Another million dollar prize for proof of life after dreath.

wasapi · 9th February 2021, 12:39 PM

read://https_www.folkspaper.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.folkspaper.com%2Ftopic%2Fla s-vegas-millionaire-promises-1-million-to-anyone-who-can-provide-evidence-of-afterlife-5713498392756224.html

He is offering one million dollars for anyone proving that life after death is possible. Sound familiar?

Chanakya · 9th February 2021, 02:03 PM

That's very cool. (I'll read your link, and nose around some more, when I'm back on my computer. Reading from my phone now.)

Pity the JREF MDC got scrapped. Great bang for your buck -- especially since we know that buck will never have to be paid (albeit it will need to be blocked I guess).

shemp · 9th February 2021, 04:53 PM

I'm not convinced there's life before death.

EHocking · 9th February 2021, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by shemp

I'm not convinced there's life before death.

You are literally a (discworld) troll.

Carrot Flower King · 10th February 2021, 10:13 AM

Shirley one of those "I was dead for 20 minutes!" types can get in sharpish and claim the money? I mean they seem fond enough of shouting about having been dead'n'that.

Go for it mateys!

Olmstead · 10th February 2021, 10:21 AM

Not really a skeptics prize. He's convinced life after death exists and just wants some proof of it. Sounds like it would be open to abuse by deceitful parties.

Chanakya · 10th February 2021, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by wasapi

read://https_www.folkspaper.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.folkspaper.com%2Ftopic%2Fla s-vegas-millionaire-promises-1-million-to-anyone-who-can-provide-evidence-of-afterlife-5713498392756224.html

He is offering one million dollars for anyone proving that life after death is possible. Sound familiar?

Just checked this out. And, actually, seems kind of interesting. Not quite Randi's-MDC interesting, but interesting nevertheless. An old rich man starts wondering seriously if there's compelling evidence for an afterlife, and decides to throw what is to him chump change to see if something comes out of it. What's to lose?

He seems to be looking for real evidence. Their website does say that woo woo faith based scriptural mumbo jumbo won't do. So like I said, what's to lose? If their "competition" generates widespread enough interest, this time and also going forward, and if they publish these essays, well then that's getting this stuff out in the open. Much like the MDC (MDC-lite actually, MDC-very-very-lite, given the nature and format of the test here as opposed to the test in the MDC), the very fact that there will (very likely) emerge no evidence, despite several serious tries (if there are indeed several serious tries), would tend towards evidence of absence, right?

Here's the link to their website, incidentally.

Originally Posted by Olmstead

Not really a skeptics prize. He's convinced life after death exists and just wants some proof of it. Sounds like it would be open to abuse by deceitful parties.

You're right, how they'll do their judging seems opaque. Without that, this doesn't really amount to too much. So, doesn't come close to the MDC, as far as actual skepticism.

That said, does it matter what his own general convictions are, as long as what he's looking for here is evidence? (He says he's doing that, or his website does, looking for actual evidence, but again, given that the judging itself is opaque, I don't know. And on the third hand, if at all there are winners here, then those winning entries will be published, so then we can, if we're interested, read and judge for ourselves, so that in that sense their internal judging process is probably moot in any case.)

Also, I don't see how this might be open to abuse by deceitful parties, as you call it. If that judging process is sound, or hell forget judging if they simply publish the winning essays for us to read, then the more the merrier, right? The freaks as well as the deceitful? We can judge for ourselves after all. So if the judges are indeed gullible and/or if that potential "abuse" is in the form of them being taken in, or in the form of them having to go through fraudulent essay after fraudulent essay, I don't see why that should worry us.

In sum, seems interesting. I've bookmarked their website in my "Check out whenever" folder; in a few months' time, if there are one or more winning essays there, I think I'll give them a glance-through to see what that's about. Provided I do, that is: that bookmark folder of mine's full of tons and tons of stuff.

Olmstead · 10th February 2021, 03:01 PM

I don't know. I imagine that "officially proving the existence of the afterlife" would look pretty good on a fraudsters résumé.

He's already arrived at his conclusion without any evidence, i.e. the scientific method has been abandoned right out of the gate, and now he's pretty much just hunting his version of Bigfoot.

P.J. Denyer · 11th February 2021, 07:50 AM

For a million bucks I'll try, as soon as I know what 'dreath' is.

