Homeopathy, quackery and fraud | James Randi | TED

Translator: Ainoa Antelo Pérez Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

Good morning.

Bo día.

Happy to see so many fine folks out here

Estou encantado de ver tanta xente boa aquí

and so many smiling faces.

cun sorriso na cara.

I have a very peculiar

Teño unha formación, unha actitude e un enfoque moi característico

background, attitude and approach

to the real world

con respecto ao mundo real

because I am a conjurer.

porque son ilusionista.

Now, I prefer that term over magician,

Prefiro este termo no canto do de mago,

because if I were a magician, that would mean

porque de selo, iso significaría

that I use spells and incantations

que uso conxuros e feitizos

and weird gestures

e acenos estraños

in order to accomplish real magic.

co obxectivo de lograr maxia de verdade.

No, I don't do that; I'm a conjurer,

Eu non fago iso, son ilusionista

who is someone who pretends to be

unha persoa que simula ser

a real magician. (Laughter)

un mago de verdade.

Now, how do we go about that sort of thing?

Entón, como imos abordar este tema?

We depend on the fact

Dependemos de que vós, o público

that audiences, such as yourselves,

will make assumptions.

vai facer presuposicións.

For example, when I walked up here

Por exemplo, cando cheguei aquí

and I took the microphone from the stand

e collín o micrófono do estrado

and switched it on,

e o acendín

you assumed this was a microphone, which it is not.

supuxestes que isto era un micro

pero non o é.

(Laughter)

As a matter of fact, this is something

De feito, isto é algo

that about half of you, more than half of you will not be familiar with.

co que a metade de vós non está familiarizado.

It's a beard trimmer, you see?

É unha recortadora para a barba, vedes?

And it makes a very bad microphone;

E é un micrófono pésimo,

I've tried it many times. (Laughter)

xa o probei moitas veces.

The other assumption that you made --

A outra cousa que supuxestes...

and this little lesson is to show you

E esta é unha lección para amosarvos

that you will make assumptions.

que facedes presuposicións.

Not only that you can, but that you will

Non só é que podedes, senón que o facedes

when they are properly suggested to you.

se se vos presentan ben.

You believe I'm looking at you.

Pensades que vos estou mirando.

Wrong. I'm not looking at you. I can't see you.

Non. Non vou estou mirando. Non podo vervos.

I know you're out there, they told me backstage, it's a full house and such.

Sei que estades aí, dixéronmo, está cheo.

I know you're there because I can hear you,

Sei que estades aí porque vos escoito

but I can't see you because I normally wear glasses.

pero non podo vervos porque uso lentes.

These are not glasses, these are empty frames. (Laughter)

Isto non son lentes, é unha montura baleira.

Quite empty frames.

Unha montura baleira.

Now why would a grown man appear before you

Ben, por que se presentaría ante vós un home adulto

wearing empty frames on his face?

cunhas lentes sen cristais?

To fool you, ladies and gentlemen,

Para enganarvos, donas e cabaleiros,

to deceive you, to show that you, too,

para confundirvos e ensinarvos que vós tamén

can make assumptions.

presupoñedes cousas, nunca vos esquezades.

Don't you ever forget that.

Primeiro teño que pór unhas lentes reais para vervos.

Now, I have to do something -- first of all, switch to real glasses

so I can actually see you,

which would probably be a convenience. I don't know.

A verdade sería un detalle. Non sei.

I haven't had a good look. Well, it's not that great a convenience.

Non é un gran detalle tampouco.

(Laughter)

Teño que facer algo que é un pouco estraño para un mago.

I have to do something now, which seems

a little bit strange for a magician.

But I'm going to take some medication.

Vou tomar uns medicamentos.

This is a full bottle of

Isto é un bote enteiro de Calms Forte.

Calms Forte.

I'll explain that in just a moment.

Explicareino nun intre.

Ignore the instructions,

Non lle fagades caso ás instrucións;

that's what the government has to put in there

iso é o que o goberno pon aí

to confuse you, I'm sure.

para confundirvos, estou seguro.

I will take enough of these. Mm.

