Skip to content

Portrait of James Randi

James Randi

(1928–2020) Philosopher United States

54 quotes in 396 categories

James Randi was a philosopher from the United States, best known for Flim-flam!.

Quick Facts About James Randi

Born: August 7, 1928
Died: October 20, 2020
Nationality: United States
Profession: Philosopher
Notable works: Flim-flam!
Spouse: Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga

About James Randi

James Randi was a Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims. Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.

Biography source: Wikipedia

Awards & Honors

MacArthur Fellows Program Richard Dawkins Award Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Joseph A. Burton Forum Award Heinz Oberhummer Award for Science Communication

Quotes by James Randi · Page 2

Heroin also makes people feel better, but I wouldn't recommend using heroin.

Feel better

Image

People who are smart get into Mensa. People who are really smart look around and leave.

Intelligence

Image

I was not surprised by the results of the Horizon experiments, but I remain willing to observe and consider any and all…

Any

Image

I am in a very peculiar business: I travel all over the world telling people what they should already know.

Atheism

Image

There exists in society a very special class of persons that I have always referred to as the Believers. These are folks…

Accepting

Image

There is a distinct difference between having an open mind and having a hole in your head from which your brain leaks…

Brain

Image

The problem with experiments has always been that human beings make the decisions on whether or not the animals have benefitted from…

Animal

Image

I can go into a lab and fool the rear ends off any group of scientists.

Ends

Image

I believe in the basic goodness of my species, because that appears to be a positive tactic and quality that leads to…

Believe

Image

I would put my million dollars up as well.

Dollars

Image

To recognize that nature has neither a preference for our species nor a bias against it takes only a little courage.

Atheism

Image

The New Age? It's just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds.

Age

Image

Feeling better is not actually being better.

Feel better

Image

A quick example of that is a woman who said she'd been healed of throat cancer where the faith healer admitted he…

Cancer

Image

“Yes, I'm a materialist. I'm willing to be shown wrong, but that has not happened — yet. And I admit that the…

Atheism

Image

“I want to be, if I can, as sure of the world--the real world--around me as is possible. Now, you can only…

Real world

Image

There's something about the Houdini act that is not always made clear - about the escape act in general.

Clear

Image

However, I believe that it would be difficult to have legitimate scientists agree to participate.

Agree

Image

[Psychics] use exactly the same gimmicks that we magicians do - the same physical methods, the same psychological methods - and they…

Deceiving

Image

We have fought long and hard to escape from medieval superstition. I, for one, do not wish to go back.

Hard

Image

“I want to be, if I can, as sure of the world--the real world--around me as is possible. Now, you can only…

Power

Image

Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced by reason.

Believe

Image

No matter how smart or well-educated you are, you can be deceived.

Deceived

Image

Paranormal phenomena have a habit of going away whenever they are tested under rigorous conditions. This is why the $1,000,000 reward of…

Conditions

Image

Nostradamus himself confessed that the vague manner in which he wrote his "prophecies" was so that 'they could not possibly be understood…

Events

Image

James Randi by topic

Religion (8) Evidence (8)