Joao de Deus

[Maksutov]

Any of our friends in Brazil know anything about this guy? (http://www.healingbrazil.com/) I'm overwhelmed by the humility embodied in his pseudonym.

Are the medical authorities aware of this scam? To me it appears he needs a visitation from an entity known as...James Randi.

Note: the topic here is pseudoscientific medical practices and the number of people who still fall for such things.

[Moose]

John of God? Yeah, Randi's well aware of him, and explained how JoG's "magic healing" works. It's mostly variants of the "spike up the nose" and "psychic surgery" tricks.

What really doesn't help when NBC does a free infomercial cleverly disguised as an investigation piece.

Check the back issues of Swift (Randi's weekly newsletter) for more on how John of God operates. It's pretty sick.

[Frog march]

Check the back issues of Swift (Randi's weekly newsletter) for more on how John of God operates. It's pretty sick.


this?
http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html


from link(by James Randi)
I've performed the famous "psychic surgery" stunt many times, all over the world, notably on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson many years ago. It consists of the performer apparently reaching into the body of the person on the table, and extracting bloody lumps said to be tumors. That was clearly presented as a trick, and I explained on the Tonight Show that it was done by exactly the same means that the fakers in the Philippines are still using to cheat their victims. Imagine my surprise when Fred DeCordova, the Tonight Show producer, called to tell me that at the NBC-TV Los Angeles office alone, they'd received 102 phone calls following the broadcast, every one of them asking how to contact the Filipino "psychic surgeons"! The simple message hadn't gotten through, evidently.


pretty funny.

[GDwarf]

this? pretty funny.
I'd call it rather scary, myself. after being shown exactly how a fraud works, you then go and ask how you can give this con artist money? What kind of person thinks like that?

[antoniseb]

James Randi is really good. I enjoyed this account of his interactions with ABC on this.

[Frog march]

I'd call it rather scary, myself. after being shown exactly how a fraud works, you then go and ask how you can give this con artist money? What kind of person thinks like that?

The kind of person that watches television with 1% of their brain?

[GDwarf]

The kind of person that watches television with 1% of their brain?
Apparently. It still makes me nervous, if a dedicated debunking causes more people to believe something just what would something promoting it do? (Now, the net change is probably against the faith healers, but the very fact that more people were converted...) I mean, if these people can see exactly how the scam is worked, and don't care, then these con artists will always have customers, which means that they'll always be around.

[sarongsong]

...and send marriage proposals to convicted 'evil-doers'...

[farmerjumperdon]

I'd call it rather scary, myself. after being shown exactly how a fraud works, you then go and ask how you can give this con artist money? What kind of person thinks like that?

Two kinds:

1 - People who are beyond standard medical care and are desparate for anything, even if they have it on good authority (or know it for themselves) that it is a scam.

2 - Suckers.

[Gillianren]

...and send marriage proposals to convicted 'evil-doers'...

Hey, it worked for Ted Bundy, right?

[Celestial Mechanic]

And don't forget how well "psychic surgery" worked for Andy Kaufmann! ;)

[Maksutov]

And Peter Sellers. :evil:

[Argos]

No Mak, I´ve never heard of that dude. He still haven´t made his way to the maintream media. Central Brazil [where 'John of God' tends his clients] is full of groups of wackos of all kinds, due to the "energetic proprieties of the crystals underneath". There are various ET spaceships landing sites, ethereal chanelling spots, and other wonders of the technology of the age of Aquarius. This one guy must be of of the many tourist-oriented charlatains.

James Randi did a wonderful job in Brazil a couple of years ago, as his debunking of a famous psychic [his name escapes me] lead to his arrest and conviction for abusing the public´s faith [a sort of extortion without use of force]. The case was covered by the main TV sunday night show. The charlatains are more careful after that epidsode. James Rndi is very well known by the general public down here because of that.