• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

John Edward - psychic or what?

Robert Oz said:
This was definitely a hot read. Edward used the name Joshua, then said there was something wrong with the name Joshua and was instead getting Liam and then asked for his driver's license.

No cold reader in his right mind would immediately give two names and then ask to see ID for proof.
Click to expand...
I have said before that I think that it is probably a hot read.

But I was saying that a cold read was not entirely out of the question if he did not point at a specific table and if he did not give the name "Liam".

If he gave the name "Liam" as well as "Joshua" then it was definitely a hot read.

I think that this ambiguous in the OP which is the reason I asked for clarification.

Also, as I said before, even if he didn't point at a specific table and didn't give the name Liam the theatrical method of revealing the names seems to point at a hot read.
 
By the way, at this stage I have been told that I am incapable of understanding why I am absolutely nuts and that I have a low mental age.

Is it really me who is argumentative? :)
 
Dr. Keith said:
Actually, of all the assumptions needed that particular one would seem the least risky to me. I don't know any male over the age of 18 who would not have a DL in their wallet on their person if out in public. Is this an American thing?
Click to expand...
Yes, last time I lived in the UK it was by no means uncertain that someone would have a drivers licence, a lot of people just never learned.

In Australia it is a pretty safe bet that someone has a drivers licence - it is pretty much a rite of passage. I gather the same goes in the USA.

He also assumed that Liam had introduced himself at the next table. I am not sure of the etiquette involved with Vegas dinner theatre. If I go to a normal theatre it is highly unlikely that I would introduce myself to the people around me, but it would probably be different if I was sitting at a table with them.

Still, it seems that this kind of theatrical gesture would fall pretty flat if he was wrong. It seems to me that if he was taking a long shot he would simply have asked Liam to confirm his feeling which would have made the segue to the excuse a lot smoother.
 
Robert Oz said:
I'm at this table and I'm getting the name Joshua, but it's weird, because I'm getting the impression that this is, but sort of isn't, your name. Madam, how did this man introduce himself to you? Liam? Liam, please show your license to this lady. What does it say? Joshua Liam? There you go. This is your loved one's way of letting you know that they've come through today.

Definite hot read and sounds more like what you would see at a Derren Brown or Banachek show (except for the loved one coming through part). Cold reading sounds more like:

I'm at this table and I'm getting a J name: James, John, Joshua? Something with a J or G sound. Who is this? I feel there is a connection to the number three, this could be the third month or the third day of a month, and the letter L. What does the L mean?
Click to expand...
Except he wasn't at the table he was about sixty feet away from the table on the stage and pointing and the OP doesn't say "I am at this table" ie Edward himself does not indicate that he is referring to a specific table rather than a general direction.

RemieV believes he was pointing at a particular table but for the reasons I have already given I don't believe that she could accurately make that call from her vantage point about exactly where someone is pointing sixty feet away.

Edward's cold readings don't always sound like that. I have seen Edward getting multiple responses from a single letter on more than one occasion. If he was working something the size of, say, the Flamingo Showroom, then he could probably use a full name in the reasonable expectation of a hit.

So he points in a particular direction and says "I am getting the name Joshua" and someone stands up. He didn't identify the Joshua reference, the Joshua reference identified himself.

Now, with a name he has to make a guess about what is the connection between the standing man and the name.

So it is not out of the question that he might simply have made a guess - he guesses first "It's your name" and subsequently "Your name, but not the way you introduced yourself"

As I said before I have heard him taking long shots before and since the long shots missed I assuming they were cold readings.

I think it was a hot reading too, but I don't think this is completely certain.
 
Robin said:
He also assumed that Liam had introduced himself at the next table. I am not sure of the etiquette involved with Vegas dinner theatre. If I go to a normal theatre it is highly unlikely that I would introduce myself to the people around me, but it would probably be different if I was sitting at a table with them.
Click to expand...
Yes, the whole table set-up (versus regular stadium seating) lends itself to audience talking/mingling before the start of the show.

BTW, a lot of the JE naysayers on the Net suggest hidden microphones (at the tables, in the overhanging eaves of the queue line before the show) as a possibility.
 
