William A. Blake III of Orlando, Florida ("Claimant"), has requested that the Tampa Bay Skeptics ("TBS") test him for the TBS
"$1,000 Challenge" and as a screening/pre-test for the James Randi Educational Foundation’s (JREF)
$1,000,000 prize.
Mr. Blake claims to possess the ability, by telepathy, to mentally transmit a word or words to a mutually agreed-upon person (the
"Receiver") in another room. He is agreeable to having his ability tested in the manner described below, since such a test can be
conducted scientifically, with the probability of success by chance alone being known in advance with mathematical certainty.
At the conclusion of the test, the results, whether constituting success or failure, will be self-evident, without the need for a panel
of judges or any subjective interpretation.
This TBS "$1,000 Challenge" shall take place at the office of Tampa Bay Skeptics and the Center For Inquiry/Tampa in Tampa, Florida, at
12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2008.
1) The formal testing shall not begin until and unless two copies of this document have first been signed by both the Claimant and two
official representatives of TBS, signifying their agreement to all conditions specified herein and that the actual test conditions on site
appear to be mutually satisfactory such that the Challenge may proceed.
2) TBS shall supply two identical copies of a numbered list (numbered 1 through 20), one for Claimant, and one for Receiver.
The first 5 lines in the numbered list shall be:
The same sequence of choices shall also be numbered as 6 through 10, again as 11 through 15, and again as 16 through 20 (i.e., four cycles
of the same five choices), for a total of 20 lines.
3) Claimant shall begin with Line 1 and flip a coin. If it comes up heads he shall draw a circle around "Heads," and if tails he shall
draw a circle around "Tails." He shall then begin telepathically transmitting the circled word to the Receiver who, possessing an
identically numbered list, shall circle the word that he/she feels is being sent telepathically by Claimant (either "Heads" or "Tails").
A TBS representative shall prompt the Receiver as to when the Claimant begins and ceases his telepathic transmission.
4) After Line 1 is thusly completed, Claimant shall again flip the coin for Line 2. If it comes up heads he shall draw a circle around
"Black" (the 1st word on that line), and if tails he shall draw a circle around "White" (the 2nd word on that line). He shall again
transmit the circled word to the Receiver as per the protocol described in the previous item.
5) After Lines 1 and 2 are thusly completed, Claimant shall again flip the coin for Line 3. If it comes up heads he shall draw a circle
around "Even" (the 1st word on that line), and if tails he shall draw a circle around "Odd" (the 2nd word on that line). He shall again
transmit the circled word to the Receiver as per the protocol described previously.
6) The same pattern shall ensue until all 20 lines have been transmitted, received, and documented with circles on both Claimant’s and
Receiver’s lists. At that point, the "Challenge" shall be declared by TBS to be completed, and the two lists shall then, and only then, be
compared to each other.
7) Claimant must successfully transmit all 20 lines to the Receiver (as documented by identical results on both copies of the list) in
order to "win" the Challenge.
8) At any time prior to the completion of the final (20th) line, should the Claimant or a designated TBS representative find that the test
conditions have been violated or have otherwise become unsatisfactory, the Challenge shall immediately be temporarily suspended or voided.
9) The probability of a "successful" transmission for any given line is 1 in 2 in the absence of genuine telepathic power (i.e., by chance
alone). The probability of 20 consecutive "successful" transmissions is 1 in 1,048,576 (1:2 to the 20th power) in the absence of genuine
telepathic power. Again, Claimant’s and Receiver’s circled words must be in agreement for each and every line in order for Claimant to win
the Challenge. However, one must bear in mind that even should he succeed in winning the Challenge, the possibility of a fluke
one-in-a-million "lucky day" cannot be excluded as a possible explanation. Further testing, with similarly successful results, would be
necessary in order to conclusively "prove" to TBS, and to the scientific community at large, that the Claimant truly possesses genuine
telepathic power.
10) Should Claimant "win" the Challenge, TBS shall be obliged to:
a) promptly (within three business days) present a $1,000 check to Claimant (payment personally guaranteed by this
document’s signatories representing TBS)
b) promptly issue a Press Release and write an article for publication describing
Claimant's successful performance
c) promptly (within three business days) contact the James Randi Educational Foundation to have them promptly test
Claimant for the JREF $1,000,000 prize
11) Should Claimant fail to win the Challenge, TBS shall have the right to:
a) issue a Press Release announcing Claimant’s unsuccessful performance and inability during this experiment to
demonstrate for TBS sufficient evidence of his telepathic power
b) write articles about the test for publication
c) use the videotape(s) in any appropriate and lawful manner
12) All signatories to this agreement declare that the above conditions have been mutually agreed upon, are fair, and appear to constitute
a valid means of scientifically testing for the Claimant's alleged telepathic ability.
13) By entering into this agreement, Claimant surrenders any and all rights to legal action (as far as this may be done by existing
statutes) against Tampa Bay Skeptics, their representatives, and Center For Inquiry/Tampa. This clause applies to injury, accident, or any
other damage of any kind, including physical, emotional, financial and/or professional.
Signed freely and without reservation on this 29th day of March, 2008.
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
1) Heads Tails
2) Black White
3) Even Odd
4) Up Down
5) Big Little
______________________________________
William A. Blake III ("Claimant")
______________________________________
Witness
Gary P. Posner (for TBS)
Witness
Terry A. Smiljanich (for TBS)
Witness
Return to Summer 2008 TBS Report