Tomarei abondas.

Indeed, the whole container.

Vou tomar todo o bote, de feito.

Thirty-two tablets of Calms Forte.

32 comprimidos de Calms Forte.

Now that I've done that -- I'll explain it in a moment --

Agora que xa o fixen (e que explicarei logo)

I must tell you that

teño que dicirvos que

I am an actor.

son actor.

I'm an actor who plays a specific part.

Son un actor que ten un papel en específico.

I play the part of a magician,

O meu papel é o de mago

a wizard, if you will, a real wizard.

Se queredes, un mago dos de verdade.

If someone were to appear on this stage in front of me

Se alguén se presenta neste escenario diante de min

and actually claim to be

e afirma que

an ancient prince of Denmark named Hamlet,

é un antigo príncipe de Dinamarca chamado Hamlet

you would be insulted

sentiriádesvos insultados, e con razón.

and rightly so.

Why would a man assume that you would believe

Por que alguén pensaría que que creriades tal barbaridade?

something bizarre like this?

Pero hai moita xente aí fóra

But there exists out there

a very large population

unha morea de xente

of people who will tell you

que vos dirá que teñen poderes psíquicos e máxicos.

that they have psychic, magical powers

that they can predict the future,

Que poden predicir o futuro

that they can make contact with the deceased.

e que poden contactar cos mortos.

Oh, they also say

Tamén din

they will sell you astrology

que vos venderán astroloxía

or other fortunetelling methods.

e outros métodos de adiviñación.

Oh, they gladly sell you that, yes.

Venderánvolos de boa gana.

And they also say

E tamén din

que poden darvos aparellos de movemento perpetuo

that they can give you perpetual motion machines

and free energy systems.

e xeradores de enerxía gratis.

They claim to be psychics,

Afirman ser médiums

or sensitives, whatever they can.

ou sensitivos, o que poidan.

But the one thing that has made a big comeback

Pero o que está sendo moi importante agora

just recently

is this business of

é o negocio de

speaking with the dead.

falar cos mortos.

Now, to my innocent mind,

Agora ben, para a miña mente inocente

dead implies

a morte implica

incapable of communicating. (Laughter)

incapacidade para comunicarse.

You might agree with me on that.

Igual estades de acordo comigo nisto.

But these people, they tend to tell you that

Pero esta xente intentará dicirvos que

not only can they communicate with the dead --

non só se poden comunicar cos mortos

"Hi, there" --

"Ei, que tal"

but they can hear the dead as well,

senón que tamén os poden escoitar

and they can relay this information back to the living.

e que lle poden transmitir esta información aos vivos.

I wonder if that's true.

Será certo? Non o creo,

I don't think so, because

this subculture of people

porque esta subcultura

use exactly the same gimmicks that we magicians do,

usa os mesmos trucos que usamos os magos

exactly the same --

–os mesmiños–

the same physical methods, the same psychological methods --

os mesmos métodos físicos e psicolóxicos.

and they effectively and profoundly

Enganan profundamente a millóns de persoas no mundo

deceive millions of people around the earth,

to their detriment.

para a súa desgraza.

They deceive these people,

Enganan a esta xente,

costs them a lot of money,

fanlle gastar moitos cartos

cost them a lot of emotional anguish.

e provócanlle moita angustia emocional.

Billions of dollars are spent

Gástanse miles de millóns de dólares

every year, all over the globe,

cada ano, en todo o mundo

on these charlatans.

nestes falabaratos.

Now, I have two questions

Ben, hai dúas preguntas que me gustaría facerlles

I would like to ask these people

if I had the opportunity to do so.

de ter a oportunidade de facelo.

First question: If I want to ask them to call up --

Primeira: quero preguntarlles se poden chamar...

because they do hear them through the ear.

porque os escoitan a través dos oídos.

They listen to the spirits like this --

Oen os espíritos así.

I'm going to ask you to call up the ghost of my grandmother

Voulles pedir que contacten co fantasma da miña avoa

because, when she died, she had the family will,

porque cando morreu, era ela quen tiña o testamento

and she secreted it someplace. We don't know where it is,

e agachouno nalgún lado. Non sabemos onde está

so we ask Granny, "Where is the will, Granny?"

así que preguntámoslle: "onde está, avoíña?"

