• 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.

Dr. Phil- Inside the Otherside

Steve001

Graduate Poster
S
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
1,789
Let's hope he displays a good dose of critical thinking.

May 25, 2012
Psychics, mediums, numerologists … Do you believe people can see auras and receive messages from the other side? Dr. Phil’s panel of well-known experts — psychic and cosmic coach Dougall Fraser, spiritual medium Rebecca Rosen, numerologist Glynis McCants and intuitive counselor Colette Baron-Reid — say they have paranormal instincts and can prove it. Watch as they perform readings with Dr. Phil’s guests and the studio audience — are their insights accurate? Are you a believer? Tune in and weigh in!
http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1853
 
I would like to guess, because it would be more interesting to watch with a "wager" on the table.

I have seen many shows by Dr. Phil. He is a very rational guy, but is hindered by not wanting to alienate the guest. There is, however, a direct correlation between this desire, and the level of absurdity in the topical guest. I think he will phrase his questions in a way to not come off as accusatory.

He will probably only say "Many in the general public view this as BS, what do you say to that?" and not go any further.
 
Bikewer said:
Wow....Not a skeptic in the bunch?
Click to expand...

"Watch as they perform readings with Dr. Phil’s guests" Hopefully one of these is.

There is one guy that speaks up against the cold reading performed on one victim who fell into it.

ETA: Going further:

Jim Underdown, “professional skeptic” and founder of Independent Investigations Group, which scientifically tests paranormal claims, says he can disprove psychic ability, and he believes mediums take advantage of people’s grief in an effort to make money. Will a staged social experiment support or challenge his claims?

ETAA: Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell M.D. is a neuroscientist and author of The ESP Enigma: The Scientific Case for Psychic Phenomena. She says psychic abilities do exist and she has proof.

“There have been thousands of studies on psychic phenomena and they are statistically significant, and they have been published in reputable journals,” she says. “People who are skeptics don’t read the literature.”

Jim disagrees. “We read all the literature. I’ve seen some of those studies, and they are not in any way convincing,” he says.

Sounds like we are going to have a very good episode.
 
Last edited:
He poled the audience, and only 22% do not believe in psychic powers.

Good episode so far, right off the bat he had Jim Underdown do a cold reading on a group, to compare it to a "psychic" reading. The group didn't know that he was not a claimed psychic.

He had some great hits.

The Psychic started really bad. THEN, her bad hits finally landed a few. Some good ones on one girl, but why all the bad hits too?

I want to see the unedited tape.
 
Dr. Phil is arguing the psychic's powers. Jim is not given the chance to explain anything.

There were two gay men in the group, they were obviously gay. She guessed this. They were STUNNED. When the one asked Jim why he didn't 'know' this in his reading, and she did, he said "I didn't want to out you on national TV."

The guy was offended, but it is true, Jim didn't want to stoop as low as a 'psychic' so maybe someone else should have done the reading.
 
Last edited:
Careyp74 said:
Dr. Phil is arguing the psychic's powers. Jim is not given the chance to explain anything.

There were two gay men in the group, they were obviously gay. She guessed this. They were STUNNED. When the one asked Jim why he didn't 'know' this in his reading, and she did, he said "I didn't want to out you on national TV."

The guy was offended, but it is true, Jim didn't want to stoop as low as a 'psychic' so maybe someone else should have done the reading.
Click to expand...

Not surprising and no need for psychic powers.
Facial Hints Sharpen People's 'Gaydar'
The findings from a University of Washingtonstudy suggest people use a combination of clues from individual facial features and from the way those features fit together to make snap judgments about sexual orientation, said researcher Joshua Tabak, a graduate student in psychology.
http://www.livescience.com/20360-sexual-orientation-visible-face.html
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
To give Dr. Phil some credit he did take a skeptic approach to some of the claims made by the psychics. He especially seemed to dismiss the claims made by the numeralogist. He did seem to champion the psychic who did the group reading and got the hummingbird hit but because of the small sample of her routine it was hard to dismiss. I think that if Dr. Phil allowed a professional skeptic to do an analysis of the psychic's readings on the show as a whole he would be convinced that the hummingbird hit was a coincidence. It was obvious by the end of the show that the psychic often attributed animal "spirit guides" to her marks. In the show two, the hummingbird and the bear, were given validation by the person getting the reading. The third, a cardinal, was not given validation and the psychic used the tactic o saying it was a spirit guide, or it will be significant later. So if the first two had not received validation the psychic would have provided it.

I watched this with my wife who believes in psychics. During the show I pointed all these things out at the end of the show after I told my son "your Mom believes in psychics" she replied "not really anymore." So there was a small win in my personal woo circle.
 
Last edited:
AdmiralBuckles said:
I watched this with my wife who believes in psychics. During the show I pointed all these things out at the end of the show after I told my son "your Mom believes in psychics" she replied "not really anymore." So there was a small win in my personal woo circle.
Click to expand...

Do you think the show on its own would have made people to start reconsidering their viewpoint?
 
100 said:
Do you think the show on its own would have made people to start reconsidering their viewpoint?
Click to expand...
Possibly, but I don't think the show allowed enough critical analysis to make the average viewer reconsider their viewpoint. I have been trying to convince my wife for a while by pointing things out on this and other shows like "Long Island Medium."
Dr. Phil does show a light amount of skepticism though and if he had allowed the skeptic more time I think he would have sided with him on most issues.
 
AdmiralBuckles said:
I watched this with my wife who believes in psychics. During the show I pointed all these things out at the end of the show after I told my son "your Mom believes in psychics" she replied "not really anymore." So there was a small win in my personal woo circle.
Click to expand...

Well, then it is a shame that you weren't on the show too, because remember at the end he took another poll, and the percentage of those that believed in this stuff went up? Way to go Dr. Phil, way to go.
 
His show's audience overlaps with Oprah's, and from what I gather, her bunch are big followers of all thing woo. If he does possess a fair degree of skepticism, he probably reins a lot of it in order to not alienate his viewers. No viewers = no $$$.
 
I watched this episode for the first time today. I was disappointed by how little time Jim Underdown was given to say anything. At the beginning of the show, the audience was asked if they believed in psychic powers: 78% voted yes, but at the end of the show, they were asked again, and this time 84% answered that they believed in psychic powers. Kind of sad really...:boggled: It would've been a better show if the psychics and Jim Underdown, possibly along with some other skeptics, were given equal time to talk, so the skeptics could've had a fair amount of time to offer their rebuttals.
 
Hey - why did they edit out the bits where the sitters cry when Jim Underdown reads them but leave those bits in when the other "psychic" did the reading?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom