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.
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
→
|
| 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)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
James Randi
→
|
participatedIn |