[Reno]

Did anyone ask him why he was still convinced?

[Spektator]

Originally Posted by Reno

Did anyone ask him why he was still convinced?

"My spirit hearing aid battery was low."

[GzuzKryzt]

Is anyone of our forumites in Japan willing to watch the show and transcribe the relevant parts?

Jackalgirl? Klaymore? Kimpatsu? Someone else?

[Robaato]

If someone can tell me what network/show it'll be on, I'll give it a shot. Work schedule permitting, of course.

[catbasket]

Quote:

The challenge is a collaboration between the JREF and the Japanese television company "Vivio". The Challenge results will be aired on June 18th at 10pm in Japan.

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.p...70#post2664270 But you probably know that already

[Kimpatsu]

Does anyone have the name of the TV show? "Getsuyobi something-something...", please? It will make recording easier.

[GzuzKryzt]

Originally Posted by Kimpatsu

Does anyone have the name of the TV show? "Getsuyobi something-something...", please? It will make recording easier.

Originally Posted by Loon

It'll air on Monday, the 18th on (I think) Channel 4 at 10 pm (Nihon television).

The program is called GetsuYoru.

That help?

[Kimpatsu]

Yes, thank you. A simple enough name: "Monday Night".

[Jackalgirl]

Originally Posted by Raja

If someone can tell me what network/show it'll be on, I'll give it a shot. Work schedule permitting, of course.

Ditto! I might be able to tape it, if we get that network/show on base; I'd be happy to transcribe it if I can see/tape it.

Edited add: and if it's in English. I can transcribe the English parts. : )

Edited again to add: Getsuyoru, Channel 4, check. I'll see what I can do, too.

[kwaidan]

Just confirming the details for next Monday's Tokyo show:

Getsuyoru (check the website - Google'll do it for you)
NTV (Tokyo Channel 4)
10pm ( 1 hour show inc. shilling)

Get-together at my place (near Ikebukuro) for dinner and a show. Will be interesting to see how the edit matches the taping. Tokyoites, get in touch if you're interested in joining us.

Kwai Dan (not a nut)

[GzuzKryzt]

Curiousity bump.

[Kimpatsu]

