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Well, hello again! Remember me?
I was here just a few minutes ago.
First of all, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's great to be back in Finland again.
Been something like twenty years, since I was here last.
Incredible, but it is still the same country.
Strange sun, and strange dark periods and whatnot.
But that's the way you've always done it,
so I suppose you should continue doing that...
I apologize, first of all.
There is a language barrier here.
I am very edified to know, that most people all through
rest of the world are now speaking english,
which is a great relief to me,
and I'm able to perform for audiences everywhere,
and be understood in my language.
So, I rather apologize for not being
able to address you in your language,
but if you have any problems, you can come after and you can
ask me questions about the things I said, and I hope
you don't all come, but some would be very welcome.
Now, one thing that was not mentioned in the introduction,
was that I have the great privilege of announcing
that I have an asteroid named after me.
This is an asteroid that was named after me in 1996,
and it's called Randi, appropriately.
And it's rather a distinct honor –
I had the privilege, some years ago, when this happened
the privilege of calling my good friend Arthur C. Clarke,
in Sri Lanka, who has now left us, unfortunately,
and I announced to him:
“Arthur, I've had an asteroid named after me
by the International Astronomical Union!”
and he said to me, “Yes, it's quite exciting, isn't it,
I've had one named after me many years ago.”
So, I had the great delight of being able to send him an email,
shortly after that, and I said,
I got a hold of the International Astronomical Union,
and I asked them what the size of your asteroid was,
and they said, oh, about a hundred miles on each side,
I want to tell you Arthur, that my asteroid is 140 miles each side.
My asteroid is bigger than your asteroid!
I don't know whether he took that well or not, come to think of it,
I never head from him again. No, that's not true, I lie.
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, many of you will be wondering,
who are not familiar already with my work,
what is my expertise? I am not a scientist,
I try to be a teacher, in my own way, my amateur way.
I am a magician by trade. That is to say, more correctly,
a conjurer. Someone who approximates the effect
that a magician would be able to perform,
because a magician, by definition, would be someone
who subverts nature, who changes the laws of
the universe, and makes things work differently
from the way they usually do. Now,
as a magician, as a conjurer, more correctly,
as a magician, I do this for purposes of entertainment only.
And one thing I know about my art as a magician,
I know that people make assumptions.
That is to say, if I give them some sort of suggestion,
as a magician on stage, I give them a suggestion,
and if I do it properly and impressingly enough,
they will tend to follow that suggestion.
They will accept what I suggest to them.
Now, you never, as a magician, walk on stage,
and say: “I have here an ordinary deck of cards.”
You never say that, because that gives
the audience the idea: “Ooh, I never thought of that,
maybe that's not an ordinary deck of cards.”
So you never give them that suggestion,
you just allow them to assume it's an ordinary deck of cards.
Now, we all make assumptions!
Oh, I some people sitting here will be going:
“Oh, not me, I don't make assumptions.”
Well, if you don't do some assumptions,
you would be catatonic, you would freeze up.
Now, traffic lights, for example.
I travel all over the world, like I said,
and I can tell that red means stop, and green means go,
and amber means, go like hell!
That's the rule for the road. The rules of the road are
something that you can pretty well depend upon,
but we make a lot of other assumptions, for example:
Now, many many people say: “Oh, I've had a look at James Randi,
and he looks like a regular fellow, with a beautiful beard,
and a handsome chap, and a nice tie,”
and a few things like that. But then if you ask them,
does he wear glasses? Oh yes, he wears glasses.
No, I don't.
These are not glasses. These are just empty frames.
The glasses are actually here, in my pocket someplace,
embedded in my chest, and I now will put them on,
and for the first time, I will see you, as an audience,
Uuugly!
Now, you made the assumption, because I walked out here with
a pair of frames on my face, that there were lenses in them,
and that's an ordinary assumption, that's a regular expected assumption.
But you would be wrong, if you went home and said
that he wore glasses. Until later on in the lecture,
at this point.
But there are other assumptions you've made, as well.
For example, you think that this is a microphone?
It is not, it is a beard trimmer.
You see, you made that automatic assumption, too,
and I will move the microphone around onto my tie, and you'll hear me much better.
I fooled you, see!
Yes, this is a little clearer, isn't muffled by the tie.
I use these two little tricks,
to show that you too can make innocent assumptions.
And you will do it if you're given the chance.
Now, at the James Randi Educational Foundation,
we fight astrology, speaking to the dead,
prophecy (from stock market all the way to hockey scores),
curing illnesses, giving advice on critical matters,
tarot cards to crystal balls, the whole thing,
love and marriage, anything whatsoever.
We give advice on these things,
and the advice is very simple:
It's all nonsense, fraud, impostation, it's a fake!
Now, one thing that I want to discuss with you in detail,
because I think it is very very important,
is the matter of homeopathy.
Now, I'd like to see hands, if someone here has
a brief definition, just a sentence or so, of what homeopathy really is?
Can I see some hands?
Yes, please.
Audience member: “The principle, that more you dilute
a medicine into a pill or some liquid, the more effective it is.”
All right. The gentleman said, the more that you dilute
a medicine down into the form of a pill,
or a liquid, the more effective it is.
Well, that's generally the idea, yes.
But, I'm going to do an experiment right now.
I have, where is the bottle of sleeping pills...?