What does Granny say? She says, "I'm in heaven and it's wonderful.

E que dixo a avoíña? Dixo: "estou no ceo e isto é marabilloso.

I'm here with all my old friends, my deceased friends,

Estou aquí cos meus amigos,

and my family

a miña familia

and all the puppy dogs and the kittens that I used to have when I was a little girl.

e todos os cadeliños e gatiños que tiven cando era unha cativa.

And I love you, and I'll always be with you.

Quérovos, e estarei sempre convosco.

Good bye."

Adeus."

And she didn't answer the damn question!

E non respondeu o demo de pregunta!

Where is the will?

Onde está o testamento?

Now, she could easily have said,

Porque tamén podería dicir:

"Oh, it's in the library on the second shelf, behind the encyclopedia,"

"No segundo estante, detrás da enciclopedia"

but she doesn't say that. No, she doesn't.

Pero iso non nolo dixo, non.

She doesn't bring any useful information to us.

Non nos dou ningunha información relevante.

We paid a lot of money for that information,

Pagamos moitos cartos por esa información

be we didn't get it.

e non a demos conseguido.

The second question that I'd like to ask, rather simple:

A segunda pregunta que lles faría é bastante simple.

Suppose I ask them to contact

Supoñamos que lles pido que contacten

the spirit of my deceased father-in-law, as an example.

co espírito do meu sogro falecido, por exemplo.

Why do they insist on saying --

Por que insisten en dicirche...

remember, they speak into this ear --

(lembra, fálanlle ao oído)

why do they say, "My name starts with J or M?"

Por que din: "O meu nome empeza por J ou M?"

Is this a hunting game?

Estamos xogando ás adiviñas?

Hunting and fishing? What is it?

O gato e o rato? Que é?

Is it 20 questions? No, it's more like 120 questions.

Son 20 preguntas? Non, máis ben 120.

But it is a cruel, vicious,

Pero é cruel, desapiadado

absolutely conscienceless --

totalmente de mala fe

I'll be all right, keep your seats (Laughter) --

(Estou ben, quedade nos asentos)

game that these people play.

ao que xogan estas persoas.

And they take advantage of the innocent, the naive,

Aprovéitanse dos inocentes, dos inxenuos

the grieving, the needy people out there.

dos que sofren, das persoas necesitadas.

Now, this is a process

Este é un proceso que se chama lectura en frío.

that is called cold reading.

There's one fellow out there,

Hai un tipo que se chama Van Praagh.

Van Praagh is his name, James Van Praagh.

É unha das eminencias desta trapallada.

He's one of the big practitioners of this sort of thing.

John Edward, Sylvia Browne

John Edward, Sylvia Browne

and Rosemary Altea, they are other operators.

e Rosemary Altea son outros artistas.

There are hundreds of them all over the earth, but in this country,

Hai centos deles no mundo, pero neste país

James Van Praagh is very big.

James Van Praagh é moi famoso.

And what does he do? He likes to tell you

E que fai? Gústalle contarche

how the deceased got deceased,

como faleceron os mortos.

the people he's talking to through his ear, you see?

(a xente que lle fala ao oído, vedes?)

So what he says is, very often, is like this: he says,

Pois o que di, normalmente, é así:

"He tells me, he tells me, before he passed,

"Ante de morrer, díxome

that he had trouble breathing."

que lle custaba respirar".

Folks, that's what dying is all about!

Home, iso é o que vén sendo morrer!

(Laughter)

You stop breathing, and then you're dead.

Paras de respirar e logo morres.

It's that simple.

Así de fácil.

And that's the kind of information they're going to bring back to you?

E ese é o tipo de información que che van dar?

I don't think so.

Non o creo.

Now, these people will make guesses, they'll say things like,

Esta xente vai adiviñando, din cousas como:

"Why am I getting electricity?

"Por que me chega esta electricidade?"

He's saying to me, 'Electricity.'

E dinme: "Electricidade".

Was he an electrician?" "No."

"Era electricista?" -Non.

"Did he ever have an electric razor?" "No."

"Tiña unha afeitadora eléctrica?" -Non.

It was a game of hunting questions like this.

Era un xogo de adiviñar, coma este.

This is what they go through.

E así saen do paso.

Now, folks often ask us

A xente pregúntanos moito na Fundación James Randi

at the James Randi Educational Foundation,

they call me, they say, "Why are you so concerned about this, Mr. Randi?

chámanme e dinme: "por que estás tan preocupado?

Isn't it just a lot of fun?"

Non é divertido?".

No, it is not fun. It is a cruel farce.

Non, non é. É unha farsa cruel.

Now, it may bring a certain amount of comfort,

Pode que che dea un pouco de consolo

but that comfort lasts

pero ese consolo dura uns 20 minutos.

only about 20 minutes or so.

And then the people look in the mirror, and they say,

Despois esa xente mírase no espello e di:

I just paid a lot of money for that reading.

Paguei moitos cartos por ese contacto.

And what did she say to me? 'I love you!'"

E que me dixo? "Quérote!"

They always say that.

Sempre din iso.

They don't get any information,

Non lles dan nada de información

they don't get any value for what they spend.

non obteñen nada polo que gastan.

Now, Sylvia Browne is the big operator.

Sylvia Browne é a máis viva.

We call her "The Talons."

Chamámoslle "a gadoupas"

Sylvia Browne -- thank you --

Sylvia Browne -grazas-

Sylvia Browne is the big operator

Sylvia Browne é a máis viva

in this field at this very moment.

agora mesmo neste negocio.

Now, Sylvia Browne -- just to show you --

Ben, Sylvia Brown (só para ensinárvolo)

she actually gets 700 dollars

cobra 700 dólares

for a 20 minute reading over the telephone,

por un contacto a través do teléfono de 20 minutos.

she doesn't even go there in person,

Nin sequera vai alí en persoa

and you have to wait up to two years because

e tes que esperar ata dous anos

porque xa ten reservas para todo ese tempo.

she's booked ahead that amount of time.

You pay by credit card or whatever,

Pagas con tarxeta de crédito ou o que sexa

and then she will call you

e despois chámate nalgún momento dos dous anos seguintes.

sometime in the next two years.

You can tell it's her. "Hello, this is Sylvia Browne."

Sabes que é ela. "Boas, son Sylvia Browne".

That's her, you can tell right away.

É ela, non hai fallo.

Now, Montel Williams is an intelligent man.

Montel Williams é un home intelixente.

We all know who he is on television.

Vémolo na televisión.

He's well educated, he's smart,

Está formado, é listo

he knows what Sylvia Browne is doing

sabe o que fai Sylvia Browne

but he doesn't give a damn.

pero impórtalle un rabo de can.

He just doesn't care.

Tanto lle dá coma tanto lle ten.

Because, the bottom line is, the sponsors love it,

Ao cabo e ao remate, aos patrocinadores gústalles

and he will expose her

e vana expoñer seguido na publicidade.

to television publicity all the time.

Now, what does Sylvia Browne give you for that 700 dollars?

Que che dá Sylvia Browne por 700 dólares?

She gives you the names of your guardian angels, that's first.

Dáche os nomes dos teus anxos da garda.

Now, without that, how could we possibly function? (Laughter)

E que sen iso, como se pode vivir?

She gives you the names of previous lives,

Diche os nomes das túas vidas pasadas

who you were in previous lives.

e quen fuches noutra vida.

Duh.

Boh.

It turns out that the women

Resulta que todas as mulleres

that she gives readings for

ás que lles fai un contacto

were all Babylonian princesses, or something like that.

eran todas princesas babilonias, ou así

And the men were all Grecian warriors

e os homes eran guerreiros gregos que loitaban con Agamenón.

fighting with Agamemnon.

Nothing is ever said about

Nunca se fala

a 14 year-old bootblack in the streets of London

da pequena limpadora de botas de Londres

who died of consumption.

que morreu de tise.

