The Center for Inquiry issued this statement October 21, 2020.
We at the Center for Inquiry are heartbroken over the death of James Randi, who died on October 20 at the age of ninety-two.
Randi helped found the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the organization that would one day become the Center for Inquiry, in 1976, alongside legends such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, B.F. Skinner, and Paul Kurtz. Together, this group of luminaries from the fields of science, literature, philosophy, and entertainment dedicated themselves to a project that has only grown in its necessity and urgency: the promotion of scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.
In other words, these were the founding fathers of the reality-based community.
“James Randi was a founder of CFI’s forerunner organization. To the skeptical movement, he was a hero. To us, he was family,” said Robyn E. Blumner, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. “Damn! And when the world needs him now as never before.”
“He had tremendous courage and skill, almost unparalleled, in fighting for science and reason and against frauds and charlatans and pretenders,” said Kendrick Frazier, editor ofSkeptical Inquirer magazine. “Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man. It is a sad day indeed!”
Well before his association with CSICOP, Randi was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission. Whether exposing fraudulent psychics and faith-healers or revealing the false promises of alternative medicine, his showmanship and expertise in illusion made him an extraordinarily effective messenger for the promotion of critical thinking over magical thinking.
Beyond his own groundbreaking work, Randi is responsible for inspiring several generations of skeptics and science communicators who are pushing back against the false claims of pseudoscience, the paranormal, and the supernatural, as well as those who profit from them. What began as a committee of intellectuals and a magazine has now expanded into a universe of activists, scholars, entertainers, media platforms, and institutions, such as CFI, who share Randi’s mission and his passion.
The Center for Inquiry is a proud part of the legacy of James Randi. He truly was amazing.
We at the Center for Inquiry are heartbroken over the death of James Randi, who died on October 20 at the age of ninety-two.
Randi helped found the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the organization that would one day become the Center for Inquiry, in 1976, alongside legends such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, B.F. Skinner, and Paul Kurtz. Together, this group of luminaries from the fields of science, literature, philosophy, and entertainment dedicated themselves to a project that has only grown in its necessity and urgency: the promotion of scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.
In other words, these were the founding fathers of the reality-based community.
“James Randi was a founder of CFI’s forerunner organization. To the skeptical movement, he was a hero. To us, he was family,” said Robyn E. Blumner, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. “Damn! And when the world needs him now as never before.”
“He had tremendous courage and skill, almost unparalleled, in fighting for science and reason and against frauds and charlatans and pretenders,” said Kendrick Frazier, editor ofSkeptical Inquirer magazine. “Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man. It is a sad day indeed!”
Well before his association with CSICOP, Randi was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission. Whether exposing fraudulent psychics and faith-healers or revealing the false promises of alternative medicine, his showmanship and expertise in illusion made him an extraordinarily effective messenger for the promotion of critical thinking over magical thinking.
Beyond his own groundbreaking work, Randi is responsible for inspiring several generations of skeptics and science communicators who are pushing back against the false claims of pseudoscience, the paranormal, and the supernatural, as well as those who profit from them. What began as a committee of intellectuals and a magazine has now expanded into a universe of activists, scholars, entertainers, media platforms, and institutions, such as CFI, who share Randi’s mission and his passion.
The Center for Inquiry is a proud part of the legacy of James Randi. He truly was amazing.