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TV Psychics- Your Thoughts?

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lilac

New Blood
L
Joined
Aug 28, 2003
Messages
11
I'm very interested in hearing other peoples' thoughts on TV psychics currently on television in the UK (and US). I am a sceptic, but do watch these psychic programmes from time to time out of interest.

The programmes we get over here in the UK are:

6ixth Sense (Colin Fry)
Crossing Over (John Edward)
Beyond with James Van Pragh
A psychometry programme with antiques with Derek Akorah
Street Psychic with Tony (someone-or-other!)

I find the above programmes more and more unbelievable as I watch them. I had never heard of cold readings or hot readings until James Randi did the demo of a hot reading on that psychic programme the other week. It made me look long and hard at the so-called evidence that these TV psychics come up with.

James Van Pragh miraculously gets the person whom the questioner is asking for immediately. His evidence is very vague.

John Edward fires point after point at people and they latch onto a hit, ignoring the misses that surrounded that hit. He seems to get a bit aggressive as well if the families disagree with something he says, and vehemently sticks to his own 'information'.

Colin Fry overwhelms his guests with sympathy and elaborates on 'evidence' only after the guest has confirmed his point.

And I thought the Diana Seance with Craig and Jane Hamilton-Parker was a complete load of tripe, with nothing new than what's speculated in the papers. A greedy money-making excercise if ever I saw one.

I am starting to believe these people are really just preying on the berieved for the purposes of their own fame and fortune (fortune here relating to money, not the futuristic outcomes of situations!)

I would be interested to hear others' thoughts on this subject- both for and against the TV psychics.

Lilac :wink8:
 
If you want to read more about cold reading, here's a review of a book by Ian Rowland.

In the UK do they run disclaimers before the programs like in the U.S. that state "This is for entertainment purposes only"?
 
I am picking up a connection from you now...

You are female, average height or less, well-educated, but your intellectual curiosity has never wandered into the field of paranormal activity before. You enjoy scones with your tea.
 
arcticpenguin said:
I am picking up a connection from you now...

You are female, average height or less, well-educated, but your intellectual curiosity has never wandered into the field of paranormal activity before. You enjoy scones with your tea.
Click to expand...
And hang around in bars, and like shrubbery.
 
I cast my vote in the 'fraud' category.

In principle, there may be a real psychic out there somewhere. In practice, every famous one so far seems to be a charlatan.
 
"It's been suggested that if the supernaturalists really had the powers they claim, they'd win the lottery every week. I prefer to point out that they could also win a Nobel Prize for discovering fundamental physical forces hitherto unknown to science. Either way, why are they wasting their talents doing party turns on television?"

Richard Dawkins
 
Hello Lilac,

I've chosen fake from your list. However this implies deliberate deception to me, which may not be true. No doubt many of them are convinced they are in possession of some supernatural power (or even an as yet unexplainable ability).

Welcome to the forum.

Col
 
A witnessed event...

One of the named UK mediums above...

Heres roughly how the reading went...

( Ive posted this before...)

Medium : " Your mother died young !"

Audience member : "No, she was 96...."

Medium : "I mean she was young at heart"

Audience member : "She had Alzheimers"

Medium " Exactly...thats what was coming through"

Audience member just laughs...the medium moves swiftly on to someone else....

(Not shown on TV...but i have seen the "Home videocam" movie...a long time ago..)


DB
 
Fake. I'm also not convinced that any of the ones Lilac listed believe they're genuine.

Glad you're spotting what's going on Lilac! I wish more people would just engage their brain slightly, and google "cold reading". It's one of those things that's so blindingly obvious once you know what you're looking for that it seems incredible that other people can't see it too - but I remember when I would argue the case for those types of people. It's just not obvious until you're looking for it.
 
Fakes the lot of them.

I'm immensely amused by their fans (especially JE's fans on this board) when confronted by obvious examples of cold reading, and called willing dupes. ... which reminds me of :

"Clairvoyant (n): A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her client namely, that he is a blockhead." (Ambrose Bierce)
 
Hehehe- Penguin- you are right- I am female and well-educated. I abhor scones, am 5 foot 9 (therefore taller than most women) and have been interested in the paranormal since I was about 8. As the next post reads, I don't drink, so don't hang out in bars, nor do I like shrubbery (with a name like lilac, it was 50/50 between the shrub and the colour, eh?!)... nevertheless, the fact that you picked up I was female with a name like 'Lilac' is totally amazing!!! You have a better hit rate than some of these guys, I believe!:roll:lol

;) I'm only poking fun here, but the fact is some of the guests on these shows do actually take those kinds of points as validations from dead loved ones. Under closer scrutiny, it seems cold comfort indeed.

Incidently, as you asked Penguin, the channel that shows these programmes (UKLiving), is now legally obliged to show a disclaimer prior to, and after, psychic reading programmes.

Lilac :wink8:



arcticpenguin said:
I am picking up a connection from you now...

You are female, average height or less, well-educated, but your intellectual curiosity has never wandered into the field of paranormal activity before. You enjoy scones with your tea.
Click to expand...
 
Jeff Corey said:

And hang around in bars, and like shrubbery.
Click to expand...

And like to wear women's clothing and hang around in bars.:D


Sorry, couldn't resist.
 
Ed knows far too much about

1) Hidden English countryside villages, churches...etc..

2) Early 70's Brit TV...

3) Spells all the UK counties and UK placenames correctly...


Ergo..Ed is a Brit...( or a complete smarta** )

:D

DB
 
De_Bunk said:
Ed knows far too much about

1) Hidden English countryside villages, churches...etc..

2) Early 70's Brit TV...

3) Spells all the UK counties and UK placenames correctly...


Ergo..Ed is a Brit...( or a complete smarta** )

:D

DB
Click to expand...

I'll tell you about Shipton on Stour sometime:eek:
 
Ed...

Me'thinks you got your hands in many pies....

But i like the idea of a "Global" Ed...

:D


DB
 
De_B
Does Dallas.
Wot time isit there?

Not too much action on the other bored.
Jeff
 
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