CARINA LANDIN, Swedish Friend of the DEAD

Greetings Sven,

Thanks for getting back to us about the Carina Landin application.

YES we would certainly need to see (and approve) the final test protocol once you have it finalized.

Thanks so much for putting so much effort, for so long a time, into this paranormal claim.

-Kramer, JREF

From the Desk of James Randi

Some suggestions, Sven: give her the 20 diaries, merely telling her that “some” were from men, “some” from women, but don’t say, half-and-half. That way, each one is an independent test. I’d say you should avoid using any diaries that are pink, or pastel colors. Those would be too easy!

She may refuse to have them sealed up, however, saying that she has to physically touch them. If you mean by the word “sealed” only that they cannot be opened, but not “sealed” in plastic – for example – that would not allow her to give that excuse. Also, you might use some furniture polish on the table where she will be seated, immediately before the test. That would “mask” any other odor she might obtain from any book.

Give her ZERO feedback as the test is done; all diaries must be guessed, before ANY results are revealed.

Also, be sure that NO ONE present knows the ownership of ANY of the diaries. They should be identified by removable numbered stickers, the numbers being arrived at randomly.

The entire procedure must be videotaped, without ANY stopping of the tape, from beginning to end – starting the moment she enters the room, and recording ALL comments she makes, until after she leaves. They love to say that there were additional comments, but this way EVERYTHING is on record.

Get her to state, firmly, and sign a document, that she is confident that she can do this. They like to say “I’ve never done this before, but I’ll try” – which gives them an escape when they fail. Get the agreement in writing, in advance, stating that (a) she feels able to do the task at this time, (b) that she is feeling well, (c) that there are no disturbing electronic devices or influences, etc., etc.

When I’ve done similar tests in the past, if the psychic expresses ANY doubt about the validity of the test, or comments about the conditions (light, temperature, dampness, altitude, etc.) I have always cancelled it immediately and said that we’ll do it at another time when conditions are perfect, not before. That changes their mind, immediately!

Each diary must be identified as belonging either to a man or a woman, by BIOLOGICAL definition. With these gender guesses, they like to say, “A man, but with feminine traits.” Or, “A woman, but a strong leader who could have been a man.” Nothing like that allowed!

Be sure that none of the observers – from the library, for example – gives ANY feedback or suggestions. They should be BEHIND Landin, not seen by her.

James Randi.

There has been some strong debate surrounding the fact that the ratio of male to female diaries has been determined to be 10:10. Also disturbing is the notion that Ms. Landin is aware of this ratio. Clearly, in order for the test to be properly Double-Blinded, neither Ms. Landin nor Mr. Hansson can know how many diaries were written by females, and how many were written by males.

As regards this issue, I have sent the following email to Sven Hansson:

==========================================================

Hello Sven,

I think there is a very simple solution to this problem. We need to alter the protocol slightly in order for the test to be truly Double-Blinded.

The number of male vs. female diaries must be determined randomly, and once that determination has been arrived at, neither yourself nor Ms. Landin can know the ratio of male to female diaries. Simple solution, I think. Do you agree?

Challenge Is On

The challenge is taking place right now. There is a news article in Swedish at http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_13920127.asp reporting on it.

I don't have a full translation to offer, I'm afraid.

This challenge was set up by Kramer many months ago, with a Swedish skeptics group. The JREF was unaware that it was taking place today.

However, the group running the challenge is authorized to conduct this preliminary challenge. We'll let you know the results as soon as we have them.

Challenge Results

Test Results - FAILED

Carina Landin was tested today at the archives of Nordiska Museet, a Stockholm museum for history and folklore. Initial reports indicate that she failed the challenge by correctly identifying the sex of only 12 of the 20 books she was presented with.

Ms. Landin was very cooperative and eas to work with. After the test, she was concerned that two of the books were older than what she had asked for. She has been given access to the history of the diaries to verify their authenticity.

It is the conclusion of the testers that having failed the preliminary challenge, further testing is unwarranted.

Challenge Under Review

We've now learned that the protocol might not have been followed properly by the testers. It seems that some of the diaries were older than was stipulated by the claimant's protocol.

We're reviewing this now, and may have to cancel these results and re-run the challenge.

