JREF on ABC - does this end well?

[Almo]

Aaaand the last segment is a load of hooey, with the schmuck of a "reporter" falling for every cold reading trick in the book.

Yup. Solid up to the end. Almost ruins the whole thing. But I was glad they let Banachek talk some. Would have been nice to hear more from Randi, but what can you do?

At least the show was not nasty to the skeptics. That's a welcome change, and overall I think it was a good appearance for the JREF.

 

[The Rhyminocerus]

I didn't like how they ended on the note of a reporter getting sucked into the exact same methods that they described in earlier segments of the show. It seemed like it was trying to balance out all of the facts with crap so they don't alienate the less skeptical viewers.

 

[Moon-Spinner]

Okay, so we all didn't like the last segment, but I'm glad I was wrong about how the show would play out, and for the most part they exposed most of the "Psychics" as not having the powers that they claimed.

 

[Kopji]

Ok its on here.
I'm skipping to the end of the thread.

curtains rise upon a scene of unspeakable terror

kopji, tied to the chair. Menacing psychic family members holding hot pokers to my feet. AAARRRGH
YES YES, ENOUGH!
I post on jref.

Ssssssss Ooooo

I see a large doghouse with demonic sounds emanating....

The biography match where wrong answers are wadded up was visually effective.

Hahahaha. Ouch aaaagh!

 

[AdMan]

Okay, so we all didn't like the last segment, but I'm glad I was wrong about how the show would play out, and for the most part they exposed most of the "Psychics" as not having the powers that they claimed.

It's on my DVR... If reviews here weren't good, I was most likely going to skip it, but now will watch it. Glad that it turned out better than expected.

 

[Kopji]

'Blowing roses'. Very pretty.

One of my experts says she would have the rose actually explode. Pretty violent fantasies around here.

And on to a commercial break.

I should add that all real psychics types are really hot.

I have one here who is single and 23, although unemployed...

 

[Kopji]

She talks to dead people

Coming up, psychic moms.

Ok this is not my family, they look way too sweet.

 

[Kopji]

New Housewives of Hollywood Hills has the real Allison Dubois playing a mean psychic? Ok that's on the queue...

What's it like having a mom who can read your minds?

She is always right.

Is that any different than any other family?

OUCH OW

 

[Kopji]

The two hot psychic moms are going over well here.

A double rainbow.

NO PONIES?

 

[Kopji]

Oops, Housewives of BEVERLY Hills

I need to watch more TV...

And now another commercial break.

 

[Kopji]

And up next time on Nightline: a family with a whomping 18 kids. Tune in next week.

So. I'm gonna guess that someone called this way back at the beginning.
(Ok I cheated.)

paiute
I the only one who has the bad feeling that the host will summarize the hour thusly: "So are psychic abilities real? The truth is - we just don't know. Goodnight, everyone."

cupie doll!

 

[RSLancastr]

And up next time on Nightline: a family with a whomping 18 kids. Tune in next week.

No, I heard it as: ...with 18 children. How did they do it?
Three guesses, Nightline...

 

[Almo]

If the cold-reading techniques are visible in the last segment, then the show was made quite well. With critical thinking you can pick it apart. By bashing on them too much, I think they might have pushed anyone who might change their mind too hard and into defensive mode.

 

[Brown]

Aaaand the last segment is a load of hooey, with the schmuck of a "reporter" falling for every cold reading trick in the book.

Yeah, but how did those women know that his mother loved roses?? That's got to be a one-in-a-million chance!

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I didn't like how they ended on the note of a reporter getting sucked into the exact same methods that they described in earlier segments of the show. It seemed like it was trying to balance out all of the facts with crap so they don't alienate the less skeptical viewers.

And wasn't that the same reporter who did such a wonderful job with von Praagh at the beginning of the show? Suddenly now he's a dupe.

I loved the way they uncovered von Praagh probably hot reading. And too bad for Gary Schwartz that they interviewed him saying von Praagh is one of the best.

~~ Paul

 

[Brown]

I note that the preview shows Banachek doing a version of a blindfold test (similar to--and perhaps identical to--Richard Osterlind's metal blindfold test) that will absolutely stun you if you don't know how it's done. (Hint: The performer CANNOT see through the metal blindfold, but the effect is such that you would swear that the perfomer can indeed do such a thing.) On the one hand, I hope that Banachek does not reveal the secret, because this secret is a professional money-maker; but on the other hand, it is going to be difficult to convince people that "it's just a trick" after showing them the effects.

The metal blindfold is substantially identical to the Osterlind metal blindfold (I take no stand, however, on who invented the concept). A few of the effects were shown, but the full effect of the trick was not.

