Project Alpha
E39618
Project Alpha was a famous early-1980s hoax experiment in which teenage magicians, backed by skeptic James Randi, infiltrated a parapsychology lab to expose its poor scientific controls and challenge claims of psychic phenomena.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Project Alpha canonical | 1 |
Statements (33)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
hoax experiment
ⓘ
skeptical investigation ⓘ |
| aimedAt | a parapsychology laboratory studying psychic phenomena ⓘ |
| backedBy | James Randi ⓘ |
| basedOn | magicians’ expertise in deception ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| describedAs | a famous early-1980s hoax experiment ⓘ |
| exposed |
inadequate experimental controls in a parapsychology lab
ⓘ
researchers’ failure to detect trickery ⓘ |
| fieldOfWork |
parapsychology
ⓘ
scientific skepticism ⓘ |
| hasEffect |
increased criticism of parapsychological research methods
ⓘ
raised public awareness of flaws in psychic testing ⓘ |
| hasGenre | scientific hoax ⓘ |
| hasInfluenced | later skeptical investigations of paranormal claims ⓘ |
| hasKeyConcept |
experimental controls
ⓘ
fraud detection in research ⓘ pseudoscience ⓘ scientific skepticism ⓘ |
| hasMainSubject |
parapsychology
ⓘ
psychic phenomena ⓘ |
| hasParticipant |
James Randi
ⓘ
teenage magicians ⓘ |
| hasPurpose |
to challenge claims of psychic abilities
ⓘ
to expose poor scientific controls in parapsychology research ⓘ |
| notableFor |
being a famous hoax in parapsychology research
ⓘ
demonstrating how magicians can simulate psychic phenomena ⓘ highlighting the need for rigorous controls in psi experiments ⓘ |
| opposedClaim | existence of demonstrated psychic powers under laboratory conditions ⓘ |
| startTime | early 1980s ⓘ |
| usedMethod |
conjuring techniques
ⓘ
infiltration of a parapsychology laboratory ⓘ magician’s tricks presented as psychic powers ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.