What's the collective feeling in the backroom regarding Psychics? I have never been to one, and have no intention either because I feel that there is something in it, I don't know what.
Last night for the first time in her life the missus went to a Psychic night. She had to take four photos of deceased people with her.
The four people were my mum, her gran and grandpa and her other granda.
The psychic claimed to have messages from every one of them and individually went through each one and got 4 out of 4 with regards to how they had died. She also gave a lot of talk about what they were saying, what they did in life and what messages they wanted to get over.
There was quite a bit of stuff that you could say was very vague or able to be interpreted in so many ways, but there was other more specific stuff. Her Granda went into a nursing home after suffering from dementia and her dad ended up having a breakdown as a result of the guilt he felt by allowing his dad to go into the home. The psychic apparently got the reason for death correct and the pain and guilt that her dad suffered as a result.
So, all vague and interpreted by people who are wanting to believe, or is there something in it?
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Twaddle for halfwits.
(Fascinating no doubt, not dissing the missus...)
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Thu 31 Jul 14 at 21:20
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I sensed that you were going to say that. ;-)
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>> I sensed that you were going to say that. ;-)
Heh heh
:o}
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I know one chap who sees one regularly, and the general consensus among his mates is he'd be better off seeing a counsellor.
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psychics meeting canceled due to unforseen circumstances... i'l get me coat
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A psychic midget escaped from jail.
The headlines read: “SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGEâ€
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I almost had a psychic girlfriend
But she left me before we met
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>> So, all vague and interpreted by people who are wanting to believe, or is there something in it?
"people who are wanting to believe" is the something you allude to - otherwise why would anyone want to go (other than to absolutely contradict anything the psychic suggests, not that I'd ever do that).
Absolute charlatans, although I've no doubt a good number believe their own hype.
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One has to believe in an afterlife as a pre-requisite to believing that "spirits" exist, surely?
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Indeed but lot of people do have a belief that there is some sort of life after death or at least a longing that there may be. It's common to all human societies. It's a shame that people's beliefs are sometimes exploited by the fraudulent but exploitation of others is of course another human trait.
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>> One has to believe in an afterlife as a pre-requisite to believing that "spirits" exist,
>> surely?
Not necessarily. There's a school of thought that says that "spirits" are actually beings, or people, or whatever in some sort of "parallel dimension" which occasionally "leaks" in some ill defined manner into our own.
No more or less likely I guess.
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Possible that we have senses that we don't understand ourselves I suppose.
But as with most of these things belief (self-delusion) is important; and when somebody says I have to believe in something for it to work, then I conclude that it doesn't really.
It.s in the same category as flying saucers for me. When people find something difficult to explain, they seem to reach for the least likely explanation, especially if they have been pointed towards it.
So if a medium can make it look convincing, it's easier for the self-deluding to put that down to mystic powers than 'reading' plus guesswork plus confirmation bias.
I was convinced that I had seen a ghost when I was 14. I did see it. But I had flu and a temperature of about 105 at the time, so what is the most likely explanation?
Y'cannae change the laws of psychics, Jim.
Last edited by: Manatee on Fri 1 Aug 14 at 09:27
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>> "people who are wanting to believe"
That's the key prerequisite for all belief in anything. People are capable of beliving literally anything, and elaborate religions of ritual and hierarchy are constructed for their benefit.
People can also chose to believe that there are other people who have been especially designated to be the leaders and organisers of these organisations, or who alone possess the power of unlocking its revelations for the benefit of the unititiated.
You couldn't invent a better scam if you tried, because no one, except a gullible Earthling, would ever think it possible that people would actually want to believe in it all.
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>> The psychic claimed to have messages from every one of them and individually went through
>> each one and got 4 out of 4 with regards to how they had died.
She didn't know, she found by very clever questioning, conversational skills, and superb knowledge of body language.
>> She also gave a lot of talk about what they were saying, what they did
>> in life and what messages they wanted to get over.
Those same skills were used, your wife unwittingly providing the medium with what she wanted to hear
>> So, all vague and interpreted by people who are wanting to believe, or is there
>> something in it?
The fact you go, and engage means you want to believe, you have a need to know and are subsequently very open to manipulation. Thats key to all these kind of scams.
There is no afterlife, but there is an everpresence, the stuff you leave in other peoples conscious or subconscious, and in physical things you leave behind. Its the everpresence that the medium uses.
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>> There is no afterlife, but there is an everpresence, the stuff you leave in other peoples conscious or subconscious, and in physical things you leave behind.
I've never heard it called that before. But what you describe is the material version - the only real version - of 'immortality'.
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If one approaches it as a form of entertainment, in the understanding that the practitioner is using skills you do not understand (reading, diversion, etc), just like a magician, then I don't see the harm. But the fact that it's promoted as real can potentially be quite harmful to already vulnerable people.
It is, of course, pure showmanship.
I visited one whilst a bit inebriated at a student hall party, and was told that the two most important names in my life would be Rachel and Dennis. Rachel hasn't turned up and I'm yet to be run over by a fire engine. I suppose both could still happen.
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Beware of fire engines driven by women?
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Here is some mind reading that usually works
Ask your friend to quickly think of a two-digit number between 1 and 100, both digits odd and both digits different from each other.
Concentrate, the answer is ... 37!
How does it work?
You start with saying they can choose any two-digit number between 1 and 100 (they will remember you giving them that 1-100 choice. It's called the primacy effect in memory: you tend to remember the things at the start better). Two digits means 1-9 are eliminated instantly.
You then go on to say both digits must be odd, so that halves the possible numbers too: all the even ones. Next, you say both digits must be different. This narrows it down even more. There are in fact very few numbers left that the spectator can choose from (though they don't tend to notice this).
This is where the psychology and statistics comes in. When asked to give the number quickly the vast majority of people will say 37. It may be that it's somewhere in the middle. 13 would be too small, 97 would be too big. It may be that the numbers 3 and 7, which themselves are the most common answers if you ask people to name a number between 1 and 10, just seem to come together. Whatever the reason there is an increased chance that you get the 37 you want.
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Hmm. Picked 15.
Anyway, that awfully nice Mr Derren Brown did some programmes on channel 4 about psychics and their ways. Not sure the programmes are still easily available, but a relevant clip is here. In essence, he spent a week with a "psychic", and after one of his performances the clip shows Derren dissecting the technique:
www.dailymotion.com/video/xdyjj7_the-art-of-cold-reading_tech
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Psychics - Armel Coussine