He isn't worth bringing back, obviously.

Non paga a pena recordala.

And the strange thing -- folks, you may have noticed this too.

E o raro disto... non sei se vos decatastes.

You see these folks on television --

Vedes estes tipos na televisión

they never call anybody back from hell. (Laughter)

e nunca chaman a ninguén do inferno.

Everyone comes back from heaven, but never from hell.

Todos volven do ceo, ninguén do inferno.

If they call back any of my friends,

Se chamaran a algún dos meus amigos

they're not going to... Well, you see the story.

que non o van facer... Xa se imaxinan.

(Laughter)

Now, Sylvia Browne is an exception,

Sylvia Browne é una excepción,

an exception in one way,

unha excepción só nun sentido.

because the James Randi Educational Foundation, my foundation,

Na miña fundación

offers a one million dollar prize in negotiable bonds.

ofrecemos 1 millón de dólares en obrigas negociables.

Very simply won.

Doadísimo de gañar.

All you have to do is prove any paranormal, occult

Só tes que demostrar un suceso paranormal,

or supernatural event or power of any kind

de ocultismo ou sobrenatural de calquera clase

under proper observing conditions.

en condicións de observación adecuadas.

It's very easy, win the million dollars.

Doadísimo, gaña o millón de dólares.

Sylvia Browne is an exception in that

Sylvia Browne é unha excepción

she's the only professional psychic

porque é a única médium profesional en todo o mundo

in the whole world

that has accepted our challenge.

que aceptou o noso reto.

She did this on the "Larry King Live" show on CNN

Fíxoo nun programa da CNN

six and a half years ago.

hai seis anos e medio.

And we haven't heard from her since. Strange.

E aínda non temos noticias dela. Cousa rara.

She said that, first of all, that she didn't know how to contact me.

Primeiro dixo iso e logo que non sabía como contactar comigo.

Duh.

Boh.

A professional psychic who speaks to dead people,

Unha médium profesional que fala cos mortos

she can't reach me?

e non dá contactado comigo?

(Laughter)

Estou vivo, como podedes comprobar.

I'm alive, you may have noticed.

Well, pretty well anyway.

Ben, bastante ben igualmente.

She couldn't reach me. Now she says she doesn't want to reach me

Non podía contactar comigo, pero agora di que non quere

because I'm a godless person.

porque son un impío.

All the more reason to take the million dollars,

Con máis razón quererías gañarme o millón de dólares

wouldn't you think, Sylvia?

non cres, Sylvia?

Now these people need to be stopped, seriously now.

Hai que parar a esta xente, agora en serio.

They need to be stopped because this is a cruel farce.

Hai que paralos porque é unha farsa cruel.

We get people coming to the foundation all the time.

Chega xente á Fundación seguido.

They're ruined financially and emotionally

Arruinados emocional e economicamente

because they've given their money and their faith

porque puxeron todos os seus cartos e fe nesa xente.

to these people.

Now, I popped some pills earlier.

Tomei unhas pastillas ao principio

I have to explain that to you.

e agora téñovolo que explicar.

Homeopathy, let's find out what that's all about.

A homeopatía, que vén sendo isto.

Hmm. You've heard of it.

Algo escoitastes, supoño.

It's an alternative form of healing, right?

É unha forma alternativa de curación, non?

Homeopathy actually consists -- and that's what this is.

A homeopatía consiste... É isto.

This is Calms Forte,

Isto é Calms Forte.

32 caplets of sleeping pills! I forgot to tell you that.

32 pastillas para durmir! Esquecérame de dicírvolo.

I just ingested

Acabo de inxerir

six and a half days worth of sleeping pills.

6 días e medio de pastillas para durmir.

(Laughter)

Six and a half days, that certainly is a fatal dose.

6 días e medio é unha dose letal, sen dúbida.

It says right on the back here,

Aquí detrás pon: "En caso de sobredose

"In case of overdose,

contact your poison control center immediately,"

chame inmediatamente ao centro de toxicoloxía"

and it gives an 800 number.

e pon un número gratuíto.

