The Secrets of the Psychics

Documentary looking skeptically at various paranormal claims and the history of the clash between science and the supernatural. Is there any scientific evidence for psychic abilities or are these various 'gifted' people making use of trickery and self-delusion? Interviewees include James Randi, Professor Richard Dawkins, Dr Chris French, Dr Susan Blackmore and Dr Richard Wiseman.

On 24th August 1997, Channel Four broadcast a programme in its science documentary series Equinox entitled Secrets of the Psychics. The programme set out to investigate whether there was any scientific basis for the claims of paranormal and supernatural powers by spiritualists and psychics. The programme questioned whether the psychic powers claimed by Mr Uri Geller were genuine. Mr Geller complained to the Broadcasting Standards Commission that he had been treated unjustly or unfairly in the programme. Mr Geller complained that: several contributors to the programme had been wrongly put forward as being unbiased and the programme had used unrepresentative extracts from interviews; no positive views had been put forward of Mr Geller's work; doubt had been cast on the value of scientific testing of Mr Geller; the programme had used selective and distorted extracts from previous programmes featuring him; and the voice-over in the programme had been generally derogatory. Mr Geller said he did not object to a sceptical viewpoint being expressed about his abilities, provided he was treated in a fair and balanced manner. A number of contributors to the programme had been presented as experts in the field of psychic research. Mr Geller complained that it had be to been made clear that they had long-established and pre-determined sceptical viewpoints. The viewer had not been told of the history of dealings between these people and himself, which would have suggested that they were hostile to or biased against Mr Geller. He said that Mr James Randi and Mr Michael Hutchinson, both of whom had cast doubt on his powers, had been involved in litigation with him. Channel Four had been aware, prior to the broadcast, of Mr Geller's successful libel proceedings against Mr Randi in Japan. In view of the description in the programme of Mr Randi as a 'magician and arch sceptic' and as Mr Geller's 'most persistent critic,' it had been unfair to disregard the disputes between Mr Geller and Mr Randi and, in particular, the court finding in Mr Geller's favour. Internet messages from Mr Randi prior to his interview for the programme had made it clear that he was hostile to Mr Geller. Mr Hutchinson had also been involved in litigation with Mr Geller, in relation to the distribution of a book entitled Physics and Psychics. Mr Hutchinson, sole proprietor of Prometheus Books UK, had given an unreserved apology in respect of published material regarding Mr Geller. It had been unfair not to refer to this background in the programme. Mr Geller said that Mr Hutchinson was a member of the Committee for the scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), which published a periodical entitled Skeptical Enquirer, which looked into claims of psychic power. Other contributors to the programme, such as Ray Hyman, David Marks, Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore and Richard Wiseman, had been unfairly presented as independent scientific experts, when they were in fact Fellows of, or associated with, CSICOP. He complained that their membership of CSICOP should have been revealed. None of them had attended experiments but had either observed demonstrations or simply expressed opinions about experiments at which they had not been present. Mr Russell Targ, a scientist who had been involved in the testing of Mr Geller's powers at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and had been interviewed for the programme, had been interviewed primarily about remote viewing and had been given the impression that questions about Mr Geller had been an afterthought. The programme makers had included Mr Sebastian Cody, executive producer of the programme, and Mr David Britland, producer, both of whom had a significant history of involvement in programmes which had approached psychic matters from a sceptical viewpoint. Mr Britland had worked for Mr Randi for a period. Channel Four said that Equinox was their flagship science programme, which aimed to combine a high standard of investigation with popular appeal. Secrets of the Psychics had been a historical and scientific perspective on the psychic phenomenon. It had revealed that the study of the paranormal was a controversial fringe area of science which had failed to convince the wider scientific community that psychic powers exist and had looked at other possible explanations of the claims of psychics. The programme had presented a sceptical view of Mr Geller's claims to possess paranormal powers. In Channel Four's view, the programme had treated Mr Geller fairly in its sceptical investigation of his claims. Several of the interviewees who appeared had been openly sceptical of the claims being made on behalf of the paranormal and no attempt had been made to hide this in the programme. The proceedings which involved Mr Randi and Mr Hutchinson had preceded the programme by many years. Channel Four said that Mr Randi's criticisms of Mr Geller were unrelated to the legal proceedings in Japan and pointed out that the programme had openly acknowledged Mr Randi's sceptical opinion of Mr Geller. As far as the proceedings involving Mr Hutchinson were concerned, these were also unrelated to the criticism made in the programme, since they involved an error of fact in a book of which Mr Hutchinson was a distributor rather than a writer or publisher. There had been no need to mention the legal proceedings, since they had had no bearing on the question of whether or not Mr Geller had psychic powers. Channel Four said that many scientists and others interested in the paranormal were members of CSICOP. While none of the contributors had been speaking on behalf of CSICOP, membership of the organisation would indicate a knowledge and expertise in the area and therefore it had been fair to interview those people. Professor Hyman had been interviewed because of his meeting with Mr Geller at SRI and the fact that he was an acknowledged expert in the field of parapsychology; Professor Marks had investigated Mr Geller's claims and his work at SRI and published his views in a book entitled The Psychology of the Psychic, which was considered by parapsychologists and scientific researchers to be one of the most authoritative texts of its kind; Professor Richard Dawkin had publicly criticised media portrayals of the paranormal and was an important contributor in view of his position as Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University; Dr Susan Blackmore was an acknowledged expert in the field of parapsychology; James Randi was no longer a member of CSICOP and Dr Wiseman was one of the few scientists in this country publicly funded to carry out research into the paranormal. Channel Four said that all of these contributors were qualified to comment and that their sceptical standpoint had been clear in the programme. It had not been suggested in the programme that they had been involved in testing Mr Geller. They said that Mr Targ had not complained about his treatment in the programme. While he had also been asked about remote viewing, questions about Mr Geller had formed a substantial part of the interview with Mr Targ, who had been aware that he was being interviewed because of his scientific investigation into the paranormal and his work with Mr Geller. Channel Four confirmed that Mr Britland and Mr Cody had been involved in many programmes relating to the paranormal. Mr Britland had been involved not only in scientific programmes, but had also made programmes in which the paranormal had been treated purely as entertainment.

From: Channel 4.

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