Banachek

For the 1970s TV detective series, see Banacek.
Banachek
Born
Steven Shaw

(1960-11-30) 30 November 1960 (age 63)
Middlesex, England
Occupation(s)Mentalist, magician, writer, skeptic
Websitebanachek.com

Banachek (born Steven Shaw; 30 November 1960)[a] is an English mentalist, magician, and "thought reader".[2]

He first came to public attention as a teenager for his role in James Randi's Project Alpha experiment, which exposed the lack of objectivity in parapsychology research.[3] As director of the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge conducted by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), he has since tested the authenticity of many self-described psychics, none of whom has managed to pass scientifically controlled tests of their claimed paranormal abilities.[4]

Banachek is currently a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a program of the Center for Inquiry,[5] and the president of JREF.[6]

  1. ^ "Court ruling of name change".
  2. ^ Grothe, D.J. (13 November 2009). "Banachek-Mentalism and Skepticism, Nov. 13, 2009". Point of Inquiry. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference website was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Randi Challenges Top "Psychics" After Nightline Episode". Randi.org. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Center for Inquiry News: Cause & Effect: The CFI Newsletter – No. 99". www.centerforinquiry.net. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  6. ^ "James Randi Educational Foundation". Archived from the original on 4 November 1999.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).