SGU Episode 61 - Revision history

Hearmepurr: episode done

2023-11-01T05:57:59Z

episode done

Av8rmike: Add Randi Speaks segment

2015-02-15T15:14:33Z

Add Randi Speaks segment

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	== Randi Speaks <small>(1:01:58)</small> ==		== Randi Speaks <small>(1:01:58)</small> ==
	* The Uncompromising Observations of a Veteran Skeptic. Each week, beginning with this debut segment, James Randi gives a skeptical commentary in his own unique style. This week's topic: Exorcism		* The Uncompromising Observations of a Veteran Skeptic. Each week, beginning with this debut segment, James Randi gives a skeptical commentary in his own unique style. This week's topic: Exorcism

			S: Well, now it's time for the first installment of Randi's new segment on our show, which he calls "Randi Speaks".

			JR: Hello, this is James Randi speaking. I'm... rather fascinated with the subject of exorcism; I hope that some of you may have an interest in it, too, as the latest thing to take the fancy of the naive. I've just heard through ''{{w\|The Hollywood Reporter}}'' that CBS has given a pilot commitment to an exorcism-themed drama from the creator of ''{{w\|Joan of Arcadia}}'', {{w\|Barbara Hall (TV producer)\|Barbara Hall}} and producer {{w\|Joe Roth}}. The project, they say, is inspired by the real-life experiences of {{w\|Bob Larson}}, an expert on cults, the occult, and supernatural phenomenon. Oh, come on. It continues, "through his ministry, Larson teaches the principles of spiritual freedom and the many ways that demons attack human beings." Well, I needn't go on on that. It's crap from end to end and obviously these people are embracing it. Well, I just did some re-figuring, because my good friend Klaus Larsen in Denmark sent me a note saying that some of my figures were wrong on a recent entry. I just did a piece on {{w\|Gabriele Amorth\|Father Amorth}}, who is the Vatican-approved official exorcist of that prestigious organization. I said there that he had claimed he had done 30,000 exorcisms in his 80-odd years or so. Well, turns out that that's wrong. The Vatican officially claims that he has done 40,000 since 1984, which gives him even more impressive rate of success, if any of them do work, and I've yet to see any evidence of that. That would mean that he'd have to do something like 15 a day, and if you saw the film ''{{w\|The Exorcist (film)\|The Exorcist}}'', you would know that they—they take a long time to do. This is a very busy man, to say the least, or someone, somewhere along the line, is lying. Is that possible? Do you think? It may be. A good comment from a reader of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' says, "Oh, my. Where to start on this one? CBS was once known as the {{w\|Cadillac}} of television networks." Well, I don't know when that was ever said, but nonetheless: "How they could have somehow missed the dozens of TV, magazine, and newspaper exposés of this con man"—and he's speaking about Bob Larson now—"for the devil is simply more supernatural than anything Larson proposes to have encountered on his incredibly bogus television show, and that it invokes the spirits of {{w\|Walter Cronkite}}, {{w\|William S. Paley}}, and {{w\|Edward R. Murrow}}, hoping that they would forever haunt the halls of CBS." I think that's an excellent idea. Oh, by the way, producer Joe Roth is experienced in this field. We wouldn't want you to think that he doesn't have any expertise; after all, he is the executive producer of the 1990 feature film ''{{w\|The Exorcist III}}'', so he obviously knows about these matters. Right? I ask you, if you will, go to Google and look up Bob Larson. I think you'll have quite a revelation there when you see all the scams this man has worked over the years, but CBS doesn't seem to care. Do they? I just hope—sincerely hope—that this isn't the beginning of a whole range of television programs that's gonna be based on exorcism. Otherwise, we're gonna see people vomiting pea soup left and right and all the other charming things that were done in ''The Exorcist'' films. Regardless of what CBS eventually does on this—after all, it is only a pilot commitment so far—we can be very sure that the Vatican will continue with its very profitable business of exorcisms. After all, without demons to get rid of, where would their business be? They'd just be selling, oh, rather cheap wine and bread on a Sunday, and not much bread at that, because I've seen what they serve out during the mass. I don't know how else they would make money. Maybe they'd have to get real work and real jobs. We couldn't really expect that now, could we? After all, this is the church, where you're not supposed to really do anything. But you wear funny dresses and funny hats and you walk around and throw water over people in the audience. I don't know; I think I missed my calling. I can wear a funny hat, too, and on occasion, I've proven it. But I don't think people would pay to see me walking around and throwing water on them. This is James Randi.

