Re: JREF - Million Dollar Challenge
Well, good points guys, Harte and Keroscene. Well, I've heard that around a handful of people who claimed they tried to take up ol' Randi on his contest, according to them were met with ridiculous circumstances. I'll take these people's word for it, they said it was a joke to try to take him up on his offer, so no one bothers after a while I assume. So apparently whoever is in his group, I'm certain they are likely staunch skeptics who value their "opinions" just as much as Randi. If there is an ounce of truth in what these people have shared about their attempts, then Randi's little JREF program seems pretty much like a joke. Which Randi may subconsciously be backing up when I've seen him on TV discussing it, he is always laughing about it, so it must be a joke, right?
People still, even with all of Einsteins promotion to almost god like status today, still question his theories, which there is likely nothing wrong with questioning. I'm certain that in the early days he was questioned even more and likely scoffed at my most due to it being so beyond their current personal perception. I really don't think that even the greatest minds had it all figured out, and my personal belief is that anyone that thinks that they do or we do, is kidding themselves. But it is hard to see past our own personal perception, especially if it feels good to think we have no need to do so. It seems that most of Tesla's ideas were scoffed at, his ideas were taken and profited by, from many people. It is debateable what their motive was, but likely it was fame and fortune, and it seems that profits was the name of the game. Tesla's greatest accomplishments likely never saw the light of day, and probably still haven't. Is there really any doubt today that Tesla was virtually wiped from our consciousness? Most people don't even know who he is, never heard of him. Doesn't seem he is promoted in our school textbooks, then to find out the man was inventing tons of stuff, that those same textbooks give credit to others for. I wouldn't doubt that he was said to be not a great business man, likely he was too nice of a guy to be the shrewd business man, so I guess he was just taken advantage of. But of course to be looked up to in our society generally is more about how much money you make, from being an ass to people than how good of a person your are at heart. Once again things don't change much. Value always seems to be more in the monetary column or what is promoted to society, than the heart and soul, guess it must be human nature.
I just don't see how people expect us to advance ourselves much, with a fairly closed mind. But, to each his own. I won't dance on someone's free will, it is their life. After all you can lead a horse to water, you can't make him drink. You can only hope to plant a seed in someone's mind, and hope that one day it grows. With, some you might as well plant their head in the sand, as that seed.
There is a lot more going on around us and within us than what is deemed as common knowledge and then acknowledged by "science". A lot was going on in my personal life, that I wished to pass off as "weird", or "coincidence", or "that's just not possible", until I expanded my awareness and paid true attention to what was going on. At some point it got to such a regularity of it happening to where it becomes obvious, that it "is" happening. When you learn to pay attention to it, it's not just a now and then occurence. Funny, then to find out it is happening to millions of others, yet still according to what could be deemed "the public view", it isn't possible. Well, tell that to the millions that live it in their lives over the years.
Could I, or others "prove" it to James Randi? I seriously doubt it, not because it doesn't happen, just as these people are saying that it does, but likely because Randi, would choose to still not believe it. At some point why waste our time, with closed minds? They already know the truth, so no need to consider another point of view. Ever notice how those types don't really listen, and they laugh a lot, and scoff, and belittle? Of course they want respect, which all of us do, nice if they could keep that in mind, but it seems to be easier for them to just laugh and belittle. Funny how many seem to follow these same guidelines. Instead of listening, and pondering, researching from angles outside of their own common beliefs.
I was once a staunch, left brain, analytical, logical, rational thinker, and made excuses for things that were going on in my life and others claims, for years, but those "rational" ways of thinking just didn't make sense with some things. I choose now to take a broader view. You finally see that something well beyond what is supposed to be reality, is going on. Unfortunately our innate need to "fit in" with the viewpoint of what we "believe" is the general view constantly takes over. All I did was pass off some incredible things, that I should have considered more, but I continued to follow the belief system of the day.
In my personal opinion the only way to find what is truly possible is to look at things with all perceptional viewpoints considered, and considered strongly, instead of the view of "well that just can't happen", which is a narrow perceptional field of view any way you slice and dice it. Otherwise we might as well live on a flat Earth hadn't we?
I think history has proven well, that the majority of the greatest thinkers of their day, were made fun of and their theories thought impossible. Most of these until after their deaths, and then their genius was generally realized. Heck from what we are told about earlier progressive minds, they had to keep their beliefs a secret, to keep from being beheaded, or hung, murdered, threatened or locked up, for what went against the common beliefs of the day and often the church or religions. Nothing like persecution for your beliefs Is it really any surprise that things haven't really changed that much? It seems to be a constant in human nature. In my opinion we continue to hold ourselves back with our conditioned belief systems.
