Science of Scams: Derren Brown and Kat the Scientist debunk the paranormal industry

Cory Doctorow 1:55 am Fri Oct 16, 2009

The Science of Scams is a new project from Channel 4 and mentalist/magician Derren Brown that aims to debunk the paranormal industry's lucrative claims about ghosts, fortune-telling, telekinesis and other assorted woo woo. Brown and C4 produced seven videos purporting to show the kind of "paranormal" activity held up as evidence of the supernatural and released them on YouTube for several weeks, allowing people to make what they will of them. Now, they're revealing the hoax videos once per week, with accompanying videos that explain how the scam works. The show is presented by Kat the Scientist, who did postgrad research in Biological Anthropology and Pharmacology at Oxford.

I love this to pieces and I've been waiting to tell you about it for months — you see, it was commissioned by my brilliant and talented wife Alice Taylor for Channel 4, as part of C4's educational/public service remit. And that, friends, is why my marriage kicks ass.

Science of Scams

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