Ask Sylvia Browne - Get nonsense

[ExMinister]

That's a good point. Someone once told me she used to have people in the office respond to letters and emails for her, "Just make up something that sounds like I would say it." And anyone who asks how long until they meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, tell them "2 years." Sure enough, someone asks that on the web site, too, and the answer is 2 years.

So yes, you could be right.

 

[RobRoy]

That's a good point. Someone once told me she used to have people in the office respond to letters and emails for her, "Just make up something that sounds like I would say it." And anyone who asks how long until they meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, tell them "2 years." Sure enough, someone asks that on the web site, too, and the answer is 2 years.

So yes, you could be right.

To be fair (even though I don’t want to be), it isn’t really all that uncommon for public figures (at whatever level) to have someone provide responses for them. Speech-doctors abound, and public statements are often released by publicists, or read to a group, rather than rattled off by the individual ad-libbing.

 

[ExMinister]

To be fair (even though I don’t want to be), it isn’t really all that uncommon for public figures (at whatever level) to have someone provide responses for them. Speech-doctors abound, and public statements are often released by publicists, or read to a group, rather than rattled off by the individual ad-libbing.

I agree. I wonder, though, if in this case it's a little different because of the psychic claim and the kind of expectation that raises.

Sylvia Browne's web site specifically offers the chance for a free psychic question to be answered by Sylvia if you pay to become a member of the Inner Circle. Since no one else on staff is assumed by any of these people to be psychic, having some non-psychic staff member answer your psychic question would be really unexpected. And if you are led to believe that Sylvia is answering your question, and you think she's psychic, and you act on the advice, and then you find out it was answered by Joe Smith sitting at the front desk, wouldn't you be upset? With politicians and celebrites and CEOs, most of us expect that people write for them, but the fans writing in to Sylvia on "Ask Sylvia" are expecting a psychic response from, well, Sylvia.

Granted, no one on the office staff is any LESS psychic than Browne. Granted also that one should not act on the advice of a psychic. WE know that, but the fans don't.

 

[RobRoy]

I agree. I wonder, though, if in this case it's a little different because of the psychic claim and the kind of expectation that raises.

Sylvia Browne's web site specifically offers the chance for a free psychic question to be answered by Sylvia if you pay to become a member of the Inner Circle. Since no one else on staff is assumed by any of these people to be psychic, having some non-psychic staff member answer your psychic question would be really unexpected. And if you are led to believe that Sylvia is answering your question, and you think she's psychic, and you act on the advice, and then you find out it was answered by Joe Smith sitting at the front desk, wouldn't you be upset? With politicians and celebrites and CEOs, most of us expect that people write for them, but the fans writing in to Sylvia on "Ask Sylvia" are expecting a psychic response from, well, Sylvia.

Honestly, I hadn’t considered this aspect, and you’re right. If you are paying for a reported product, regardless of its validity, you have a right to certain expectations “as advertised”. It might be legally actionable if someone else is putting up the responses.

 

[pgwenthold]

To be fair (even though I don’t want to be), it isn’t really all that uncommon for public figures (at whatever level) to have someone provide responses for them. Speech-doctors abound, and public statements are often released by publicists, or read to a group, rather than rattled off by the individual ad-libbing.

I'm more wondering how someone is supposed to write a reply and "make it sound like her"?

Does that mean to tell everyone they will find love two years? Or should that timeframe be mixed around?

 

[pgwenthold]

Sylvia Browne's web site specifically offers the chance for a free psychic question to be answered by Sylvia if you pay to become a member of the Inner Circle. Since no one else on staff is assumed by any of these people to be psychic, having some non-psychic staff member answer your psychic question would be really unexpected. And if you are led to believe that Sylvia is answering your question, and you think she's psychic, and you act on the advice, and then you find out it was answered by Joe Smith sitting at the front desk, wouldn't you be upset?

No more upset than learning that not all of (for example) Picasso's*** paintings were actually painted by Pablo himself, but some student he had working for him in his studio, or that "Paul's Second Letter to the Cornthians" wasn't actually written by Paul himself, but by some guy in his church.

Might be upset for a minute or two, but more at my initial naivety as opposed to anything else.

***I don't know that Picasso ever had a studio producing work for him, but it's not uncommon in the art world.

 

[pgwenthold]

Honestly, I hadn’t considered this aspect, and you’re right. If you are paying for a reported product, regardless of its validity, you have a right to certain expectations “as advertised”. It might be legally actionable if someone else is putting up the responses.

I'm not sure. I have a Thomas Kinkaide oil painting in my house. An actually oil painting, not a print. I have no pretense that it was Kinkaide's hand that painted the thing, despite the fact that his signature is on it.

 

[RobRoy]

I'm more wondering how someone is supposed to write a reply and "make it sound like her"?

Does that mean to tell everyone they will find love two years? Or should that timeframe be mixed around?

Writing in a particular style isn’t as hard as you would think, especially if you’ve been specifically tasked to do that. I’m a technical/marketing writer, and have worked for a number of different companies, all of which have been in different industries. Their styles have been reasonably unique, and most have a developed “voice” which establishes how sales/marketing are supposed to sound. Not all of them have, but if she is actually signing off on anything going out to the public (which she or someone should), then it’s not just a rubber-stamp on some response text. What’s coming out is going to be flavored with what she wants.

So in regards to your question, then yeah, I would mix it up, otherwise detractors can too easily point to it. Personally, if I was running a psychic website, I wouldn’t be specific about calendar timeframes at all, but instead talk about how a person is being prepared for them, and they are being prepared for that person. Until that occurs, they won’t be able to find their true love, but that they shouldn’t settle for Mr/Ms Right Now.

See, nothing to it.

In fact, I should set up a site!

 

[Lucian]

No more upset than learning that not all of (for example) Picasso's*** paintings were actually painted by Pablo himself, but some student he had working for him in his studio, or that "Paul's Second Letter to the Cornthians" wasn't actually written by Paul himself, but by some guy in his church.

Might be upset for a minute or two, but more at my initial naivety as opposed to anything else.

***I don't know that Picasso ever had a studio producing work for him, but it's not uncommon in the art world.

Well, some works of art that were once attributed to, say, Rembrandt or Rubens have indeed been downgraded for this very reason. They are now "School of Rembrandt" or "Studio of Rubens." And I believe that some owners have been really quite upset to have their paintings downgraded by the Rembrandt Committee.

 

[ExMinister]

I'm not sure. I have a Thomas Kinkaide oil painting in my house. An actually oil painting, not a print. I have no pretense that it was Kinkaide's hand that painted the thing, despite the fact that his signature is on it.

The difference here is that you knew the deal about this painting when you bought it. You weren't misled.

 

[rjh01]

Well, some works of art that were once attributed to, say, Rembrandt or Rubens have indeed been downgraded for this very reason. They are now "School of Rembrandt" or "Studio of Rubens." And I believe that some owners have been really quite upset to have their paintings downgraded by the Rembrandt Committee.

For good reasons too. The value of the paintings would be far less if it was not done by a famous person.

 

[Mojo]

I guess that means Samuel Clemens is over there writing as Samuel Clemens, too.

It could just be that Sam Clemens is actually "on the other side" and communicating with Sylvia, but is taking the Mickey out of her.

 

[ExMinister]

I'm more wondering how someone is supposed to write a reply and "make it sound like her"?

Does that mean to tell everyone they will find love two years? Or should that timeframe be mixed around?

I don't think this would be hard to do at all. If you know the philosophy and are fairly well versed in it, it would be really easy to put together a reply that sounded like something she would say. I could do it, and I wouldn't haven't screwed up the Mark Twain thing either.

As far as the time frame thing, yeah, wouldn't you think you'd mix it up a bit? Why say to tell everyone 2 years? Unless you just don't give a crap. And this is your way of making that clear.

 

[ExMinister]

It could just be that Sam Clemens is actually "on the other side" and communicating with Sylvia, but is taking the Mickey out of her.

How funny. Yeah, if anyone would find that amusing, it would be him.

...Or Mark Twain. He had a sense of humor a lot like Sam's.

 

[Nursefoxfire]

I'm not sure. I have a Thomas Kinkaide oil painting in my house. An actually oil painting, not a print. I have no pretense that it was Kinkaide's hand that painted the thing, despite the fact that his signature is on it.

There's also the possibility that you actually possess a high-resolution print on stretched canvas, that was retouched with daubs of oil paint in an assembly line fashion (which is what a lot of the Kinkade "paintings" are. (Think paint-by-numbers, but with art school graduates and oil paints).

 

[FramerDave]

There's also the possibility that you actually possess a high-resolution print on stretched canvas, that was retouched with daubs of oil paint in an assembly line fashion (which is what a lot of the Kinkade "paintings" are. (Think paint-by-numbers, but with art school graduates and oil paints).

That's very likely. He does (did) a lot of canvas transfers that were then hand-embellished, factory assembline style. His galleries used to make a big deal of having applying little bits of impasto at special events. Of course for a huge premium. Have a close look at it with a loupe and you'll likely see it's a print.

 

[Niggle]

<snip>

Yes, Browne was once an English teacher at a Catholic elementary school (or was it high school?).

She reportedly sucked at that, too.

<snip>

Any idiot can be a teacher in a Catholic elementary school. All you have to do is pretend to be Catholic.

Take it from one who had an argument with my English teacher over the spelling of the word "pretty" in second grade. She insisted that it was spelled "pritty." The first-grade teacher had to come over from her class and correct her. And she still insisted that it was an acceptable variant spelling!

They moved me up to fourth grade for reading after that. She couldn't take being proven wrong by a seven-year-old.