Keep your seats -- it's going to be okay.

Tranquilos, non vos preocupedes.

I don't really need it

Non fai falla,

because I've been doing this stunt

levo facendo este truco

para o público en todo o mundo

for audiences all over the world

for the last eight or 10 years,

durante os últimos 8 ou 10 anos.

taking fatal doses of homeopathic sleeping pills.

Tomei moitas doses letais de pastillas para durmir homeopáticas.

Why don't they affect me?

E por que non me afectan?

(Laughter)

(Applause)

The answer may surprise you.

A resposta igual vos sorprende.

What is homeopathy?

Que é a homeopatía?

It's taking a medicine that really works

Pois é tomar unha menciña que funciona de verdade

and diluting it down

e diluíla moito máis do límite de Avogadro.

well beyond Avogadro's limit.

Diluting it down to the point

Diluíla ata o punto no que

where there's none of it left. (Laughter)

xa non queda nada.

Now folks, this is not

Isto non é só unha metáfora, é certo o que vos digo.

just a metaphor I'm going to give you now, it's true.

It's exactly equivalent to taking

Isto é exactamente igual ca coller

one 325 milligram aspirin tablet,

unha aspirina de 325 miligramos

throwing it into the middle of Lake Tahoe,

guindala no medio do lago Tahoe

and then stirring it up, obviously with a very big stick,

e despois remexela, obviamente cun pau ben gordo

and waiting two years or so

e esperar uns dous anos

until the solution is homogeneous.

ata que a solución sexa homoxénea.

Then, when you get a headache,

Despois, cando che doia a cabeza

you take a sip of this water, and -- voila! -- it is gone.

bebes un grolo desta auga e, voilà! xa non che doe!

(Laughter)

Now that is true. That is what homeopathy is all about.

Isto é o que vén sendo a homeopatía.

And another claim that they make -- you'll love this one --

E outra das cousas que din, esta vaivos gustar moito

the more dilute the medicine is, they say,

é que canto máis dilúes unha menciña

the more powerful it is.

máis potente é.

Now wait a minute, we heard about a guy in Florida.

Esperade, oín falar dun tipo de Florida.

The poor man, he was on homeopathic medicine.

O pobre estaba a tomar una menciña homeopática.

He died of an overdose.

Morreu de sobredose.

He forgot to take his pill.

Esqueceuse de tomar a súa menciña.

(Laughter)

Work on it. Work on it.

Pensádeo, pensádeo.

It's a ridiculous thing. It is absolutely ridiculous.

É ridículo. Totalmente ridículo.

I don't know what we're doing,

Non sei que facemos

believing in all this nonsense over all these years.

crendo nestas parvadas tanto tempo.

Now, let me tell you,

Deixádeme que vos diga

The James Randi Educational Foundation

que a Fundación Educativa James Randi

is waving this very big carrot,

está ofrecendo un gran premio.

but I must say, the fact that nobody

Tamén teño que dicir que

has taken us up on this offer

que ninguén acepte a oferta

doesn't mean that the powers don't exist.

non significa que eses poderes non existan.

They might, some place out there.

Igual si, por algún lado.

Maybe these people are just independently wealthy.

Igual esas persoas non precisan os cartos.

Well, with Sylvia Browne I would think so.

Por exemplo, con Sylvia Browne eu pensaríao.

You know, 700 dollars for a 20 minute reading

700 dólares por un contacto telefónico de 20 minutos

over the telephone --

that's more than lawyers make!

Cobra máis que un avogado!

I mean that's a fabulous amount of money.

É unha cantidade incrible de cartos.

These people don't need the million dollars perhaps,

Pode que esa xente non precise un millón de dólares

but wouldn't you think they'd like to take it

pero non pensades que lles gustaría gañarnos

just to make me look silly?

só por deixarme de parvo?

Just to get rid of this godless person out there

Por desfacerse deste impío

that Sylvia Browne talks about all the time?

do que Sylvia Browne fala seguido?

I think that something needs to be done about this.

Creo que hai que facer algo en serio.

