Sceptic wants esp test

- 1 August 1987

The Evening Post, Thursday, October 2, 1986

The battle lines are drawn between sceptic and believer, and $392,000 is at stake.

Former New Zealand Skeptics chairman David Marks and a Wellington man, John Milne, are the contestants.

The recent inaugural New Zealand Skeptics’ conference in Dunedin unveiled an offer of

$160,000 to anyone who could prove extrasensory perception (esp) and $232,000 for demonstration communication with spirits under controlled conditions.

These amounts came from several noted international sceptics and included $25,000 from the pocket of Mr Marks — now head of psychology at Middlesex Polytechnic in England and chairman of the British Skeptics.

Mr Milne, an art teacher, then made a counter-offer in the Evening Post of $392,000 for any sceptics who could prove they had no psychic abilities.

Now Mr Marks has accepted the challenge. In a letter to the editor of the Post, he said:

”] would like to gratefully accept John Milne’s offer as l am certain that I do not have any psychic ability in the generally accepted sense of the term {ie esp, precognition or psychokinesis). “In contrast with the vast majority of self-proclaimed psychics and mediums, I am happy to offer myself for testing under appropriately rigorous and controlled conditions.

“John Milne’s amateurism and confusion in the field of intuition (which he naively equates with esp) seems to have let him down badly this time, because he is shortly to lose a large sum of money. (Assuming, of course, that he honours his side of the contract.)

“I hope this challenge is a genuine one and that he has sufficient funds to make good his offer.

“An impartial body of qualified investigators should be appointed so that the tests of my claim to have no psychic ability can be fairly and properly authenticated.”

He concludes: “I am sure other members of the New Zealand Skeptics would also be delighted to take up Mr Milne’s generous offer.”

Mr Milne replies: “What David Marks is offering — and I admire his cockiness — is an unprecedented expose of how human perception works.

“The results will shake our society to the core. Churches will close, parliamentary prayers will cease, love will be seen as a quirk of chemistry and life itself will be recognised as a mere hiccup in a mindless cosmos.

Rally to cause

“It is not a fair fight — Marks is the formidable professor who describes me as confused, naive and amateur. I hope that supporters of confusion and naivety will rally to the cause. I could use a bit of support from scientists, too.

“My original challenge places the onus on the contender to supply the proof, although I will be as helpful as possible.

“I am also extremely reasonable and see no need for an ‘impartial body of qualified investigators.’ In my confused way I am at a loss to understand what would constitute impartiality or what would be a relevant qualification.

“If this is going to create difficulties, I am willing to spread the decision-making process in 392,000 shares, available from me to any takers at $2 per share.

“This is not intended to seem open to negotiation on all points. In essence I am merely inviting people to be equally sceptical about science

“I do not have answers and I conceded that David Marks might indeed be soulless. But there is still a long way to go before we break free of the Scottish verdict of ‘not proven.’ ”

New Zealand Skeptics chairman Dennis Dutton, of Christchurch, calls Mr Milne’s offer a “meaningless challenge until he has the money to put up and is willing to lay down conditions which could be fulfilled.

“He needs to come up with suggestions for a specific test so people can know what constitutes proof.”

Dr Dutton said he and other sceptics would be delighted to be tested under reasonable conditions agreed on by the two parties.