Full Name Steven Shaw Movies Child of Glass | Name Steven Shaw Nationality American | |
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Occupation Mentalist, magician, writer, skeptic Books Psychophysiological Thought Reading, Or, Muscle Reading and the Ideomotor Response Revealed Similar People | ||
Magicians banachek parte 2
Steven Shaw (born 30 November 1960), known professionally as Banachek, is a mentalist. He has written books on mentalism and has invented various magic 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.
Contents
- Magicians banachek parte 2
- Banachek The Worlds Greatest Mentalist
- Biography
- Opinion on psychics
- Awards
- Books and videos
- References
Banachek - The World's Greatest Mentalist
Biography
Born in England and raised in South Africa and Australia, Banachek has been performing since his arrival in the United States in 1976.
Banachek is often sought out by top entertainers and magic TV shows around the world as a consultant. His clients include Penn & Teller, David Blaine, Lance Burton, James Randi and Criss Angel.
During the early-1980s Project Alpha hoax, Banachek fooled scientists at Washington University into believing that his supposed psychic abilities were genuine. Even though "they had agreed should they ever be asked: Are you faking it?... that they would immediately admit the truth... They were never once asked.", as D. J. Grothe explains. With James Randi, he took part in an investigation of alleged faith healer Peter Popoff's activities, which ultimately exposed Popoff's false claims.
Banachek has appeared on several television programs, including CNN Live, Mindfreak and Unscrewed with Martin Sargent. During Nightline's Beyond Belief program, reporter JuJu Chang described him as a "crusader".
In 2008, Banachek toured as part of the stage show Hoodwinked with Bob Arno, Todd Robbins and Richard Turner.
On July 12, 2009, Banachek conducted a preliminary test of Connie Sonne's dowsing ability for the JREF One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge that was witnessed by hundreds in person and hundreds more via live webcast.
Opinion on psychics
As Director of the JREF Million Dollar Challenge, Banachek has stated that psychics like James Van Praagh have crossed the line when they claim to talk to the dead. He believes that claims to be talking to a person's dead relatives to "make [that person] feel better" prevent them from grieving: "I think these [psychics] are scum.... Grieving is a part of death." He has stated that there is no scientific evidence for psychic phenomena: "it's not science; it never has been science". According to him, the treatment of the children on A&E's show Psychic Kids "borders on child abuse".