The blindfold has no secret holes or mirrors. It is exactly what it appears to be. It cannot be seen through. It does have holes near the upper corners, but those are there to receive an elastic strap to hold the apparatus on the head, and they cannot be seen through. Some smart-alecks out there might say, "Ah, but you can peek underneath the blindfold along your nose," but a performer may actually ask one or more spectators to try on the blindfold and see for themselves whether peeking is possible. They find that the metal sits snugly along the bridge of the nose and does not permit peeking. Sure, the performer can peek if he nudges the blindfold up a bit, but at no time during the performance does the performer ever touch the blindfold with either hand, even to scratch an itch or make an "innocent" adjustment, and the spectator may at any time demand to see whether the blindfold is still snugly in place.

Yet, as Banachek showed, the performer somehow DOES see. There are no stooges, no special effects, no secret optics on the apparatus, no electronics. What seems to be impossible is shown to be quite possible, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that supernatural capabilities are at work.

This trick--and it IS a trick--could easily be more convincing of supernatural capability than any of the other "psychic" feats on the show.

As for the test subjects who tried to find photos or match things to people, I would have preferred that the show include statements from all of the people--which I expect JREF requested--that the tests were fair and that the test subjects OUGHT to be able to demonstrate a high success rate in these tests. One of the test subjects did offer some statements to that effect, but all of them, after the test was over, complained that their tests were not fair. It is the same story that Randi has told thousands of times: people have sincere confidence in their abilities and will agree that the test is fair and may even express an EXPECTATION that they will win the prize; but after the test, they sing a completely different tune, complain that the test was unfair, and make excuses left and right.

 

[Almo]

And wasn't that the same reporter who did such a wonderful job with von Praagh at the beginning of the show? Suddenly now he's a dupe.

I loved the way they uncovered von Praagh probably hot reading. And too bad for Gary Schwartz that they interviewed him saying von Praagh is one of the best.

~~ Paul

I don't think it was the same reporter. First guy was tall and had dark hair.

 

[Aepervius]

"Ah, but you can peek underneath the blindfold along your nose,"

Which is actually the trick,when it comes down to it.

 

[Loss Leader]

Has the damned college professor been discussed. "Oh, I was thinking of a dog, so that was probably for me." What an absolute shmuck. The fact that Primetime didn't pick up on that angered me more than anything else.

 

[Hitch]

Yeah, but how did those women know that his mother loved roses?? That's got to be a one-in-a-million chance!

I hope I'm over-explaining a joke here, but I would put the odds of a woman liking roses at closer to 9 out of 10 than one in a million.

The metal blindfold is substantially identical to the Osterlind metal blindfold (I take no stand, however, on who invented the concept). A few of the effects were shown, but the full effect of the trick was not.

The blindfold has no secret holes or mirrors. It is exactly what it appears to be. It cannot be seen through. It does have holes near the upper corners, but those are there to receive an elastic strap to hold the apparatus on the head, and they cannot be seen through. Some smart-alecks out there might say, "Ah, but you can peek underneath the blindfold along your nose," but a performer may actually ask one or more spectators to try on the blindfold and see for themselves whether peeking is possible. They find that the metal sits snugly along the bridge of the nose and does not permit peeking. Sure, the performer can peek if he nudges the blindfold up a bit, but at no time during the performance does the performer ever touch the blindfold with either hand, even to scratch an itch or make an "innocent" adjustment, and the spectator may at any time demand to see whether the blindfold is still snugly in place.

Yet, as Banachek showed, the performer somehow DOES see. There are no stooges, no special effects, no secret optics on the apparatus, no electronics. What seems to be impossible is shown to be quite possible, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that supernatural capabilities are at work.

This trick--and it IS a trick--could easily be more convincing of supernatural capability than any of the other "psychic" feats on the show.

As for the test subjects who tried to find photos or match things to people, I would have preferred that the show include statements from all of the people--which I expect JREF requested--that the tests were fair and that the test subjects OUGHT to be able to demonstrate a high success rate in these tests. One of the test subjects did offer some statements to that effect, but all of them, after the test was over, complained that their tests were not fair. It is the same story that Randi has told thousands of times: people have sincere confidence in their abilities and will agree that the test is fair and may even express an EXPECTATION that they will win the prize; but after the test, they sing a completely different tune, complain that the test was unfair, and make excuses left and right.

Something I would have liked to see is the psychics and medium trying for the million dollars listen carefully to an explanation of the test and agree that it's completely fair and expressing a high degree of confidence that they would pass. That makes their excuses later that much more telling. Although, I'm sure ABC wouldn't understand the significance of that and felt it would make the segment run long.