	== Science or Fiction <small>(1:07:05)</small> ==		== Science or Fiction <small>(1:07:05)</small> ==

Av8rmike: Remove notes link, use episode number, clean up info box

2013-08-29T23:20:55Z

Remove notes link, use episode number, clean up info box

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	{{InfoBox		{{InfoBox
	\|~~episodeTitle~~ = ~~SGU Episode~~ 61		\|episodeNum = 61
	\|episodeDate = 20<sup>th</sup> September 2012 ~~<!-- broadcast date -->~~		\|episodeDate = 20<sup>th</sup> September 2012
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	~~\|notesLink = http://www.theskepticsguide.org/archive/podcastinfo.aspx?mid=1&pid=61~~
	\|forumLink = http://sguforums.com/index.php/topic,404.0.html		\|forumLink = http://sguforums.com/index.php/topic,404.0.html
	\|qowText = Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work. ~~<!-- add quote of the week text-->~~		\|qowText = Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work.
	\|qowAuthor = [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi James Randi] ~~<!-- add author and link -->~~		\|qowAuthor = [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi James Randi]
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Av8rmike: Doesn't need formatting

2013-04-06T14:14:50Z

Doesn't need formatting

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Teleuteskitty: updated 'edit req', formatted links

2012-12-29T18:53:19Z

updated 'edit req', formatted links

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	== News Items ==		== News Items ==
	=== Randi to join Skeptics Guide <small>(0:39)</small>===		=== Randi to join Skeptics Guide <small>(0:39)</small>===
	* James Randi will be contributing a weekly segment to the Skeptics Guide called "Randi Speaks."		* James Randi will be contributing a weekly segment to the Skeptics Guide called "[[:Category:Randi_Speaks\|Randi Speaks]]"

	=== Men more intelligent than women? <small>(6:29)</small>===		=== Men more intelligent than women? <small>(6:29)</small>===
	* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-405056/Men-intelligent-women-claims-new-study.html Men more intelligent than women?] ~~Yet~~ [http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/womcolge.htm Women Outpace Men in College Degrees]		[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-405056/Men-intelligent-women-claims-new-study.html DailyMail: Men are more intelligent than women, claims new study]

			[http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/womcolge.htm Ohio State Research: Women Outpace Men in College Degrees]

	S: One very sensational news item that has been talked about quite a bit I think in the last week is an article published in the Daily Mail that claims that men are more intelligent than women Rebecca, I'm sure...		S: One very sensational news item that has been talked about quite a bit I think in the last week is an article published in the Daily Mail that claims that men are more intelligent than women Rebecca, I'm sure...
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	=== Pastor accused of rape <small>(19:41)</small>===		=== Pastor accused of rape <small>(19:41)</small>===
	* [http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_21237465.shtml Woman Charges Pastor with Two Rapes During Exorcism]		<!-- link broken [http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_21237465.shtml Woman Charges Pastor with Two Rapes During Exorcism] -->

	== Interview with Phil Plait <small>(22:36)</small>==		== Interview with Phil Plait <small>(22:36)</small>==
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	<blockquote>Thought this might make an interesting topic for you:		<blockquote>Thought this might make an interesting topic for you:

	http://~~environment~~.guardian.co.uk/~~climatechange~~/~~story~~/~~0,,1875762,00~~.~~html~~		[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/19/ethicalliving.g2 Guardian: The Denial Industry]

	Dave Machin</blockquote>		Dave Machin</blockquote>
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	<references/>		<references/>

	{{Navigation}} ~~<!-- inserts images that link to the previous and next episode pages -->~~		{{Navigation}}

Rwh86: typo

2012-11-05T18:00:55Z

typo

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	J: That's a good point, I due agree that there's a bias involved here.		J: That's a good point, I due agree that there's a bias involved here.

	S: It's poor thinking, which makes you suspect that there's a bias, sure. Interesting there's a couple of other issues that came out in the past week along the same lines. There was research also published that shows that women are still consistently outperforming men academically, at least up to the bachelor's level. This is a report from Claudia Buchmann, she's an associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University. And what they found basically is that better grades and more incentives explain why women are outpacing men in college degrees, this did not look at post-graduate, or the highest echelons of academic achievement, just at the bachelor level. In 2004, women received 58% of all bachelor's degrees in the United States compared with only 35% in 1960, so in the last 44 years, women have basically outpaced men numerically in achieving academic achievement. And that dovetails with other studies which show that basically women have better academic, school, classroom skills than guys do. They're better organised, they're more motivated, they're less distracted by the kinds of things that boys are distracted by, they mature faster which helps them in school-age. One complexity in that is that maybe eventually guys catch up because women just mature in these respects quicker. But they don't catch up by college-age. Now I further noticed, and this is something that you ~~blob~~ about, Rebecca...		S: It's poor thinking, which makes you suspect that there's a bias, sure. Interesting there's a couple of other issues that came out in the past week along the same lines. There was research also published that shows that women are still consistently outperforming men academically, at least up to the bachelor's level. This is a report from Claudia Buchmann, she's an associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University. And what they found basically is that better grades and more incentives explain why women are outpacing men in college degrees, this did not look at post-graduate, or the highest echelons of academic achievement, just at the bachelor level. In 2004, women received 58% of all bachelor's degrees in the United States compared with only 35% in 1960, so in the last 44 years, women have basically outpaced men numerically in achieving academic achievement. And that dovetails with other studies which show that basically women have better academic, school, classroom skills than guys do. They're better organised, they're more motivated, they're less distracted by the kinds of things that boys are distracted by, they mature faster which helps them in school-age. One complexity in that is that maybe eventually guys catch up because women just mature in these respects quicker. But they don't catch up by college-age. Now I further noticed, and this is something that you blog about, Rebecca...

	R: Yeah.		R: Yeah.

Rwh86: /* Men more intelligent than women? (6:29) */ typo

2012-11-04T12:00:23Z

Men more intelligent than women? (6:29): typo

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	R: You know, I really don't even see how this needs comment because it's just so absurd, it's so poorly thought out and done that it's, that's my position on this, it is just stupid. It could only have been thought of by a man.		R: You know, I really don't even see how this needs comment because it's just so absurd, it's so poorly thought out and done that it's, that's my position on this, it is just stupid. It could only have been thought of by a man.

	S: Indulge my while I investigate this a little more deeply. Basically he is claiming that his statistics show that men have a 3.65 point higher IQ on average than women. Now the main weakness of this entire approach is that IQ, although, not without any meaning, is a very, very complex concept. The very concept of intelligence is very abstract and complex. It begs the question, "what is intelligence?" It's obviously no one thing, it's many, many things. What exactly are you going to measure as intelligence? We actually can't directly measure any neurological, biological function that is intelligence.		S: Indulge me while I investigate this a little more deeply. Basically he is claiming that his statistics show that men have a 3.65 point higher IQ on average than women. Now the main weakness of this entire approach is that IQ, although, not without any meaning, is a very, very complex concept. The very concept of intelligence is very abstract and complex. It begs the question, "what is intelligence?" It's obviously no one thing, it's many, many things. What exactly are you going to measure as intelligence? We actually can't directly measure any neurological, biological function that is intelligence.

	P: What is IQ alleged to be?		P: What is IQ alleged to be?

Rwh86: /* Men more intelligent than women? (6:29) */ done

2012-11-04T11:56:43Z

Men more intelligent than women? (6:29): done

Show changes

Rwh86: added times

2012-11-04T10:59:37Z

added times

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	== Introduction ==		== Introduction ==
	''You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.''		''You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.''

	~~== This Day in Skepticism <small>()</small> ==~~

	== News Items ==		== News Items ==
			=== Randi to join Skeptics Guide <small>(0:39)</small>===
	=== Randi to join Skeptics Guide <small>()</small>===
	* James Randi will be contributing a weekly segment to the Skeptics Guide called "Randi Speaks."		* James Randi will be contributing a weekly segment to the Skeptics Guide called "Randi Speaks."

