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This Week
Banachek - Mentalism and Skepticism
November 13, 2009
Banachek is an American mentalist and skeptic. He has written numerous
books and invented various magic and mentalism effects, and is often
sought out by top entertainers such as David Blaine, Lance Burton, James
Randi and Criss Angel. He has been the recipient of a number of awards
and recognitions, including the Dave Lederman Memorial Award (Awarded
for Creativity in Mentalism) and the Dunninger Memorial Award (Awarded
for Distinguished Professionalism in the Performance of Mentalism), both
awarded by the Psychic Entertainers Association, as well as the College
Campus Novelty Act of the Year, and the Entertainer of the Year on two
occasions, all awarded by the Association for the Promotion of Campus
Activities. He is renowned for fooling scientists at Washington
University into believing that his supposed psychic abilities were
genuine during the Project Alpha hoax in the early 1980s. In 2009, he
conducted a preliminary test of psychic claimant Connie Sonne's dowsing
ability for the James Randi Educational Foundation's Million Dollar
Challenge that was witnessed by hundreds in person at The Amazing
Meeting 7 in Las Vegas, NV.
In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Banachek recounts his origins as a
mentalist in South Africa, including how James Randi's books influenced
the development of his worldview. He talks about his involvement
helping develop Penn and Teller's bullet catch, the current finale to
their Las Vegas show. He describes his role in Project Alpha, and
explores to what extent he thinks the researchers involved were aware of
his and his colleague's deceptions. He details the role that magicians
and mentalists may play in informing the public about psychic and other
paranormal claims, and describes the virtues of being an open-minded
skeptic as opposed to a "debunker." He talks about his role n the James
Randi Educational Foundation's Million Dollar Challenge, and recounts
his preliminary testing of Connie Sonne's dowsing ability in front of a
live audience at The Amazing Meeting 7, in Las Vegas in 2009.
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