occupation banachek
Steven Shaw ( born 30 November , 1960 ) , known professionally as Banachek , is a mentalist . He has written books on mentalism and has invented various ___MASK83___ and mentalism effects , including the Penn & Teller bullet catch and the original `` buried alive '' stunt . He is the Director of the James Randi Educational Foundation ( JREF ) One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge . The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ( CSI ), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ( CSICOP ), is a program within the transnational American non - profit educational organization Center for Inquiry ( CFI ), which seeks to " promote scientific inquiry , critical investigation , and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims ." It was founded by Paul Kurtz in 1976 as an independent non - profit organization ( before merging with CFI as one of its programs in 2015 ), to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of , and support for , paranormal claims by both the media and society in ___MASK9___ . Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism . CSI ' s fellows have included notable scientists , Nobel laureates , philosophers , psychologists , educators and authors . It is headquartered in Amherst , New York . James Randi ( born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge ; August 7 , 1928 ) is a Canadian - American retired stage ___MASK91___ and a scientific skeptic who has extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims . Randi is the co - founder of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ( CSI ) and the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation ( JREF ). He began his career as a ___MASK91___ under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal , occult , and supernatural claims , which he collectively calls " woo - woo ". Randi retired from practicing magic aged 60 , and from the JREF aged 87 . The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge was an offer by the James Randi Educational Foundation ( JREF ) to pay out one million U . S . dollars to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed - upon scientific testing criteria . A version of the challenge was first issued in 1964 , and over a thousand people applied to take it , but none were successful . The challenge was terminated in 2015 . The bullet catch is a conjuring illusion in which a ___MASK91___ appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them  often in their mouth , sometimes in their hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate . The bullet catch may also be referred to as the bullet trick , defying the bullets or occasionally the gun trick . The ___MASK2___ ( from the Latin word " occultus " " clandestine , hidden , secret ") is " knowledge of the hidden ". In common English usage , " ___MASK2___ " refers to " knowledge of the paranormal ", as opposed to " knowledge of the measurable ", usually referred to as science . The term is sometimes taken to mean knowledge that " is meant only for certain people " or that " must be kept hidden ", but for most practicing occultists it is simply the study of a deeper spiritual reality that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences . The terms " esoteric " and " arcane " can also be used to describe the ___MASK2___ , in addition to their meanings unrelated to the supernatural . The James Randi Educational Foundation ( JREF ) was started as an American non - profit organization founded in 1996 by ___MASK91___ and skeptic James Randi . The JREF ' s mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims , and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled scientific experimental conditions . In September 2015 , the organization said it would change to a grant - making foundation . The supernatural ( Medieval Latin : " superntrlis ": " supra " " above " + " naturalis " " natural ", first used : 1520  1530 AD ) includes all that cannot be explained by ___MASK39___ or the laws of nature , including things characteristic of or relating to ghosts , gods , or other supernatural beings , or to things beyond nature .