Tommytwonines said:
Yes, the whole table set-up (versus regular stadium seating) lends itself to audience talking/mingling before the start of the show.

BTW, a lot of the JE naysayers on the Net suggest hidden microphones (at the tables, in the overhanging eaves of the queue line before the show) as a possibility.
Click to expand...

That should be part of the discussion as well.

The technology available for cheating in this manner would be irresistible it seems to me.
 
Last edited:
Like Pen Gillette once said when asked how the hell did Criss Angel do certain trick: "He didn´t do it the easy way"
 
Ron_Tomkins said:
Like Pen Gillette once said when asked how the hell did Criss Angel do certain trick: "He didn´t do it the easy way"
Click to expand...

There was actually a very well-circulated clip of Penn on a talk show telling the host that Criss Angel does 'I Dream of Jeannie' magic - meaning that his magic is simply camera tricks. Seems like the ultimate easy way. ;)

For the hidden microphone people:

It is less likely that's how he's doing it at this particular location for a couple of reasons - the first being that the piece of information he provided about Liam doesn't work by microphone unless there is another element. Additionally, the Flamingo showroom isn't his theatre. Lots of different performers cycle through there every night, and he's only there perhaps ten nights a year. I felt around for microphones (just in case) all the times I attended. Perhaps it's poor luck and they're dodging me, but I found nothing.
 
Seems like some others I have misread the OP. Edward never came up with the name “Liam” a person at the table did. This changes the scenario quite a bit . . .

(1) Edward points to an area of the audience and says he is getting the name “Joshua” (a common name).
Whether Edward pointed directly at “Liam’s” table or not isn’t that important. If no one had responded Edward would have simply expanded the “search area” and if that didn’t work he would have changed the name to something similar (John, Joseph, etc.). This is typically the way “psychics” go “fishing from an audience. Well within normal odds that Edward simply got lucky first time in selecting the correct area.

(2) A person from a table in that area holds his hand up to indicate an association with that name.
“Liam” may have said something like “That’s me” or “That’s my name” and RemieV may not have noticed. She wasn’t looking directly at “Liam” in the very first instance. Even if he said it quietly Edward may have been able to lip-read it. I doubt Edward would have merely assumed that it was the person’s own name.

(3) Edward asked the man (“Liam”) to stand up and he was given a microphone
“Liam“ didn‘t say anything.

(4) Edward then said it was weird because “Joshua” was the man’s name but he didn’t introduce himself that way at the table.
The real name may have been a name that is commonly shortened or nicknamed - William = bill, will, willy, etc. Don’t see why RemieV can’t provide the actual first name given as it’s a common name and the surname isn’t required and wouldn‘t be revealing any personal information. Even if it was would “Liam” care?

(5) Another person at the table was then asked to verify that he had introduced himself as “Liam“.
More theatrical than asking “Liam” but also far more risky unless you already know the answer for sure.

(6) Edward then asked Joshua to take out his driver's license and show it to everyone else at the table.
Once again theatrical but risky unless you know the person has a license and has it on them. I wonder if Edward asked if he had his license on him first? I don’t think RemieV has given us everything that was said in her short description and some really important bits are likely to have been left out.
 
Last edited:
RemieV said:
I can't clarify it at the moment. My laptop (where the file is stored) took ill and is currently being repaired.
Click to expand...
Must say I’m somewhat disappointed by this reply as it’s an important point that you should be able to easily remember. Your OP clearly said it was “someone else at the table” that first said “Liam”. Why do you now doubt your own words?
 
ynot said:
Must say I’m somewhat disappointed by this reply as it’s an important point that you should be able to easily remember. Your OP clearly said it was “someone else at the table” that first said “Liam”. Why do you now doubt your own words?
Click to expand...

Because I listened to it and made the early posts when the computer was still working. Since I didn't *transcribe* it, I can't be absolutely positive at this time, and will have to wait until I receive the laptop back from the repair people, which will take about a week.

I am not too close to anyone. That would imply that I care about John Edward, or think that he is really a psychic. I don't, and I don't. I simply want to convey the words with accuracy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom