E-mail to Jesse Green, Segment Producer, Dr. Phil show
I thank the following
JREF Forum members:
Mr. Scott for what is most likely a Jesse Green e-mail address, and
Wolrab for pointing out "Far away is different to everyone. 50 miles? 100? 1000?" which led me mention the distance from California to New York could be considered close if compared to the distance from California to the moon.
What I wrote to Jesse Green, Segment Producer, Dr. Phil show:
Subject: Your recent appearance on Dr. Phil
From: Ernie Marsh [e-mail address]
Date: June 20, 2014 11:11:06 EDT
To: Jesse Green [e-mail address]
June 20, 2014
Dear Jesse,
In the
Dr. Phil show, “Family Dramas, Mysteries and Facing the Unknown,” which aired Tuesday, May 27, 2014, you were given a “psychic” reading by Thomas John. Thomas was promoted as one of “the next generation of psychic mediums,” along with purported “psychic medium” Bill Philipps. In one of your assertions after your reading you stated “It took about five minutes for him to nail every single thing and didn’t get anything wrong.” But a detailed look at your ‘reading’ reveals that is incorrect- maybe only one item mentioned by Thomas might be considered a ‘hit.’ Everything else you incorrectly attributed as being “spot on with every single thing that came to him.” With that in mind, I was hoping you would comment after reading some excerpts from the show’s dialog followed by my analysis. It should be clear that Thomas John utilized cold reading tactics and that absolutely nothing was arrived at by “psychic” abilities.
I’ll begin with your initial comments which appear to have been recorded right after your reading, then I will breakdown each facet.
Jesse: I was blown away. He was so accurate. I mean he was spot on with every single thing that came to him. He knew my dad’s name was Bill. He knew he wore a beard. He knew he had crazy hair. I have one brother; his name is Sam and he just moved to New York recently. And he knew the first two letters of his name. He knew that we were far away. It was pretty incredible. It’s something I’m going to be thinking about for quite a while.
The following are your assertions and why they are demonstrably false, or an example of the Forer Effect (vague generalities where you read your own meaning into it).
Jesse: He knew my dad’s name was Bill. [FALSE]
Thomas: Who’s Bill?
Jesse: Bill’s my dad.
Conclusion: Thomas never said your dad's name was Bill. You told Thomas your dad’s name was Bill.
Jesse: He knew he wore a beard. [FALSE]
Thomas: I want to go like this with your dad. (Gestures about his chin.) Did he- did he- what is this?
Jesse: He had a beard. He always wore a beard.
Thomas: ‘Cause I want to go like that... (makes longer gesture stroke than after his first gestures)
Conclusion: Thomas made ambiguous gestures around his chin, which I could interpret as the action of one stroking their chin while thinking. Thomas never said your dad wore a beard.
Jesse: He knew he had crazy hair. [CORRECT- WITH CAVEATS. LIKELY FORER EFFECT]
Thomas (continuing): ...and crazy hair.
Conclusion: Thomas said the words "crazy hair" and you incorporated the subjective “crazy” in a sentence as if "crazy hair" was a 'hit.' Thomas never described what constitutes "crazy hair.” For example, Thomas never described the hair length, color(s), whether his hair was straight, wavy or curly, or if any patterns were cut into his hair, or formed peculiar shapes on your dad’s head or face, or if your dad used any hair products or extensions.
Jesse: I have one brother; his name is Sam...And he knew the first two letters of his name. [FALSE]
Thomas: I see the letter “S.” And then there’s an “A.” Who is that?
Jesse: My brother’s name is Sam.
Conclusion: Thomas never said "Your only brother's first name starts with an 'S' and the second letter in his first name is an 'A.'" Thomas said he saw an "S"..."and then there's a "A." That's ambiguous- the "S" and "A" weren't specifically stated as being in the first name- they could've just as easily been in a middle, or last, name. Thomas was not descriptive enough.
Jesse: ...and he just moved to New York recently...He knew that we were far away. [FALSE]
Thomas: Is he somewhere else? ‘Cause I’m seeing...
Jesse: Yeah. He’s- he’s in New York.
Conclusion: Thomas didn’t say Sam lived in New York, or far away. My understanding is that you live and work in California for the Dr. Phil Show, and your brother Sam moved to New York, and, well, that distance could be interpreted as being far away. Although, what is “far” away? The distance from California to New York could be considered close if compared to the distance from California to the moon.
When you are sitting in the studio audience after your ‘reading’ was shown on video, Dr. Phil says to you, “Spot on.” your reply with:
Jesse: Spot on, and I’ve seen this kind of stuff on TV before and obviously never experienced it myself so I imagine that it’s clever editing, they fish around a lot before they get to the right answer. That’s the short version. It took about five minutes for him to nail every single thing and didn’t get anything wrong.
So it should be incontrovertible that Thomas John used cold reading tactics for your ‘reading.’ With that in mind, I was hoping you would comment if you still feel that Thomas was “spot on with every single thing,” was “so accurate,” “was pretty incredible,” and that Thomas was able (in about five minutes) “to nail every single thing-didn’t get anything wrong.”
And, can you please explain what Dr. Phil means by calling Thomas John and Bill Philipps “the next generation of psychic mediums?” There is no mention of that in the show. It seems to have some significance because Thomas John and Bill Phillips are using that tagline in advertisements for upcoming “Mediums at Large: An Evening with Thomas John and Bill Philipps” shows. Seen here:
http://www.mediumthomas.com/en/events.html
I started the thread “Next generation psychic mediums on Dr. Phil Show, May 27, 2014” on the JREF Forum’s
General Skepticism and The Paranormal section. I hope you will take a look at what people have commented on by going to the James Randi Educational Foundation forum at:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278347 If you don’t write back to me, I hope you would at least post your thoughts and feelings on the JREF Forum.
Sincerely,
Ernie Marsh
Creator and Webmaster of
ParanormalStateIllustrated.com
[phone number] phone (good until June 29, 2014)
[my e-mail address]
