Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions - James Randi [110]
The astute reader will note that there is an apparent defect in the experiment. Remember, conditions were not ideal, and I frankly was taking a bit of a chance under these circumstances. In a double-blind test, it is essential that the experimenter not know the expected result, but in this case I was quite aware of which envelope contained the sought-after target. Because I had no one to assist me in the studio, I had to be the one to watch the operator to make sure he did not violate the protocol, and I noted that on two occasions he actually nudged the envelopes with his foot as he walked along. I had to restart the test at that point, since the target envelope would be apt to make a noise, while the others would not. Either result could give Wojcik information he should not have. I stood to one side as I watched him walk about, taking every precaution I could to avoid giving any clue.
Magicians are adept at this. On stage, the performer is well aware of what is really taking place, and part of one's art consists of not giving oneself away by involuntary reactions at crucial moments. If I had become too talkative as Wojcik approached the target envelope, for example, it could have obviously or subliminally alerted him. The test was flawed in this respect, but necessarily so under the circumstances. It is obvious that the flaw was not prejudicial to the results, however, though I do not deny this deficiency in the design of the experiment. I had offered my $10,000 to Wojcik that evening, and the offer was also made to the parties involved in the following examples.
A gentleman came from California all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to see me and have his powers tested. He was a huge man, Vince Wiberg by name, affable, enthusiastic, and quite honest, in my opinion. He really believed he had the abilities he claimed. His specialty was dowsing for "auragrams," and in several letters sent to me at my home in New Jersey he had outlined in detail just what he could demonstrate—in contrast to many others, who like to appear for testing without having said anything in advance.
A prominent chemical company includes this data in its official engineering files. Curiously, the admonition to "not wear rubber footwear" disagrees with what the big-time dowsers say. No wonder they can't find those underground fire lines!
I was in Albuquerque to lecture at Sandia Labs, where two scientists had fallen for a deception perpetrated by a pair of teenagers who were simply picking up reflections of large letter cards in the experimenters' eyeglasses. I was there to meet and inform these chaps, and I had also invited several local "psychics" to show up, including the teenagers. Vince Wiberg was the only one who materialized.
At my hotel room I had two Sandia people as witnesses. First, Vince showed us that his dowsing rods would cross when held over a large metal film can that I had placed on the floor. We tested this at many locations around the room. It worked every time—when the dowser knew where the can was. (In all fairness, it should be mentioned that Vince did not care for this test, since it was not his specialty.) When the can was covered with a blanket after being placed according to a randomizing procedure while he and I were out of the room (to prevent feedback from me), Mr. Wiberg was not able to score. At this point we gave him the test he preferred.
He had made claims concerning an ability to diagnose illness in the body, and we were ready to test him on this point. I'd seen many such attempts before, and I was not expecting very much success. Usually, these "readings" were general, concentrating on