Discovery Channel
Secrets Of The Super Psychics

Even this show, which featured James Randi and Ray Hyman, two stalwarts of the skeptic community, was polluted by the credulousness and suspension of disbelief of the Discovery Channel. Despite the exposure of the various methods of spiritualism hoaxing, cheating on parapsychological tests, and the reiteration of the 1.1 million dollar challenge, the program's editing and subtext were still that of that belief in the supernatural which characterizes all Discovery and TLC shows dealing with popular delusions. I can appreciate the willingness of Randi and Hyman to submit to this in order to get their message out, but this program should and could have come right out at the beginning to say "any skillful magician could replicate the results of any spiritualist or parapsychologist given the time and opportunity to examine the alleged acts". Even the flawed experiments of J B Rhine at Duke were given a measure of credibilty by the "on the one hand, on the other hand" presentation. It is not possible to give a balanced look at the hoax perpetrators and gullible believers, because there isn't anything ON that other side.

The pretensions of the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel in the area of popularization and explanation of what should be science subjects are constantly exposed and undermined by their willingness to present the most extreme and impossible views at face value and without any attempt to present the real science, or to present the lack of any credentials whatsoever of the various wackos who spout nonsense about "Faces On Mars", "UFOs", "Atlantis" and other nonsense.

Yes, the government has secret airplanes.

Yes, there is some evidence of unknown old civilizations.

Yes, people have very strange experiences.

But, can't the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel present real physics, real archeology, and real psychology in an interesting and communicative manner that evokes the response "so that's what it is" instead of "wow, that guy on late night radio is right, there are ghosts, there is magic, there are alien beings......."

It was very amusing to me to see the same shrewd publicity seeker who claims to have worked at "Area 51" and was featured on a UFO show on TLC, suddenly appear on my screen in the middle of a show called "Desert Blast 1998" or something similar, and be instantly exposed as one of those desert rat characters almost everyone in California has met at some time or another.

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