Psi phenomena as tricks

Sure I read that part, but I still think skeptics like Randi are needed. Also his challenge is good way to rule out people claiming ESP/PSI who are fake, like the martial arts dude who was faking everything. We have to deal with the fact that 90% or so PSI claims are fake or frauds, and exposing them is needed.

Even if the 90% fraud claim is true (or even just a thumb suck), how do you explain the other 10%?

The problem with "skeptics like Randi", and especially Randi himself, is that fraud is a real problem in their world too. Randi has been caught in lies and unscrupulous methods on several occasions. I've read his defenders claiming that deception is his business (as a stage magician) so hoaxing, etc., is fair game. I believe that is the message of the film about Randi, "A Honest Liar" (although I have not watched it). A journalist wrote a piece on that for the Telegraph which is worth reading (I've posted this before in discussions about Randi but perhaps newer members have not seen it).

James Randi: debunking the king of the debunkers

Again, I apologise if the following link has been posted elsewhere but this article by Greg Taylor of The Daily Grail should be read whenever Randi is discussed because it covers so much of the argument about the man and his methods.

The Myth of James Randi's Million Dollar Challenge

I agree, but accuracy in some cases is striking. It's really high in NDE OBEs when corroborated by medical staff. Also, what is really interesting is that it may be happening during a flat EEG.

The question of flat EEG is really a second strand to the topic. The primary topic of this thread is psi in general. It isn't a requirement that a flat EEG is recorded during for example PK or precognition or telepathy - whichever of the consciousness-related phenomena we are considering. Flat EEG leads potentially into the question of (a) consciousness existing independent of the physical body and (b) survival beyond death (or indeed prior to birth).

There are those who would seek to undermine all examples of PSI since they can thereby invalidate the possibility of any non-material reality. Even a flat EEG would not be relevant in this case - which is why sceptics such as Gerald Woerlee attempt to argue that there are no PSI effects - everything is to be explained in conventional terms.

But still, I think we need to validate PSI in general, across a broad range of scenarios, it isn't simply a matter of arguing for or against survival. What matters is how we live, not how we die. For example how we respond to our intuition, perhaps sometimes how we listen to the voice of our conscience, these things play into how we live, and can be directly interwoven with PSI effects, though we may prefer to name them differently.

One thing I've noticed over recent years, I tend to live a fairly placid and peaceful existence these days - one of the traits of advancing years I suppose, and into this tranquillity I tend to notice any unexpected surge of euphoria, of well-being or an unexpected feeling of pressure or distress. These things can usually, almost invariably be tracked to some sort of interaction with other human beings. What seems to be an inevitable conclusion for me is that we are not isolated, tightly-contained specks operating independently. Rather our consciousness extends without any formal boundary such that I sometimes feel the joys and pains of strangers on the other side of the world, those with whom I have interacted, for better or for worse, via today's online channels.