OK, I just saw the Randi episode of Getsuyoru ("Monday Night"). As ever, being the media, the show was biased towards credulity; not once did they use the phrases "so-called" or "self-styled"; in their brief history of TV "psychics", everything these people said was taken at face value.
Randi was introduced as a "psychic buster", which I suppose is fair enough, given the applicant (Mike Maggio) that the show was dealing with, but they didn't explain enough about the broader remit of the JREF.
After Randi came on, he was introduced with a brief history, showing his work as a magician and mythbuster over the decades, including the escapology over Niagara Falls, the James Hydrich incident on TV back in the 1970s, and some of the more recent quackbusting on Korean TV (which also features on the latest TAM DVDs). The regular presenters of the show were then asked whether they believed in psychic powers. One of them dodged the question by saying that he personally didn't have any such powers (that's not what he was asked), and the airhead pretty face replied that she was a strong believer that such powers existed, but concurred that she, too, didn't have them.
Mike Maggio then came on, and was introduced with a brief history: former USAF officer, passed the Texas Bar, and then at the age of 29 was mysteriously chosen by the "spirits", who decided to start talking to him. We were then shown footage of typical Uri Gellar-type shenanigans filmed beforehand by the TV station at Maggio's house in Iowa; the presenter did several "drawings" (house, car, and a handful of simple Chinese characters) while Maggio had his back turned, and Maggio then reproduced them. However, as Randi then pointed out from the studio, 80% of people asked to make a drawing for remote viewing draw a house (Maggio was also wrong in that he drew a traditional Japanese house with a pagoda roof, probably expecting his sitter to have a Japanese slant in whatever was drawn, but the picture was actually a bog-standard two-up, two-down with a chimney, front door, and windows), and the Chinese kanji reproductions were so vague that Randi demonstrated how they could be made to fit any one of several characters in the pool. Anyway, as this test was completely uncontrolled and not properly double-blinded, it counts for nothing.
Randi then revealed the controlled test for the studio: 20 different pictures in 20 envelopes, and a list of said 20 pictures. Mike's task was to write on the outside of each envelope which picture was inside, crossing that picture off the list as he went. Randi said that five or more would be better than chance, and qualify for the million.
It took Mike about 20 minutes to complete this remote viewing task, so while we were waiting (I mean the live studio audience; we were watching a show recorded a fortnight ago), we were treated to a brief history of TV psychics, with zero critical input, and the cherry-topping observation that one of these early TV psychics had been the basis for the horror movie "The Ring". (Wow!) Also, as this person had committed suicide in later life, the implication was that she had been a genuine psychic unable to cope with her gift. The possibility of self-delusion was never raised. Fortunately, they never mentioned Uri Gellar, but a number of soi-disant Russian, Korean, and Japanese psychics were shown performing on film, accompanied by appropriate "oohs" and "aahs". Nary a skeptical note.
When Mike had finished, the results were revealed one envelope at a time, and Maggio got a grand total of 1/20: pure chance. (The one he got right was an apple.) The MC, who unveiled the pics and the results, said he was lost for words, and placed great weight on Maggio getting the apple, whilst completely ignoring the 19 failures. Mike was then asked why he thought he'd failed, one of the presenters even offering the excuse that being in a studio under bright lights, in a foreign land, meant the pressure was on, so the spirits were "shy". To his credit, Mike rejected this nonsense, and merely said that he didn't know why he'd failed. (Although he didn't accept that the reason was because his powers didn't exist.)
Randi then said that Mike had been very brave to come on, and insisted on a round of applause, before adding that the $1 million was still up for grabs, if anyone else felt eligible to apply.
The show closed out with another of the presenters soberly inspecting the envelopes and discovering that Randi had wrapped each picture in black crepe before inserting it into its envelope, to prevent cheating by holding the pics up to the light. He made some vague grumble about how he didn't understand how the trick was done (what trick?), and then the credits ran with a teaser for next week's (unrelated) show, to the accompaniment of the X-Files theme tune.
That's about it, except to say that my recording is a bit poor, so I can't post it up on YouTube. If Dan, Kara, or any of the others in our Tokyo skeptics group has a cleaner copy, I can digitise it and (no promises, mind!) try to add some English subtitles before posting.
Best,

[GzuzKryzt]

Thank you, Kimpatsu.

Since I've come to trust the accuracy of your description, that show seemed like the same old, same old, right?

What I am particularly interested in are Mr. Maggio's exact words (along with facial expression/body language) after he discovered he failed, since it was reported he seemed convinced he still had these alleged powers.

But still, kudos to Mike Maggio for taking the test.

[Kimpatsu]

Mike sat with his arms folded and gave a slight shake of the head when the results were announced, but he otherwise remained composed. The problem is, I can't tell you his exact words, any more than I can tell you Randi's, as they were both dubbed into Japanese, and what I gave you above was my retranslation back into English of what the narrator said over the both of them.

[GzuzKryzt]

Originally Posted by Kimpatsu

Mike sat with his arms folded and gave a slight shake of the head when the results were announced, but he otherwise remained composed. The problem is, I can't tell you his exact words, any more than I can tell you Randi's, as they were both dubbed into Japanese, and what I gave you above was my retranslation back into English of what the narrator said over the both of them.

I didn't want you to describe the above situation. Thanks anyway, Kimpatsu. And sorry for my unclear post.

I intended to express that I was waiting for the video on YouTube which somebody hopefully will upload.



Any reaction less than "slightly but notably crushed" would make me suspicious. If he remained composed, I do not understand why, except that he tried to act TV-friendly.

[Kenny 10 Bellys]

Kudos to the guy for stepping up to the plate, even if he is hearing things in his head. Likewise for not cramming the air with excuses for his sudden lack of superpowers. While not really characteristic of the behaviour of the charlatans we normally see (and that makes me suspicious), it's certainly refreshing. Edge should take note.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally Posted by GzuzKryzt

I didn't want you to describe the above situation. Thanks anyway, Kimpatsu. And sorry for my unclear post.