	=== Men more intelligent than women? <small>()</small>===		=== Men more intelligent than women? <small>(6:29)</small>===
	* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405056&in_page_id=1770 Men more intelligent than women?] (link no longer works). Yet [http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/womcolge.htm Women Outpace Men in College Degrees]		* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405056&in_page_id=1770 Men more intelligent than women?] (link no longer works). Yet [http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/womcolge.htm Women Outpace Men in College Degrees]

	===Pastor accused of rape<small>()</small>===		=== Pastor accused of rape <small>(19:41)</small>===
	* [http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_21237465.shtml Woman Charges Pastor with Two Rapes During Exorcism]		* [http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_21237465.shtml Woman Charges Pastor with Two Rapes During Exorcism]

	~~== Who's That Noisy? <small>()</small>==~~		== Interview with Phil Plait <small>(22:36)</small>==

	== Interview with Phil Plait <small>()</small>==
	* The Bad Astronomer joins us to discuss the new naming of UB313(Xena) as Eris, the whole planet definition hubbub, and other astronomical news. Article about Eris and its moon Dysnomia: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/		* The Bad Astronomer joins us to discuss the new naming of UB313(Xena) as Eris, the whole planet definition hubbub, and other astronomical news. Article about Eris and its moon Dysnomia: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/

	== Questions and Emails ==		== Questions and Emails ==
			=== OBE's and Lucid Dreaming <small>(43:25)</small>===
	=== OBE's and Lucid Dreaming <small>()</small>===
	<blockquote>Hi guys.		<blockquote>Hi guys.

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	South Africa</blockquote>		South Africa</blockquote>

	=== More 9/11 nonsense <small>()</small>===		=== More 9/11 nonsense <small>(52:36)</small>===
	<blockquote>So I've been browsing the web and i've found a theory that I haven't heard before, that israel (or the jews) did the world trade center (9/11). They offer as evidence that not a single jew died in the attack, and a cubic time theory, have you heard this one? And what do you think about it?		<blockquote>So I've been browsing the web and i've found a theory that I haven't heard before, that israel (or the jews) did the world trade center (9/11). They offer as evidence that not a single jew died in the attack, and a cubic time theory, have you heard this one? And what do you think about it?
	Gary Adair		Gary Adair
	California</blockquote>		California</blockquote>

	Cubic time theory: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube		Cubic time theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube
	~~The Denial Industry Thought this might make an interesting topic for you:~~

	~~environment.guardian.co.uk~~/~~climatechange/story/0,,1875762,00.html~~		=== The Denial Industry <small>(58:34)</small>===
			<blockquote>Thought this might make an interesting topic for you:

	~~Dave Machin~~		http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1875762,00.html

	== Randi Speaks <small>()</small> ==		Dave Machin</blockquote>

			== Randi Speaks <small>(1:01:58)</small> ==
	* The Uncompromising Observations of a Veteran Skeptic. Each week, beginning with this debut segment, James Randi gives a skeptical commentary in his own unique style. This week's topic: Exorcism		* The Uncompromising Observations of a Veteran Skeptic. Each week, beginning with this debut segment, James Randi gives a skeptical commentary in his own unique style. This week's topic: Exorcism

	== Science or Fiction <small>()</small> ==		== Science or Fiction <small>(1:07:05)</small> ==

	S: Question number one. The Cassini probe to Saturn has discovered a new ring around Saturn, but more significantly this new ring is rotating in the opposite direction of Saturn's rotation. Question number two. Canadian study shows that women who have breast... And question number three. In a newly published survey, 10% of men who describe themselves as "straight" also reported having sex with a man within the last year.		S: Question number one. The Cassini probe to Saturn has discovered a new ring around Saturn, but more significantly this new ring is rotating in the opposite direction of Saturn's rotation. Question number two. Canadian study shows that women who have breast... And question number three. In a newly published survey, 10% of men who describe themselves as "straight" also reported having sex with a man within the last year.

	== Skeptical Puzzle <small>()</small> ==		== Skeptical Puzzle <small>(1:14:24)</small> ==
	Last week's Puzzle:		Last week's Puzzle:

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	Port Ludlow, Washington		Port Ludlow, Washington

	== Skeptical Quote of the Week <small>()</small> ==		== Skeptical Quote of the Week <small>(1:17:04)</small> ==
	<blockquote>Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work.</blockquote>		<blockquote>Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work.</blockquote>

	J: James Randi!		B: James Randi!

