Ever been to a psychic?

[Nightingale 0]

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Somewhere a year or two ago, I saw a video of an edited version of his show, followed by the unedited version. It was unbelievable. I can't fathom how such a hopeless fraud can even face people after a fiasco like that.

Because he had fooled too many people. The people in his audience were so hopeful they would grasp on to anything and supply him with what he needed to cold read. When you cold read, there are going to be misses. I remember a few misses I considered catastrophic that, when I talked to the person later, they didn't even remember, because the brain doesn't focus on things that it doesn't want to hear... it focuses on what it considers important and dismisses what's not relevant. The people who come to psychics have already suspended their disbelief. It's up to the psychic reader to run with it at that point. They're reading something, of course, but it isn't cards or minds... it's faces, actions and responses.

[Nightingale 0]

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... as much as I'm a skeptic with anything like that, I have that other side of me that wants so badly to believe that there is some supernatural stuff out there. I guess some people are just better actors than others.

Have you seen any episodes of the show "America's Psychic Challenge"?

That side of people that wants so badly to believe is what psychics take advantage of, whether they know it or not. People who learn cold reading accidentally and convince themselves they're psychic may not know they're deceiving themselves and you, but there is no way a hot reader doesn't know what they're doing. They're the worst kind of liar.

No, I haven't seen that show. Is it on DVD?

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[MagicGuy 0]

I don't think so, but I believe you can watch episodes of it on Lifetime's website.

Yeah, Lifetime. My mother watches the channel religiously and when I caught her watching an episode of this, I'm not gonna lie, I was intrigued.

I always caught bad vibes about John Edwards. Something about him I just never liked.

It's wild that cold reading can get to a point with someone that doesn't realize they are doing it.. where they end up believing they are psychic. That's crazy!!

[Nightingale 0]

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It's wild that cold reading can get to a point with someone that doesn't realize they are doing it.. where they end up believing they are psychic. That's crazy!!

It's pretty common. The term the skeptic community uses for it is "transcendental temptation."

Karla McLaren, a former psychic, has this to say about it: "

For instance, an understanding of cold reading would have helped me a great deal. I never knew what cold reading was, and until I saw professional magician and debunker Mark Edward use cold reading on an ABC News special last year, I didn't understand that I had long used a form of cold reading in my own work! I was never taught cold reading and I never intended to defraud anyone - I simply picked up the technique through cultural osmosis."

You can read the whole article here: http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-05/new-age.html

[Vallerina 2]

Kris did a fantabulous job of explaining cold-reading and the scam artist that is Sylvia Browne.

Banachek also does cold readings, but the difference with him and and psychics is that he's better at it, and he doen't lie for money. http://www.banachek.org/nonflash/index.htm

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[MagicGuy 0]

And that is the biggest difference. Magicians and entertainers use it for entertainment. These so-called psychics and mediums are using it to cheat their customers into thinking they are getting closure on very sensitive subjects, at the very minimum. Never mind charging them an arm and a leg during the process.

[Nightingale 0]

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Never mind charging them an arm and a leg during the process.

Well, Penn and Teller certainly charge an arm and a leg for their show tickets, but they're honest about it, and you get what you paid for: entertainment.

[aprilcat 0]

Penn & Teller are good but will let you know in a minute when they are b.sing you. I love that show 'Bullshit'..but anyway...

I've been turned on to a coffee ground reader 8 years ago who doesn't talk to the dead, but gives me some spot on advise the future. I won't defend Sylvia or John Edward types nor would I go to them, but I DO believe we all have a little insight and instinct, and some of us are more plugged in than others. Whether we use it to help others or help our bank accounts is up to the individual. I wish someone WOULD tell me there is money or a nice ring buried in my bathroom wall, but I'm not looking for that.~~April

Camelot II, the Electric Boogaloo!

[SuFantasma 0]

Have her repack your reserve, cut-away and predict the outcome

Y yo, pa' vivir con miedo, prefiero morir sonriendo, con el recuerdo vivo".
- Ruben Blades, "Adan Garcia"