StopSylvia email from a psychic

carlitos said:
Serious question:

Where would an earthquake have to take place for a tsunami to hit the Gulf coast of Texas? Could one around Yucatan or Honduras do it?
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If the earthquake were that far out, the tsunami would affect every land area surrounding the Gulf. For it to affect only Texas, it would have be just a short distance off the coast of Corpus Christi. The other way for a direct strike on Texas would be a tsunami caused by a landslide off the northwest tip of Yucatan. I realize he didn't say just Texas, but he only mentioned Texas, which is interesting.
 
I ust replied to his email. I told him I had posted about his prediction here, and mentioned both the suggested wager and the question regarding an oncologist. If I receive a reply, I will tell you what it says here,
 
I think you all have overlooked something. If a tsunami hits the entire world on that day it would also hit Texas and make the prediction true. He makes no prediction about what happens to the rest of the world.
 
carlitos said:
Serious question:

Where would an earthquake have to take place for a tsunami to hit the Gulf coast of Texas? Could one around Yucatan or Honduras do it?
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A hurricane that time of year is very likely. Would a storm surge count as a tsunami?* May want to clarify that point.



* I mean to the psychic. I know that they are different phenomena.
 
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I am currently reading about the Galveston hurricane of 1900 (Isaac's Storm, I recommend it). Not a tsunami though.

wikipedia said:
A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from Japanese: 津波, lit. "harbor wave";[1] English pronunciation: /suːˈnɑːmiː/ soo-NAH-mee or /tsuːˈnɑːmiː/ tsoo-NAH-mee[2]), also called a tsunami wave train,[3] and at one time incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave, is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded.[4] Owing to the immense volumes of water and the high energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides and other mass movements, meteorite ocean impacts or similar impact events, and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.
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It won't happen, and he'll have an excuse...

I'm already using my psychic powers to prevent the loss of innocent lives by preventing the tsunami. Tell him thanks for letting me know the date and time so I can focus my energy.

:rolleyes:
 
rjh01 said:
I think you all have overlooked something. If a tsunami hits the entire world on that day it would also hit Texas and make the prediction true. He makes no prediction about what happens to the rest of the world.
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Which is exactly why all prophesies are rubbish. No matter what happens (or fails to happen, despite all efforts), a simple play on words can assure that a prophesy can come true.

Heck, how many times have some of Nostradamus' prophesies come true? Some more than once...

Cheers
 
Well, his email was certainly worded politely, as many "psychics" do. I'm sure this guy really thinks he IS psychic. But the negativity causing bad health - I wonder if he even realizes how condescending that sounds or if he really believes this.

We ALL have negativity, but not everyone on Earth is sick, are they?

This made me remember the time Sylvia and Randi were on Larry King and Sylvia suddenly ranted on to Randi about his heart. Not that a man his age having a heart issue would be a big surprise, but she was obviously trying to deflect any more awkward questions and statements.

I'm glad this man made his prediction public. He really seems to believe in his "abilities." I wonder, however, if he will, like some, begin to doubt and question himself when his predictions begin to fail.

I sincerely hope so. Heck, I once believed I could read Tarot cards and that they were more than they really are! So, some of us are open-minded enough to admit when we are wrong, accept it, and grow as people.
 
Minarvia said:
I'm glad this man made his prediction public. He really seems to believe in his "abilities." I wonder, however, if he will, like some, begin to doubt and question himself when his predictions begin to fail.

I sincerely hope so. Heck, I once believed I could read Tarot cards and that they were more than they really are! So, some of us are open-minded enough to admit when we are wrong, accept it, and grow as people.
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A lot of believers would like us to believe that "admitting that it doesn't work" is nothing more than "closing yourself for the possibility that it does work".

The claim that they are "open to alternative explanations" is their main selling point (I'm referring to both the psychics and the new age groups, because they overlap a lot). Without that, they might as well admit that science is a much better explanation than religion.

Cheers
 
Bram Kaandorp said:
A lot of believers would like us to believe that "admitting that it doesn't work" is nothing more than "closing yourself for the possibility that it does work".

The claim that they are "open to alternative explanations" is their main selling point (I'm referring to both the psychics and the new age groups, because they overlap a lot). Without that, they might as well admit that science is a much better explanation than religion.

Cheers
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That's a good point. On The Paracast podcast, a Ghost Hunter named...oh, goodness, he's Ed and Lorraine Warren's nephew...John Zatz? kept saying that "skeptics need to have an open mind" over and over and over. It was almost every other sentence.

He basically said the same thing you point out; that by scrutinizing and admitting that "it doesn't work" just means that skeptics are closed off to the possibility that it does.

Others like him also say that a skeptic being present can keep ghosts away and also prevent any sort of paranormal phenomenon from occurring.

I remember once reading A. Conan Doyle's book (the title which I forget...darn my memory) and he stated several times that if skeptics admit to even one case of mediumship that we grant the spiritualists their entire concession. However, he never showed where any case of mediumship WAS accepted or proven.

I fear I'm beginning to stray, here.

However, I think the man who wrote the letter may well have the same opinion and just end up going in circles forever. It's refreshing, tho, when the person here and there ends up reconsidering their "abilities."

I also saw in another thread the member, Chillzero, who believed that she had abilities with Tarot cards. I went thru the same thing, but both of us reconsidered our views.

I can only hope this gentleman will at least reconsider is "abilities" if/when his predictions fail.
 
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RSLancastr said:
I ust replied to his email. I told him I had posted about his prediction here, and mentioned both the suggested wager and the question regarding an oncologist. If I receive a reply, I will tell you what it says here,
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I would ask that kind of persons : Should their predictions prove wrong, would they feel guilty if someone had believed it and left their house and then came back to find it burglarized, or had lost their job because of unjustifiable absence ... ? Would they be ready to compensate for such consequences of their false prediction ?
 
I think my background is a little similar to Minarvia and ChillZero's.

Flo's post got me thinking that if I had made such a prediction and it didn't happen, the last thing I probably would have done is doubt the prediction itself because that would be like doubting the source of such predictions, which to my mind anyway would have been God, the angels, guides - at any rate, the source seemed sacred to me, possessing a vantage point superior to mine.

If the prediction failed I would have been relieved that a disaster had been averted. Something must have changed. People have free will. Maybe nature itself. Maybe divine intervention.

If I'd had enough predictions come true that I considered myself psychic, one failed prediction would likely not be enough to make me question it.
 
ExMinister said:
I think my background is a little similar to Minarvia and ChillZero's.

Flo's post got me thinking that if I had made such a prediction and it didn't happen, the last thing I probably would have done is doubt the prediction itself because that would be like doubting the source of such predictions, which to my mind anyway would have been God, the angels, guides - at any rate, the source seemed sacred to me, possessing a vantage point superior to mine.

If the prediction failed I would have been relieved that a disaster had been averted. Something must have changed. People have free will. Maybe nature itself. Maybe divine intervention.

If I'd had enough predictions come true that I considered myself psychic, one failed prediction would likely not be enough to make me question it.
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Which is my point with most of the "psychic" business: most of its believers are totally unable to see any further than their delusions and don't give a damn about / are unable to imagine the consequences to those who believe them.

This is why I never waste my time debating the "dogma" in most things woo, but I usually try to point to the actual consequences of believing it : wasted time, wasted money, wasted opportunities ...
 
Minarvia said:
I remember once reading A. Conan Doyle's book (the title which I forget...darn my memory) and he stated several times that if skeptics admit to even one case of mediumship that we grant the spiritualists their entire concession.
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It goes both ways, though -- if a believer admits to even one case where mediumship FAILS to work, then they have granted to skeptics the possibility of evaluating the truth or falsity of such claims.
 
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