/oss/taxonomy/term/2165/all en /oss/article/history/bending-spoons-and-bending-minds <p><em>This week the world lost one of our greatest promoters of science and critical thinking. James Randi was a champion of the scientific method and a fierce opponent of pseudoscience. Much will be written about his life by others but I would like to share an article I wrote about twenty-five years ago after I had the pleasure of meeting the “Amazing One” for the first time. </em></p> <p><i>The OSS was privileged to have Randi as one of our 2010 Trottier Public Science Symposium speakers. Below are some photos from that memorable evening.</i></p> Thu, 22 Oct 2020 16:19:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8459 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science/bending-spoons-and-bending-minds <p>Everyone has skeletons in their closet. There’s at least one in mine. A couple of years ago while on a cruise I pinched a spoon from the dining room. It wasn’t because of any lack of spoons at home, it was because no matter how hard I tried I could not bend this one. I tried with two hands, I tried by pushing against the table, I even tried placing the handle under my heel and tugging on the head. No give at all. I had to have that spoon!</p> Tue, 14 Jun 2016 01:40:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2341 at /oss