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Henry Gordon (magician)
Henry Gordon (March 19, 1919 – January 24, 2009) was a Canadian author, journalist, magician and skeptic. He was the founder of the Ontario Skeptics and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). Early life Gordon according to his wife Zita was a self-taught mechanic and very interested in radio repair. In 1940 when he was twenty, while walking down the street in Montreal Gordon spotted an advertisement for radio operators for the Royal Canadian Air Force. He enlisted and helped start an air training camp in western Canada. He was discharged from the service in December 1941 and opened up what might have been the first public recording studio in Montreal. In the 1960s Gordon opened up what was the first party supply store in Montreal. Henry Gordon's Party Centre whose motto was "Everything for enjoyment under one roof". The store was open for nineteen years. Magic career Gordon's interest in magic came because he wandered into a bookstore in Winnipeg in 1940. Bored, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as ''Fort Ville-Marie, Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city of Ville-Marie is built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained its name from the same origin as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is east of the national capital Ottawa, and southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City. As of 2021, the city had a population of 1,762,949, and a Census Metropolitan Area#Census metropolitan areas, metropolitan population of 4,291,732, making it the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest city, and List of cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debunker
A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. "to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being pretentious, false, or exaggerated: to debunk advertising slogans." The term is often associated with skeptical investigation of controversial topics such as UFOs, claimed paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, or exploratory or fringe areas of scientific or pseudoscientific research. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "debunk" is defined as: "to expose the sham or falseness of." The ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' defines "debunk" as "expose the falseness or hollowness of (a myth, idea, or belief)". If debunkers are not careful, their communications may backfire – increasing an audience's long-term belief in myths. Backfire effects can occur if a message spends too much time on the negative case, if it is too co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allen Spraggett
Allen Spraggett (26 March 1932 – 19 July 2022) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster, known for his works concerning the paranormal. Biography During the 1950s, Spraggett was a minister of the Open Door Evangelical Church. He transferred to the United Church of Canada to become a minister there, then worked as the religion editor of ''Toronto Star''. In the 1970s, he wrote ''The Unexplained'', a syndicated newspaper column concerning the paranormal. In 1975, Spraggett hosted a Canadian television show called ''E.S.P.'' In 1976, M. Lamar Keene co-authored a self-expose of fraudulent mediumship, ''The Psychic Mafia'' "as told to" Allen Spraggett. Spraggett was host of the CBC television quiz show '' Beyond Reason'' from 1977 to 1980. He also hosted the radio shows ''Sun Spots'' and ''The Unexplained'' on CFRB in Toronto. Article originated from the ''Toronto Star''. In 1979, he was charged with two counts of gross indecency, based on allegations by youths from Winnipeg. Spra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, 1801–1895.'' McGill-Queen's University Press, 1980. the university bears the name of James McGill, a Scottish merchant whose bequest in 1813 formed the university's precursor, University of McGill College (or simply, McGill College); the name was officially changed to McGill University in 1885. McGill's main campus is on the slope of Mount Royal in downtown Montreal in the borough of Ville-Marie, with a second campus situated in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, west of the main campus on Montreal Island. The university is one of two members of the Association of American Universities located outside the United States, alongside the University of Toronto, and is the only Canadian member of the Glob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Produced and hosted by Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history. The show was highly influential to many young stars, and many of its themes have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events. The show did not attempt to profit off the products it endorses; it had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor did the show make any money from endorsing books for its book club. ''Oprah'' was one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles studios, the show was sometimes broadcast from the CNN Center in Atlanta, from the Time Warner Center in New York City, or from Washington, D.C., where King had gained national prominence during his years as a radio interviewer on the ''Larry King Show'' for the Mutual Broadcasting System. Every night, King interviewed one or more prominent individuals, usually celebrities, politicians and businesspeople. The one-hour show was broadcast three times a day in some areas, and was seen all over the world on CNN International. On June 29, 2010, King announced that the program would end. The final episode aired on December 16, but a new episode on the war against cancer aired two days later on December 18. ''Larry King Live'' was replaced by ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Debate (Canadian TV Series)
''The Great Debate'' is a Canadian television series that featured debates between pairs of panelists over a given subject. It was first shown on Global Television Network in 1974, and later broadcast by CHCH-TV from Hamilton, Ontario. The series was produced intermittently until 1983. Format Pierre Berton was the host and moderator of a televised debate between two guests who argued about a given proposition. A studio audience of approximately 200 people voted for or against the proposition at the start of the program, and again at the end after the debate to gauge the influence of the debators' arguments. Production ''The Great Debate'' was produced by My Country Productions, co-owned by series producer Elsa Franklin and Berton. It was one of the first series broadcast on the fledgling Global Television Network. However, the broadcaster encountered financial distress within months of its debut and owed My Country Productions $48,000. Global offered unsecured creditors such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Hurkos
Pieter van der Hurk (21 May 1911 – 1 June 1988) known as Peter Hurkos, was a Dutchman who allegedly manifested extrasensory perception (ESP) after recovering from a head injury and coma caused by a fall from a ladder when aged 30. He came to the United States in 1956 for psychic experiments, later becoming a professional psychic who sought clues in the Manson Family murders and the Boston Strangler case. With the help of businessman Henry Belk and parapsychologist Andrija Puharich, Hurkos became a popular entertainer known for performing psychic feats before live and television audiences. Testing and analysis Hurkos stated in a 1960 episode of the television series ''One Step Beyond'', after giving a lecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to a scientific panel, that he would participate in any scientific experiment under any circumstances. However, author and stage magician James Randi contended that Hurkos refused to allow his skill to be tested by scientists e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Hyman
Ray Hyman (born June 23, 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. Hyman, along with James Randi, Martin Gardner and Paul Kurtz, is one of the founders of the modern skeptical movement. He is the founder and leader of the Skeptic's Toolbox. Hyman serves on the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Career Hyman was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. In his teenage years and later while attending Boston University, he worked as a magician and mentalist, impressing the head of his department (among others) with his palmistry. Hyman at one point believed that 'reading' the lines on a person's palm could provide insights into their nature, but later discovered that the person's reaction to the reading had little to do with the actual lines on the palm. This fascination with why this happened led him to switch from a journalist degree to psychology. JREF president D.J. Grothe as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and Secular humanism, secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research. Kurtz founded the publishing house Prometheus Books in 1969. He was also the founder and past chairman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI, formerly the ''Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal'', CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry. He was editor in chief of ''Free Inquiry'' magazine, a publication of the Council for Secular Humanism. He was co-chair of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) from 1986 to 1994. He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Adva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the three universities in Quebec where English is the primary language of instruction (the others being McGill and Bishop's). As of the 2020–21 academic year, there were 51,253 students enrolled in credit courses at Concordia, making the university among the largest in Canada by enrollment. The university has two campuses, set approximately apart: Sir George Williams Campus is the main campus, located in the Quartier Concordia neighbourhood of Downtown Montreal in the borough of Ville Marie; and Loyola Campus in the residential district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. With four faculties, a school of graduate studies and numerous colleges, centres and institutes, Concordia offers over 400 undergraduate and 200 graduate programs and courses. Conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
