Skeptic Group Offers $500,000 to Anyone Who Can Demonstrate Paranormal Abilities “Under Scientific Test Conditions”
The Center for Inquiry Investigations Group (CFIIG) is offering a prize of $500,000 to “anyone who can demonstrate any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power under scientific test conditions” as part of a contest they’re calling the Paranormal Challenge.
In addition to the listed prize, a $5,000 bonus is offered to anyone who refers a person who then successfully demonstrates otherworldly abilities.
According to their website:
CFIIG will work with applicants to design the test protocol and define the conditions under which the test will take place. In most cases, the applicant will be asked to perform an informal demonstration of the claimed ability or phenomenon; if the demonstration is successful, it will be followed by a formal test, which will be administered by CFIIG representatives.
The CFIIG conducts demonstrations and tests at CFI West in Los Angeles, California, in the San Francisco Bay area, or in special circumstances at one of our affiliates around the world.
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You must be able to perform your ability within a reasonable time frame in front of the CFI Investigations Group. If your ability is “intermittent” or you cannot reliably predict when it will be present, you probably won’t be able to be tested.
If your ability cannot be tested online, you will have to get yourself to the CFIIG in Los Angeles, the CFIIG in the San Francisco Bay area, or to one of our pre-approved field investigators. You must cover all your expenses for getting to and from the Preliminary Demonstration and the Final Test.
We will work with you to create an objective test protocol that is fair both to you and to the CFIIG. Use the online application to describe in detail what it is that you can do, and we’ll guide you through the process to administer an impartial scientific test of your abilities.
An avowedly skeptical organization, CFIIG Executive Director James Underdown’s stated goal is to “spread a plague of skepticism across the world” through the investigation of “wild claims.”
This includes the testing of those making such claims.
Skeptic is often used as a derogatory term in the paranormal, but the CFIIG defines it as “someone who uses science and evidence to address extraordinary claims.”
Furthermore, they say, “A skeptic is distinguished from a ‘denier’ in that a skeptic must change his mind if the evidence is contrary to his or her belief. A denier remains entrenched in a position despite the weight of evidence.”
So far, in 2024, two people have been tested for paranormal abilities—a Texas man who claimed he could affect objects telekinetically and a Las Vegas woman who claimed she could move clouds with her mind.
Neither was able to successfully demonstrate their claimed abilities.
To apply for the challenge, fill out the application on CFIIG’s website.
