Psychics - Aussie skeptic says it like it is

[Skeptic]

Well done Fitzy. I liked him as a rugby player, but my opinion of him has increased mightily.

Shows that, contrary to stereotype, smart people are found in all walks of life. It's my experience as well, and probably most people's: e.g., the number of idiot professors -- and intelligent street sweepers -- is larger that one would suspect.

 

[Sideroxylon]

Shows that, contrary to stereotype, smart people are found in all walks of life. It's my experience as well, and probably most people's: e.g., the number of idiot professors -- and intelligent street sweepers -- is larger that one would suspect.

People have posted evidence of Fitzsimons' nous and it seems only Buzz disputes that, but does it really take high inteligence to see through psychic frauds? I think one factor at work in the media is something of an Emperor's New Clothes effect that needs to be dispelled.

 

[zooterkin]

But forgive me if I am wrong, but nowhere in your appraisal of dear old Fitzy does it mention that he has any knowledge of what I would call "the occult".

How knowledgeable can one be about something which doesn't exist? He did seem pretty well informed about the bag of tricks that so-called mediums use, though.

 

[buzz lightyear]

That he doesn't know? Doesn't know what? What are you really upset about? That he calls psychics charlatans? Is that it?

I have had a good chew over this question lionking.
I too have wondered what pissed me off about the utube clip.

And the answer is that I hate bullies.

It is an old reflex that goes back to my days at high school.

I went to a large school where every grade had a dozen classes A,B,C,D,.....ect. Being the studious academic type I was in the A class along with the rest of the weedy bespectacled nerds. And as it happens in these situations your class mates become your friends.

But as luck would have it I matured early. So by the age of 13 I stood 6ft tall, weighed 150lbs, with a fair growth of stubble on my chin.

Now in Australia we have a tradition of standing by your mates in a fight. So whenever one of the bullies in the dumber classes would try to run roughshod over one of my little nerdy mates I would find my self busting heads.

And here 40years later I see a boneheaded clown verbally bullying a little dope like Kotchey, what can I do?

Its the old concrete slab outside the fire station on Friday afternoon all over again.

 

[politas]

Thanks for the link, AndyD. I never watch these idiots, preferring to get my giggles watching the morons on Fox News on cable.

I don't know if this was a setup to increase ratings or not -- to simply call what Edward does "a nonsense" is "a nonsense," IMO. Fitzy might have said a little about cold reading, and then sent viewers to Michael Shermer's site, or even to this site.

Still, better than nothing, I suppose.

Did you not watch to the end? he explicitly mentioned Michael Shermer, and the www.skeptic.com website.

 

[zooterkin]

I have had a good chew over this question lionking.
I too have wondered what pissed me off about the utube clip.

And the answer is that I hate bullies.

So, you don't like the way he said what he did. Fair enough, he did put his point across forcefully, and I can understand you might feel that was bullying. But that's not a point you raised at all in your earlier posts, for example:

LOL............Peter Fitzsimons??????????
A clown who made his money out of chasing a ball around a paddock is your "man".

Oh he is a beaut all right.

Did you watch that whole utube clip?

I think he took one too many hits in the scrum.
The only thing that he proves, is that some Australians are incredibly gullible.
If they are stupid enough to listen to a meat head like him it is no wonder they end up going to "psychics".

Football hero.......ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ah

Your post is almost entirely an ad hom; because this guy played football, he can't have a valid opinion, all other evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.

Now in Australia we have a tradition of standing by your mates in a fight. So whenever one of the bullies in the dumber classes would try to run roughshod over one of my little nerdy mates I would find my self busting heads.

Are you saying it's your mates being bullied this time? Do you mean the presenters, or the woo peddlers?

And here 40years later I see a boneheaded clown verbally bullying a little dope like Kotchey, what can I do?

Well, you could actually point it out, rather than addressing something else entirely. And there you go again with the 'boneheaded clown'. Did you read the other posts above that show that this guy is apparently anything but boneheaded.

Its the old concrete slab outside the fire station on Friday afternoon all over again.

I have absolutely no idea what this refers to.

 

[zooterkin]

The only thing that he proves, is that some Australians are incredibly gullible.
If they are stupid enough to listen to a meat head like him it is no wonder they end up going to "psychics".

But forgive me if I am wrong, but nowhere in your appraisal of dear old Fitzy does it mention that he has any knowledge of what I would call "the occult".

If going to "psychics" is stupid, what is there to know about "the occult"?

What point are you arguing, exactly?

 

[lionking]

I have had a good chew over this question lionking.
I too have wondered what pissed me off about the utube clip.

And the answer is that I hate bullies.

It is an old reflex that goes back to my days at high school.

I went to a large school where every grade had a dozen classes A,B,C,D,.....ect. Being the studious academic type I was in the A class along with the rest of the weedy bespectacled nerds. And as it happens in these situations your class mates become your friends.

But as luck would have it I matured early. So by the age of 13 I stood 6ft tall, weighed 150lbs, with a fair growth of stubble on my chin.

Now in Australia we have a tradition of standing by your mates in a fight. So whenever one of the bullies in the dumber classes would try to run roughshod over one of my little nerdy mates I would find my self busting heads.

And here 40years later I see a boneheaded clown verbally bullying a little dope like Kotchey, what can I do?

Its the old concrete slab outside the fire station on Friday afternoon all over again.

It's hard to tell whether you are serious or not (a little bit like Jerome in some ways), but just giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you are, was not your busting of heads bullying?

Nah, you can't be serious.

 

[Mashuna]

Being the studious academic type I was in the A class

What went wrong?

 

[EvilSmurf]

LOL............Peter Fitzsimons??????????
A clown who made his money out of chasing a ball around a paddock is your "man".

Fitzy retired in 1989. Rugby did not become professional until 1995.

 

[politas]

And here 40years later I see a boneheaded clown verbally bullying a little dope like Kotchey, what can I do?

Kochie's no dope; he's an intelligent man. His unwillingness to make a firm statement of his own understanding about "psychic" fraudsters shows what a weasel he is. I can easily understand and sympathise with Fitz's obviously well-controlled annoyance at Kochie's sliminess.

 

[Brian-M]

But forgive me if I am wrong, but nowhere in your appraisal of dear old Fitzy does it mention that he has any knowledge of what I would call "the occult".

And if you want to pump the "Ive been to Uni therefore I smart" rubbish, forget it.

This is called "moving the goalposts". Your initial claim was that we shouldn't listen to him because he's a "meathead". Now you're claiming we shouldn't listen to him because he's not an expert on the occult. Not that you need to be an expert to voice your opinion that it's nonsense.

(And actually, I was pumping the "he's got a degree majoring in political science so he's probably not a complete meathead" rubbish. )

I have had a good chew over this question lionking.
I too have wondered what pissed me off about the utube clip.

And the answer is that I hate bullies.

Ah... If you'd got straight to this point at first, you'd have saved us some time.

And here 40years later I see a boneheaded clown verbally bullying a little dope like Kotchey, what can I do?

I can understand that. The only reason I posted in this thread was because you seemed to be attacking Fitzy for no reason (or logic).

In the YouTube clip, it doesn't seem to me that Fitzsimons is bullying him at all.

 

[buzz lightyear]

If going to "psychics" is stupid, what is there to know about "the occult"?

What point are you arguing, exactly?

Expecting that by consulting a "psychic" online or down at the corner shops is going to be any more that an interesting distraction could be considered mildly stupid, zooterkin.

But going on Television and badgering people to give opinions on a subject that you know absolutely zero about is bulk stupid.

Do you realise that what could be termed the "occult", is the oldest science known to man. It is the mother of all knowledge, surviving for over 100,000 years in a dozen different cultures.

It is the reason a puny little naked ape was able to survive in a big tough world.
It was the shaman, the original occultist, who studied the stars, the seasons, the herbs, the animals, the landscape, so that his people would know where to hunt and live.

It was the medieval "witch" who was the original pharmacist, treating disease and injury with herbs and poultices while the orthodox "doctors" were simply blood letting.

It was the alchemist seeking the philosophers stone that gave rise to modern chemistry.

It is from the churches and mosques of the world that writing and mathematics arrive.

And all these people have one thing in common, they were seeking the "occult" or "unseen".

So if you have a lifetime or two there is buckets to be learned about the occult. You cant just log onto Mr Shermer's web page, memorise a couple of lines, and bang your stupid gums together without looking like a complete halfwit.

 

[arthwollipot]

Expecting that by consulting a "psychic" online or down at the corner shops is going to be any more that an interesting distraction could be considered mildly stupid, zooterkin.

But going on Television and badgering people to give opinions on a subject that you know absolutely zero about is bulk stupid.

Do you realise that what could be termed the "occult", is the oldest science known to man. It is the mother of all knowledge, surviving for over 100,000 years in a dozen different cultures.

It is the reason a puny little naked ape was able to survive in a big tough world.
It was the shaman, the original occultist, who studied the stars, the seasons, the herbs, the animals, the landscape, so that his people would know where to hunt and live.

It was the medieval "witch" who was the original pharmacist, treating disease and injury with herbs and poultices while the orthodox "doctors" were simply blood letting.

It was the alchemist seeking the philosophers stone that gave rise to modern chemistry.

It is from the churches and mosques of the world that writing and mathematics arrive.

And all these people have one thing in common, they were seeking the "occult" or "unseen".

So if you have a lifetime or two there is buckets to be learned about the occult. You cant just log onto Mr Shermer's web page, memorise a couple of lines, and bang your stupid gums together without looking like a complete halfwit.

You know...



Nah. Totally not worth it.

 

[rjh01]

You know...



Nah. Totally not worth it.

You are right. Not worth even reading, let alone responding. Total crap.

 

[buzz lightyear]

You are right. Not worth even reading, let alone responding. Total crap.

Is that you Fitzy?

Got that same "highbrow" style.

 

[arthwollipot]

Some trolls I'll engage, just for the fun of it.

 

[buzz lightyear]

Some trolls I'll engage, just for the fun of it.

Well duckies, do it, don't just dribble, your mum is going to have to clean that shirt.

 

[AndyD]

But going on Television and badgering people to give opinions on a subject that you know absolutely zero about is bulk stupid.

The primary subject here was John Edward. He's been all over TV and is transcribed in a few places on the net. He's been the subject of a great deal of discussion. It doesn't take a genius to know a few things about him.

Do I really have to let a shonky builder build me a house before I can believe all those people who showed me evidence of his shonkiness?

And all these people have one thing in common, they were seeking the "occult" or "unseen".

And this relates to John Edward how?

 

[Cuddles]

Your post is almost entirely an ad hom; because this guy played football, he can't have a valid opinion, all other evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.

Of course, the fact that he didn't play football still doesn't seem to have quite got through.