I intended to express that I was waiting for the video on YouTube which somebody hopefully will upload.



Any reaction less than "slightly but notably crushed" would make me suspicious. If he remained composed, I do not understand why, except that he tried to act TV-friendly.

Even a video on YouTube is going to have the language barrier.
Yes, I think Mike was trying to be media-friendly. But my spirit guides have deserted me, so I can't say for sure...

[Jeff Wagg]

Originally Posted by Terry

This is just a guess, but I imagine it's because the JREF folks think that 5/20 is sufficiently above chance to show that there's something to it. The claimant probably believes he'll get them all right.

Bang on.

5 out of 20 actually was more in the applicant's favor that we'd normally do, but 6 out of 20 was much harder than we'd normally require. (The stats are way over my head.) This was just a preliminary test as well.

Guess how many chance says he should have gotten right?

Another note.. he guessed pliers twice. Once pliers came up (the first guess), he was already 3 behind the eightball.

Again, I have to say Mike was a complete gentleman throughout the whole process. A truly nice guy.

[Jeff Wagg]

Originally Posted by GzuzKryzt

I didn't want you to describe the above situation. Any reaction less than "slightly but notably crushed" would make me suspicious. If he remained composed, I do not understand why, except that he tried to act TV-friendly.

I don't know if they showed it or not, but when we asked him said "I'm very surprised at the results. I must have just been guessing."

Look.. a personal request here.. don't poke fun at Mike. He's an honest guy, who I believe is mistaken about what he's observing. I wish all applicants were as reasonable and no-nonsense as he was. Another one like this that comes to mind is Achau Ngyuen.

[brettDbass]

Storyboard-format photos from the Challenge have just gone up on the MySpace profile, for the impatient amongst you.

\/ \/ \/ clicky \/ \/ \/

[Kimpatsu]

The subtitles for the slides Randi has put up on MySpace are as follows:
Slide 1: I will definitely prove that clairvoyance exists.
Slide 3: The ultimate showdown! $1 million prize!
Psychic powers buster vs. totally clairvoyant male medium
Slide 4: (Top): The man who stamps out fraudulent psychic powers vs. total clairvoyant (Note: this caption stays in place throughout, so I'll not translate it again.)
(Bottom): Paranormal challenger Michael Maggio
Slide 7: James Randi (Note: also written in English)
Slide 8: Psychic powers buster
Slide 10: James Randi Educational Foundation
Slide 11: It's all a trick!
Slide 13: $1 million prize (approx. 120 million yen)
Slide 15: Psychic powers buster
Slides 18 to 20: Psychic powers buster James Randi
Slide 21: PSICOP founded 1976
An investigative committee to examine scientifically claims of super powers and paranormal phenomena
Slide 22: (lit: ) "Secrets of Psychic Powers" (title of the Japanese translation of the book)
Slide 29: 10% of people tend to draw a star or a triangle
Slide 32: Nobody knows the contents of the envelopes
Write on the envelope the word devined clairvoyantly
Slide 39: Results Announcement
$1 million paranormal challenge battle
Slide 40: Challenger's answer
Note: I have not repeatedly translated captions that are constantly on screen, such as "Getsuyoru" (name of the show) in the top right corner.
If Randi posts any more pics, I'll translate those captions, too.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally Posted by Jeff Wagg

I don't know if they showed it or not, but when we asked him said "I'm very surprised at the results. I must have just been guessing."

They spoke over both Randi and Mike the whole time, Jeff, so the original English is inaudible. Mike was dubbed as saying something like "I can't understand why I failed."

[Klaymore]

Man, sorry I missed all of this! Sounds like this Mike dude stepped up and did the right thing, to the extent that such a thing can be expected. I'd still love to hear someone say "wow, I guess maybe this (just possibly) means I don't have any powers," but I'm not holding my breath.

Psychics are possibly even more prevelant in Japan than they are in the States. Here in Shibuya there's a dude right on the main street who sits most nights with his little folding table (in a cute little beret) and gives readings. There are, I'm told, streets which are filled with street psychics, and (mostly) women lined up to talk to them.