There was a reality con-artist show, about a year or two ago IIRC. It was this guy (an admitted con artist) that would set out to try to get things for free. I remember one time he got his apartment cleaned by pretty women for free. It didn't last very long. M. Adam Davis wrote: > Interesting too that each demonstration lasts for less than 5 minutes > of "run time", requiring less than (for the 9 bulb light string) 12 > watt hours of power. A 2AH Li-Ion battery costs $12, and has 7.4WH of > power. > > If he weren't a fraud he would be a billionare. Given that he's not a > billionare, he must be a fraud. He only needs to demonstrate his > device a few times a year to pull in a few hundred thousand in funding > to "complete development" and he can go on indefinitely. Given a good > NDA, and very tight controls on publicity he can dupe a lot of > investors since they can't publicize the fraud so others don't fall > into the trap. They also don't want to publicize it as it may hurt > their funds if their investors see how they've used their money. > > It's a pretty solid scam. He seems to have some history in learning > how to run these shows prior to this particular device. > > I imagine there's a list out there of things you need to do to pull a > good con. Such a list might include: > - appear to be a regular person, not an intellectual ("We see an > effect when I turn the coil upside down - it drops in voltage. I > don't know why that is, but I'm close to an answer") > - drag the con on as long as there's money ("We have a few main > problems, heat, orientation, etc which we now know how to overcome. > We expect it will take a year and $x in funding to develop the next > generation prototype without these issues") > - Involved all of the target's senses in the demonstration (hot > lightbulb, feel vibrations of coil, scent of overheated electrical > tape, sight of bright light, sound of motors, good catering) > - promise of exceptional [wealth|celebrity|happiness|etc] > > etc. > > Who wants to take bets on how long until a con artist reality show is > developed? It'd be an easy trip from American Inventor/Apprentice to > American Con Artist. 14 con artists attempt to trick several judges > into giving them the prize while also foiling their competitors. The > judges are also reality contestants who believe they are on the > "average joe venture capitalist" reality show and are attempting to > select the best investment available and get the best return on > investment compared to their competitors. They'll be fighting over > the best con artists, who will be fighting over the best venture > capitalists. > > I wonder why the sky suddenly darkened... > > -Adam > > On 5/2/06, McReynolds, Alan A wrote: > >> Odd that these generators make just the right voltage and current to >> provide stable power for an household incandescent light. >> >> That constant ~75W output ought to make a great battery recharger. I >> trust this 'inventor' drives an electric car ;-) >> >> ...Alan >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf >> Of Mark Jordan >> Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 7:03 PM >> To: piclist@mit.edu >> Subject: [EE] Energy coil >> >> >> Now that's very weird: >> >> http://www.overunity.com/stevenmark/ >> >> See those videos! >> >> -- >> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >> View/change your membership options at >> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist >> >> > > -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist