I don't see a reason to take the skeptic challenges seriously at first glance, but I suppose it gives us a warning that celebrity mediums may not have a consistent enough talent and might be committing fraud.
But if we are asking about prizes then it seems we need to take monetary gain into account...so what about the documented cases where the medium could have gone off to make money but instead worked with organizations like the SPR? IIRC this was the case with Piper for example. The practice of mediumship is also not limited to Spiritualism but is a global phenomena.
Beyond that, I dislike this either-or idea of winning a cash prize according to particular judges. If Bigelow were to do a prize I'd expect to be able to get a score of some kind to let us know whether there was any potential talent there or just outright fraud/delusion.
The reality of mediumship should be judged through rigorous study, but the question of whether a medium is so good they can amass a large degree of wealth might be judged partially by none of them winning a cash prize if said prize was set up fairly.
But if we are asking about prizes then it seems we need to take monetary gain into account...so what about the documented cases where the medium could have gone off to make money but instead worked with organizations like the SPR? IIRC this was the case with Piper for example. The practice of mediumship is also not limited to Spiritualism but is a global phenomena.
Beyond that, I dislike this either-or idea of winning a cash prize according to particular judges. If Bigelow were to do a prize I'd expect to be able to get a score of some kind to let us know whether there was any potential talent there or just outright fraud/delusion.
The reality of mediumship should be judged through rigorous study, but the question of whether a medium is so good they can amass a large degree of wealth might be judged partially by none of them winning a cash prize if said prize was set up fairly.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'
- Bertrand Russell
- Bertrand Russell
![[-]](https://psiencequest.net/forums/images/collapse.png)