Sylvia Browne plagiarizes Joe Nickell. Seriously.

Montel is a sad case. He has Multiple Sclerosis, and has been duped by Sylvia because she has foreseen that there will be a cure.

Soon.

Real soon.

Really.
 
jlam said:
He can sue, but I'm not sure it would practical. He would have to show damages, which would probably be pretty hard to do.
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This is absolutely true. However, one party which is damaged is her publisher. Is this in "Phenomenon : Everything You Need to Know About The Paranormal"? If so, the publisher is Dutton, a division of Penguin. If this is the only instance of plagiarism in the book nothing will happen because one can always claim that one's notes got mixed up. However, if a diligent search turned up a lot of instances it might be possible to shame the publisher into recalling the book.
 
OK, I sent something to the Montel Show about this. If anyone else wants to, the only place I could find to contact them was the "Tell Us Your Story" page here.
 
manny said:
This is absolutely true. However, one party which is damaged is her publisher. Is this in "Phenomenon : Everything You Need to Know About The Paranormal"? If so, the publisher is Dutton, a division of Penguin. If this is the only instance of plagiarism in the book nothing will happen because one can always claim that one's notes got mixed up. However, if a diligent search turned up a lot of instances it might be possible to shame the publisher into recalling the book.
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Actually, it's "Secrets & Mysteries of the World" published by Hay House. It would be nice if someone had the time and know-how to see if she has plagiarized other people throughout the book.


Yee-haw. 500 posts!
 
Spidey13 said:
Actually, it's "Secrets & Mysteries of the World" published by Hay House.
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Ugh. I don't know enough about them to opine on their attitude toward plagiarism, but I do know that they're woo specialists as opposed to a regular publisher putting out the occasional woo book for some quick cash. I imagine that they'll be harder to shame.
 
Spidey13 said:
Actually, it's "Secrets & Mysteries of the World" published by Hay House. It would be nice if someone had the time and know-how to see if she has plagiarized other people throughout the book.


Yee-haw. 500 posts!
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I've read the book. I would say she hasn't, but I can't be certain. Most of the proof in her book is provided by Francine, her spirit guide, and various wierdo websites.
 
Good afternoon CFLarsen.
CFLarsen said:
Sure, they can explain her refusal to take the Challenge with "Oh, Randi lies, the money's not there, blah, blah, blah". They can explain her cold-reading as "Oh, she doesn't always cold-read, blah, blah, blah".

But this? Theft. No doubt about it.
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I doubt her followers will be swayed by this at all. After all, this didn't bother them..
Securities Fraud indicted in Santa Clara County, CA 26-May-1992, no contest
Larceny (grand larceny) indicted in Santa Clara County, CA 26-May-1992

JPK
 
JPK said:
Good afternoon CFLarsen.


I doubt her followers will be swayed by this at all. After all, this didn't bother them..
Securities Fraud indicted in Santa Clara County, CA 26-May-1992, no contest
Larceny (grand larceny) indicted in Santa Clara County, CA 26-May-1992

JPK
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But that had nothing to do with her paranormal claims.
 
Oh, Nickell SO ripped off Browne. It should be obvious to anyone that HE channeled HER, years before she had committed this analysis to paper, and then beat her to the punch by publishing first, and coming up with this whole "skeptic" ruse to cover his tracks. Just like REO Speedwagon did to Elton John.
 
CFLarsen said:
Montel is a sad case. He has Multiple Sclerosis, and has been duped by Sylvia because she has foreseen that there will be a cure.

Soon.

Real soon.

Really.
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God, I hadn't heard that, but checking it online seems to indicate it's true.

That is really sick stuff. I had Montel down as a "bad guy", peddling this stuff as much as Sylvia, but I henceforth promote him to "dupe" or "victim".

This woman, as we knew before, needs stopping, and if Nickell could sue, even though this particular issue is not especially relevant to an actual sceptical argument, it could go some way towards this end.
 
I'm pretty sure Joe's book is copyrighted. Isn't what Sylvia did against the law (and if IIRC, a felony?)
 
Minor point: Nickell wrote the now stolen passage in an issue of Skeptical Inquirer, not in a book. So I'm pretty sure the magazine owns the copyright.
 
Another point: The paragraph that was practically copied really just states facts. There is nothing really original or exceptionally creative in it. Facts can't be copyrighted. Although it's obvious by the wording that she copied it, I'm not sure how much can be legally done if there are no original ideas involved.
 
jlam said:
Minor point: Nickell wrote the now stolen passage in an issue of Skeptical Inquirer, not in a book. So I'm pretty sure the magazine owns the copyright.
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My mistake. For some reason I just assumed it was from his Shroud of Turin book...
 
Spidey13 said:
Another point: The paragraph that was practically copied really just states facts. There is nothing really original or exceptionally creative in it. Facts can't be copyrighted. Although it's obvious by the wording that she copied it, I'm not sure how much can be legally done if there are no original ideas involved.
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It's true that facts can't be copyrighted. But the expression of those facts can be copyrighted.

The following statement would not be subject to copyright:
"Albert Einstein was a smart person."

But this statement would be:
"The extent of Einstein's brilliance can scarcely be expressed in mere words on a page. One must talk to those who knew him privately to adequately guage the magnitude of his intelligence."
 
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