9th February 2021, 12:39 PM	#1
wasapi Penultimate Amazing Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 13,385	Another million dollar prize for proof of life after dreath. read://https_www.folkspaper.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.folkspaper.com%2Ftopic%2Fla s-vegas-millionaire-promises-1-million-to-anyone-who-can-provide-evidence-of-afterlife-5713498392756224.html He is offering one million dollars for anyone proving that life after death is possible. Sound familiar?
	__________________ Julia

9th February 2021, 02:03 PM	#2
Chanakya Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 2,636	That's very cool. (I'll read your link, and nose around some more, when I'm back on my computer. Reading from my phone now.) Pity the JREF MDC got scrapped. Great bang for your buck -- especially since we know that buck will never have to be paid (albeit it will need to be blocked I guess).
Chanakya Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 2,636

9th February 2021, 04:53 PM	#3
shemp a flimsy character...perfidious and despised Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: People's Democratic Republic of Planet X Posts: 40,753	I'm not convinced there's life before death.
	__________________ If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set. "...just as a magnet attracts iron filings, ~~Trump~~ shemp attracts, and is attracted to, louts." - George Will "[shemp is] a most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality." - Shakespeare

9th February 2021, 05:54 PM	#4
EHocking Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,592	Originally Posted by shemp I'm not convinced there's life before death. You are literally a (discworld) troll.
EHocking Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,592	__________________ "A closed mouth gathers no feet" "Ignorance is a renewable resource" P.J.O'Rourke "It's all god's handiwork, there's little quality control applied", Fox26 reporter on Texas granite You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it. Art Buchwald Last edited by EHocking; 9th February 2021 at 05:55 PM.

10th February 2021, 10:21 AM	#6
Olmstead Critical Thinker Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 443	Not really a skeptics prize. He's convinced life after death exists and just wants some proof of it. Sounds like it would be open to abuse by deceitful parties.
Olmstead Critical Thinker Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 443

10th February 2021, 10:13 AM	#5
Carrot Flower King Muse Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Northumberland, UK Posts: 897	Shirley one of those "I was dead for 20 minutes!" types can get in sharpish and claim the money? I mean they seem fond enough of shouting about having been dead'n'that. Go for it mateys!

10th February 2021, 11:39 AM	#7
Chanakya Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 2,636	Originally Posted by wasapi read://https_www.folkspaper.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.folkspaper.com%2Ftopic%2Fla s-vegas-millionaire-promises-1-million-to-anyone-who-can-provide-evidence-of-afterlife-5713498392756224.html He is offering one million dollars for anyone proving that life after death is possible. Sound familiar? Just checked this out. And, actually, seems kind of interesting. Not quite Randi's-MDC interesting, but interesting nevertheless. An old rich man starts wondering seriously if there's compelling evidence for an afterlife, and decides to throw what is to him chump change to see if something comes out of it. What's to lose? He seems to be looking for real evidence. Their website does say that woo woo faith based scriptural mumbo jumbo won't do. So like I said, what's to lose? If their "competition" generates widespread enough interest, this time and also going forward, and if they publish these essays, well then that's getting this stuff out in the open. Much like the MDC (MDC-lite actually, MDC-very-very-lite, given the nature and format of the test here as opposed to the test in the MDC), the very fact that there will (very likely) emerge no evidence, despite several serious tries (if there are indeed several serious tries), would tend towards evidence of absence, right? Here's the link to their website, incidentally. Originally Posted by Olmstead Not really a skeptics prize. He's convinced life after death exists and just wants some proof of it. Sounds like it would be open to abuse by deceitful parties. You're right, how they'll do their judging seems opaque. Without that, this doesn't really amount to too much. So, doesn't come close to the MDC, as far as actual skepticism. That said, does it matter what his own general convictions are, as long as what he's looking for here is evidence? (He says he's doing that, or his website does, looking for actual evidence, but again, given that the judging itself is opaque, I don't know. And on the third hand, if at all there are winners here, then those winning entries will be published, so then we can, if we're interested, read and judge for ourselves, so that in that sense their internal judging process is probably moot in any case.) Also, I don't see how this might be open to abuse by deceitful parties, as you call it. If that judging process is sound, or hell forget judging if they simply publish the winning essays for us to read, then the more the merrier, right? The freaks as well as the deceitful? We can judge for ourselves after all. So if the judges are indeed gullible and/or if that potential "abuse" is in the form of them being taken in, or in the form of them having to go through fraudulent essay after fraudulent essay, I don't see why that should worry us. In sum, seems interesting. I've bookmarked their website in my "Check out whenever" folder; in a few months' time, if there are one or more winning essays there, I think I'll give them a glance-through to see what that's about. Provided I do, that is: that bookmark folder of mine's full of tons and tons of stuff.
Chanakya Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 2,636

10th February 2021, 03:01 PM	#8
Olmstead Critical Thinker Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 443	I don't know. I imagine that "officially proving the existence of the afterlife" would look pretty good on a fraudsters résumé. He's already arrived at his conclusion without any evidence, i.e. the scientific method has been abandoned right out of the gate, and now he's pretty much just hunting his version of Bigfoot.
Olmstead Critical Thinker Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 443

11th February 2021, 07:50 AM	#9
P.J. Denyer Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 7,993	For a million bucks I'll try, as soon as I know what 'dreath' is.
P.J. Denyer Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 7,993	__________________ "I know my brain cannot tell me what to think." - Scorpion "Nebulous means Nebulous" - Adam Hills