	~~== Announcements <small>()</small> ==~~

	{{Outro61}}		{{Outro61}}

Rwh86: added skeleton, merged show notes

2012-11-04T10:38:02Z

added skeleton, merged show notes

New page

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{{InfoBox
|episodeTitle = SGU Episode 61
|episodeDate = 20th September 2012 
|episodeIcon = File:RANDI2.jpg 
|previous = 
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|guest1 = JR: James Randi 
|guest2 = 
|guest3 = 
|downloadLink = http://media.libsyn.com/media/skepticsguide/skepticast2006-09-20.mp3
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|qowText = Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work. 
|qowAuthor = [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi James Randi] 
|}}

== Introduction ==
''You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.''

== This Day in Skepticism () ==

== News Items ==

=== Randi to join Skeptics Guide ()===
* James Randi will be contributing a weekly segment to the Skeptics Guide called "Randi Speaks."

=== Men more intelligent than women? ()===
* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405056&in_page_id=1770 Men more intelligent than women?] (link no longer works). Yet [http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/womcolge.htm Women Outpace Men in College Degrees]

===Pastor accused of rape()===
* [http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_21237465.shtml Woman Charges Pastor with Two Rapes During Exorcism]

== Who's That Noisy? ()==

== Interview with Phil Plait ()==
* The Bad Astronomer joins us to discuss the new naming of UB313(Xena) as Eris, the whole planet definition hubbub, and other astronomical news. Article about Eris and its moon Dysnomia: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/

== Questions and Emails ==

=== OBE's and Lucid Dreaming ()===
<blockquote>Hi guys.

Love the show.

I have a question concerning out of body experiences. I have had two experiences with OBE's, one was when I was seriously ill with malaria, yes I was having really disturbing hallucinations, but at one point during the illness I had a very tranquil and lucid episode. When I opened my eyes the ceiling was about half a meter from my face, and when I turned around I saw myself lying in the bed beneath me. Obviously this gave me a fright
and caused me to go back into my now uncontrollably shivering body. The second case was when while sleeping I sat up in bed and turned around to still see my body there sleeping.

Now I don't believe in a soul or any supernatural occurences, but I was wondering what natural explanation could there be. Possibly lucid dreaming? or am I just nuts? (that another story involving mercury poisoning)

Thanks again for the best podcast on the net.

Oh before I forget monkey's rule!! and Rebecca gets another marriage proposal.

Thanks
Hamish Law
South Africa</blockquote>

=== More 9/11 nonsense ()===
<blockquote>So I've been browsing the web and i've found a theory that I haven't heard before, that israel (or the jews) did the world trade center (9/11). They offer as evidence that not a single jew died in the attack, and a cubic time theory, have you heard this one? And what do you think about it?
Gary Adair
California</blockquote>

Cubic time theory: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube
The Denial Industry Thought this might make an interesting topic for you:

environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1875762,00.html

Dave Machin

== Randi Speaks () ==
* The Uncompromising Observations of a Veteran Skeptic. Each week, beginning with this debut segment, James Randi gives a skeptical commentary in his own unique style. This week's topic: Exorcism

== Science or Fiction () ==

S: Question number one. The Cassini probe to Saturn has discovered a new ring around Saturn, but more significantly this new ring is rotating in the opposite direction of Saturn's rotation. Question number two. Canadian study shows that women who have breast... And question number three. In a newly published survey, 10% of men who describe themselves as "straight" also reported having sex with a man within the last year.

== Skeptical Puzzle () ==
Last week's Puzzle:

You meet a woman and ask her if she has any children. She replies, "two." You ask if she has any sons and she says, "yes." So now you know she has exactly two children and at least one of them is a boy. What is the probability that her other child is also a boy, and therefore that she has two sons?

Answer: 1/3 (or maybe 1/2 - see the forums for a lively discussion on this puzzle)

New Puzzle:

To use a marine lock, like those of the Panama Canal, a boat enters the lock and the gates are closed. Water is then allowed to flow into (or out of) the lock to raise (or lower) the boat to a new level. Consider two different boats cycling through the lock: a cruise ship which barely fits into the lock and a kayak. Which requires more water to flow into or out of the lock to cycle the vessel to the new level?

Alden Johnson
Port Ludlow, Washington

== Skeptical Quote of the Week () ==
<blockquote>Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work.</blockquote>

J: James Randi!

== Announcements () ==

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== References ==
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