The Swedish Skeptics have agreed to re-test Ms. Landin's claims, with the help of the JREF to provide a protocol.

Ms. Landin has suggested using rings as her target items. Unfortunately, the rings would have to be known to have been worn often by their owners.

We have begun correspondence with Ms. Landin regarding a possible re-run of the diary test involving more diaries of the time period she specified.

If Ms. Landin agrees to using diaries again, we will be on the lookout for diaries. If you have one, or know someone who does, please seek them out and stand by for more information.

Ms. Landin has written and said that she will be able to use letters from deceased persons rather than journals.

If you have a letter that you would like to offer for this Challenge (keeping in mind that it will be shipped overseas and out of the JREF's care), please e-mail [email protected] with the subject line "Carina Landin Letters" and let me know as many details about the letter you have as possible, including length, age, who it is from, how old they were, and the date that they died, who it is to, whether or not you have the envelope, and whether it is in delicate condition or not.

Ms. Landin has now stated that she will be able to use letters written by living individuals for the test.

The letters must fit the following qualifications:

They must have been written within the past ten years.
The person who wrote them must still be alive.
The person who wrote them must be at least eighteen years of age.
The letters must correspond roughly to A4 letter size.

Do you have a letter to donate? The letters used should be on subjects the sender found important. So, no letters from bill collectors. Personal letters.

If you would like to potentially send in a letter for the test, please contact [email protected]

Thanks!

Apparently there was a miscommunication in the last post.

Ms. Landin said the following:

I am going to tell if the writer was a male of a female.
The sender of the letters should not be dead today.

***

When asked for clarification, she said that was incorrect, and a mistake. The sender/writer should be dead, and not have been dead for more than ten years. The *receiver* is the one who must still be alive.

This makes the protocol slightly more difficult, but still potentially workable.

If you have any letters that fit these clarified qualifications, please let us know at [email protected]

The second draft of Ms. Landin's testing protocol is as follows:

Gender Through Psychometry Trials​

Materials required:


At least 20 letters written by deceased individuals, numbered with post-it notes

A plywood barrier with hand-sized holes cut in the middle with curtains across the holes

Pen

Lined Paper


Environment stipulations:

No walkie-talkies or other communicators, aside from those used by testers, within the test.

No cameras, camcorders, camera-phones, etc. except for those provided by JREF.

No sleight-of-hand, trickery, or cheating.

If any of the above listed are violated, or if it is determined the Subject has attempted to tilt the results in his favor due to trickery of any kind, the test will be halted immediately and considered a failure. If there is a setup or technological problem, or if for any reason the test must be halted due to extenuating circumstances rather than trickery, the test may be conducted up to two additional times. However, if the test must be re-started, the same letters cannot be used.


What Will Constitute a Successful Test:

If Ms. Landin is able to identify the gender of the deceased individual who wrote the letters, the test will be considered successful. Ms. Landin must identify 16 out of 20 correctly.


Experimental Protocol:

1. Ms. Landin will sit on one side of the barrier and reach her hands through the holes. She will not be permitted to see through the holes in the barrier, and the wood should be treated with a substance that has a strong odor.

2. Ms. Landin will be permitted to handle the letters, written by deceased individuals. They will be handed to her by a tester, and will be handed in the order of the post-it numbers.

3. Ms. Landin will write down on the piece of lined paper (while observed by a second tester) the gender of the deceased individual who wrote the letter.

4. When Ms. Landin has handled all the letters and written down the gender of all the letter-writers, her answers will be compared to the letters in full view of Ms. Landin.


Stipulations Pertaining to the Letters:

The receiver of the letter and the writer of the letter must be of the same gender.

The letters must be roughly 8.5in.X11in. (or A4 European letter size)

The writer of the letter must have been deceased less than five years.

The letter must not be older than ten years.

The letters must be handwritten.

The letter receiver must still be alive.

The sender and receiver must both be more than eighteen years of age.
All letters must have a corresponding affidavit from the individual who donated it stating the identity, gender, and date of death of the letter’s sender.

There must not be multiple letters from the same deceased individual.
Contact information for the individual who donated the letter must be made available to Ms. Landin.


Time required: No more than three hours