Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions - James Randi [25]
14. It is said that the subject cannot produce phenomena on command or on a regular basis, since such abilities are ephemeral and sporadic. Examples: The girls' inability to produce photos on all the supplied plates was excused, and they were not required to account for the missing plates. Ted Serios, who produced "thought photographs" for Dr. Jule Eisenbud a few years back, turned out hundreds upon hundreds of failures over periods of several hours, day after day, before a positive result was found.
15. It is claimed that conditions that make deception possible are also those that allow the miracles to take place, and miracles are the more probable explanation. Examples: Elsie and Frances got pictures only when they were alone, unobserved, and able to make several attempts. Today, Professor John Hasted of Birkbeck College in London tells us that his "psychic children" produce their best wonders when they lock themselves in their own rooms at home and are unseen. Actually, observation of the things they do reveals that they are easily done by perfectly ordinary means.
16. Unless the critics can explain away all the reported details, the residue is considered an irreducible basis for validation. Examples: Although there were many opportunities for fakery in the fairy photo matter, Doyle clung to the good character of the Wright family, the so-called expertise of the photographer Snelling, and the failure of the critics to find any cutouts. Although "prophet" Jeane Dixon has been shown to have lied about her age, to have been wrong in scores of major predictions, and to have censored uncomfortable facts from books about her, when she hits on one of her predictions—a rare event—she is acclaimed as a seer.
17. We are told that subjects do not do well when persons with "negative vibrations" are nearby. Examples: Adults were not allowed to be present when Elsie and Frances took the photos. The excuse was that otherwise the fairies would not appear. But when they sat with Mr. Hodson they attempted no photos, though Hodson "saw" the fairies, too! In modern parapsychology, experimenters insist that only persons with a sympathetic attitude (and who therefore believe in the paranormal) be present. The subjects, too, insist on this. Geller has gone so far as to refuse to perform when I am present.
18. It is claimed that when money is paid for the services of a psychic, or the psychic powers are used to earn money, the powers are defeated. On the other hand—since parapsychologists like to have it both ways—money rewards, they also claim, tend to encourage performance. Examples: Doyle agreed with Gardner that paying the girls for the photos would spoil the whole phenomenon. But Dr. J. B. Rhine, formerly associated with Duke University, said that the reward system has great merit. Then again, we are told that psychics fail at the race track... and so it goes.
19. It is argued that too many controls on an experiment cause negative results. Examples: Gardner thought that trying to witness the photo-taking would "crowd" the girls. He preferred to accept the developed plates from them, even by mail, rather than to impose on them. Professors John Hasted and John Taylor in England refer to many cases in which nothing happened because they watched too closely. When controls were relaxed, lo!—there were wonderful events!
20. Any trickery detected by the investigators may be attributed to the subject's desire to please, and therefore there is a compulsion to cheat. There is no example of this factor in the Cottingley affair. Aside from present evidence, which shows that cheating did take place without question, there was no evidence that