Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions - James Randi [176]
But two minutes later he launched into a long tirade about everything from sunspots to geomagnetic variables, though nothing he said in any way excused the dreadful failure that was evident. We had supplied generous quantities of wine as a preliminary to the meal and as a general anesthetic for the occasion, hoping that when the food arrived Borga would be silenced. No luck. He continued on through mouthfuls of scaloppine and pasta.
All the dowsers who were tested had failed. The two who "found" natural water disagreed spectacularly, and those who found no water disagreed too. All had had positive dowsing reactions and were certain they were correct, but actually they had detected nothing at all. All had considerable reputations as successful dowsers, yet all asserted that this was the first time they had undergone a test that was controlled and could be checked thoroughly for correctness! Only a method similar to the one I designed could settle the matter once and for all. Their first and only proper tests had proved the subjects did not have the ability to dowse. Yet I am quite sure that these people still claim they are dowsers. Incredible? Yes, but typical.
Only two dowsers, Fontana and Stanziola, decided there was "natural" water on the site. Thus they disagree with the other two, who said there was no such water there. As seen in this diagram, Fontana and Stanziola even disagree with each other about where this water was.
Before we leave the subject, it is well to report that one Michele Giovannelli of Genoa, author of various books on parapsychology that he believes make him an ally of mine, offered to perform endless wonders for me if I would meet a long list of his conditions for the tests. He wanted, among other things, to have a group of specialized scientists and clergymen present, and some impossible circumstances he insisted were essential. Mr. Giovannelli was answered several times. I told him that when I put up my money, I make the rules. He responded by claiming my prize money by default. This behavior makes no sense by normal standards, but in paranormal terms it is quite logical. Piero Angela warned me not to say anything about this man, since he would use it in some way out of context. Well, let him try this: Michele Giovannelli has offered to do the usual nutty run of demonstrations that are the stock-in-trade of the "psychics." If he can do so, let him stop talking and get on with it. He says, for example, that he can tell me the color of a book just by feeling its surface. Okay, Michele, do it to a statistically significant degree, and I'll hand you the check for $10,000. But—and this goes for the dozens of other "psychics" who have been filling my files with endless correspondence and no action—get on with it. I have put my money where my mouth is. You can ask no more.
The challenge is clear: Put up or shut up.
Epilogue
The tumbrels now stand empty but ready for another trip to the square. Candidates seem to be in endless supply. As for my readers, of whatever opinion they may be, my writing of this book was dictated by a feeling that I had to tell what is here revealed. I believe every word of it to be true and you have read what I believe to be adequate proof. Parapsychology is a farce and a delusion, along with other claims of wonders and powers that assail us every day of our lives. Knowing what I do, and holding the opinions that I do, has not made this world any the less exciting and wonderful and challenging for me, nor should it for you. On the contrary, to know that you are an individual not put here for some mysterious reason by some supernatural means, and that you are not protected by unknown powers or beings; to know that you are a product of millions of experiments in the evolutionary