We really would love to have suggestions from you folks

Gustaríame escoitar algunha das vosas propostas

on how to contact federal, state

para contactar coas autoridades federais, estatais

and local authorities

e locais

to get them to do something.

para que fagan algo ao respecto.

If you find out -- now I understand.

Se sabedes como... Si, xa sei

We've seen people, even today, speaking to us

vemos xente, aínda hoxe en día, que nos fala

about AIDS epidemics

da epidemia da SIDA,

and starving kids around the world

de nenos morrendo de fame no mundo,

and impure water supplies that people have to suffer with.

de xente que ten que sufrir a falla de auga potable.

Those are very important,

Esas cuestións son moi importantes,

critically important to us.

cruciais, incluso.

And we must do something about those problems.

Temos que facer algo para resolvelas.

But at the same time,

Pero ao mesmo tempo

como dixo Arthur C. Clarke:

as Arthur C. Clarke said,

A podremia da mente humana

The rotting of the human mind,

the business of believing in the paranormal and the occult

o negocio de crer no paranormal e no oculto

and the supernatural --

e o sobrenatural...

all of this total nonsense,

En todas estas trapalladas,

this medieval thinking --

este pensamento medieval...

I think something should be done about that,

Hai que facer algo

and it all lies in education.

e a solución reside na educación.

Largely, it's the media

En gran parte, os medios de comunicación

who are to blame for this sort of thing.

teñen a culpa de todo isto.

They shamelessly promote

Fomentan descaradamente

all kinds of nonsense of this sort

todo tipo de trapalladas destas

because it pleases the sponsors.

porque aos patrocinadores gústanlle

It's the bottom line, the dollar line.

polo pan baila o can. O carto.

That's what they're looking at.

Niso se fixan.

We really must do something about this.

Temos que facer algo de verdade.

I'm willing to take your suggestions,

Estou disposto a escoitar as vosas propostas

and I'm willing to have you

e tamén quero que entredes na nosa web

tune in to our webpage.

It's www.randi.org.

É www.randi.org

Go in there and look at the archives,

Entrade e mirade os arquivos

and you will begin to understand much more

e comezaredes a entender moito máis

of what I've been talking about today.

sobre o que vos contei hoxe aquí.

You will see the records that we have.

Veredes todos os documentos que temos.

There's nothing like sitting in that library

Non hai nada como sentarte nesa biblioteca

and having a family appear there

e ver a historia dunha familia

and say that Mum gave away all the family fortune.

cuxa nai regalou todos os aforros que tiñan.

She cashed in the CDs,

Regalou os CD,

she gave away the stocks and the certificates.

as accións, os certificados de valores.

That's really sad to hear,

É triste escoitalo

and it hasn't helped them one bit,

e non lles axudou nadiña.

hasn't solved any of their problems.

Non solucionou ningún dos seus problemas.

Yes, there could be a rotting of the American mind,

Pode que a mente estadounidense podreza

and of the minds all the way around the earth,

e tamén a de todo o mundo

if we don't start to think sensibly about these things.

se non comezamos a ser sensatos con estes temas.

Now, we've offered this carrot,

Ofrecemos este premio

as I say, we've dangled the carrot.

e como digo, poñémolo en bandexa.

We're waiting for the psychics to come forth and snap at it.

Estamos esperando a que veñan médiums e nolo quiten.

Oh, we get lots of them,

Veñen unha morea deles

hundreds of them every year come by.

centos de persoas por ano.

These are dowsers and people

Falabaratos e outras persoas

who think that they can talk to the dead as well,

que pensan que poden falar cos mortos

but they're amateurs; they don't know how to evaluate

pero son principiantes; non saben como avaliar

their own so-called powers.

os seus supostos poderes.

The professionals never come near us,

Os profesionais non adoitan vir onda nós

except in that case of Sylvia Browne

coa excepción de Sylvia Browne

that I told you about a moment ago.

da que vos falei hai un chisco.

Aceptou e logo botouse atrás.

She did accept and then backed away.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Donas e cabaleiros,

I'm James Randi,

son James Randi

and I'm waiting.

e estou agardando.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)