Debunker featured by New York Times

[wasapi]

Interesting article about a woman, Susan Gerbic, has devoted herself to debunking psychics. She states there 95,000 psychic business's, with a yearly revenue of 2 billion dollars!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/...ook.html?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral

She credits Randi for her inspiration! (She got some good tricks in with Sylvia Browne.) I hope Randi is proud of her, she is doing a great job!

 

[rjh01]

That is only an average of $21,053 per psychics. Not a good income. Most of these psychics would not be making enough to live on, so would only be part time. Only a handful would be earning enough so that they do not need another job.

How do these figures to previous times?

 

[Venom]

small fish.

We need debunkers for conspiracy theorists to push back on this stupid "woke" culture.

 

[Orphia Nay]

am I know Susan Gerbic. She heads the Guerilla Skeptics, who edit Wikipedia in innumerable fields of interest and current thought and events.

It's a highly-skilled pastime, and I admire, respect her, and thankful to her and her colleagues for their persistence and dedication to science and critical thinking.

small fish.

We need debunkers for conspiracy theorists to push back on this stupid "woke" culture.

Which "woke" is that?

African Americans who started using the term about 20 years ago?

Kids learning to think about wider issues than home and school and seeing boomers criticise the term "woke"?

African Americans now criticising the term "woke"?

 

[wardenclyffe]

She's a member of this forum, but has not posted since 2013. But she's clearly been active as a skeptic.

Ward

 

[Sherman Bay]

I wish Susan Gerbic the best of luck, but I'm afraid her campaign is doomed to failure. Nothing will convince the true believer that they are being deluded.

 

[thines]

Debunker

The point isn't to convince the true believer -that will never happen. The goal is to reach those who are not aware of the skeptical approach and provide them with reliable information.

 

[Loss Leader]

I'd seen the article when it was newer. Know of Gerbic. Happy to see the work she's doing.

 

[dann]

I wish Susan Gerbic the best of luck, but I'm afraid her campaign is doomed to failure. Nothing will convince the true believer that they are being deluded.

She visited Copenhagen two years ago:
Guerrilla Skepticism: Skeptical Adventures In Europe, Part 1 (Skeptical Inquirer, Feb. 8, 2018)
Susan Gerbic og Mark Edward! Prominent skeptisk besøg i CSitP (Copenhagen Skeptics in the Pub, Sep. 18, 2017)
Her campaign isn't doomed to failure. On the contrary, it's very successful.
You seem to compare her efforts with a crazy, fundamentalist ideal of skepticism: 'It should be made impossible for weirdos to believe weird things.'
People are free to believe whatever weird **** they want to believe, and nothing can change that. However, supplying people with facts and a couple of good arguments, which is what the Guerilla Skeptics do, as well as providing them with conditions that don't make them need to believe are the two things that help make the numbers of true believers insignificant.

 

[rjh01]

I wish Susan Gerbic the best of luck, but I'm afraid her campaign is doomed to failure. Nothing will convince the true believer that they are being deluded.

The point isn't to convince the true believer -that will never happen. The goal is to reach those who are not aware of the skeptical approach and provide them with reliable information.

Over time psychics will lose credibility. We know that because in the past they had far greater credibility. And seeing the same long term in religion that is very good for skeptical thinking.