"Psychics" or "Psychos"?

darkman2

Anyone else find people who claim to be able to predict the future a little, I dunno, wierd? And the people who actually ring them up on the radio or whatever even wierder?

Also it always seems to be good news. Never "your going to die next week" (exception for your wan from 2fm successfully predicting the death of G Ryan 2 hours in advance, though im sure thats just coincidence) or "be killed by a plague of locusts" or whatever?

And the fact they actually get paid by broadcasters for acting all looney is strange in itself. It's a conspiracy of loopiness.

Nodin

darkman2 wrote: »

Anyone (...) loopiness.

"headers, chancers or cnuts" would be a bit more appropriate.

Also, we need a poll.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Psychos? No...

Con artists? Yes...

No matter what they tell you, you will be able to relate to some of it. Even if it's only a little of what they say, that's what you are going to focus on. You will forget about the stuff they got wrong and you will subconciously reinforce what they have told you and just believe it.

genericguy

every last one of them is a liar and a fcuking charlatan. there's a 1 million dollar prize for completing Randi's test (see wiki) that has been available for years yet none of them have ever managed to claim it.

galwayrush

It entertains extremely silly people, and easily gets them to part with money;)

The Mad Hatter

Lyle Narrow Poetess wrote: »

Psychos? No...

Con artists? Yes...

Not necessarily. The successful ones, certainly, but many people who claim psychic powers are really just gullible and/or deluded. Many professional psychics make as much money off people like this as they do off people whose futures they claim to be predicting.

There's a long, enlightening, slightly uncomfortable chapter on it in Derren Brown's book Tricks of the Mind, which I recommend for many reasons.

Prof.Badass

Psychosis is not the same as psychopathy.

So no, they are not "psychos", but they are delusional .

Nodin

genericguy wrote: »

every last one of them is a liar and a fcuking charlatan. there's a 1 million dollar prize for completing Randi's test (see wiki) that has been available for years yet none of them have ever managed to claim it.

For edutainment, as the man says.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnDHPOWXFVI

karlog

It's sad to see how many people believe in this sh*t

bluto63

darkman2 wrote: »

Anyone else find people who claim to be able to predict the future a little, I dunno, wierd?

No, just dumb

darkman2 wrote:

And the people who actually ring them up on the radio or whatever even wierder?

Even dumber

Deus Ex Machina

These soi-disant psychics are at best an obstacle to the progress of reason and logic among the populace, at worst heartless charlatans who prey on people at their weakest by offering them a last chance to speak to deceased loved ones, and in doing so distort the grieving individual's memories and take a lot their money in exchange for this "service".

orourkeda

Spelling weird wierd is weird.

mikom

darkman2 wrote: »

Anyone else find people who claim to be able to predict the future a little, I dunno, wierd?

Loada bollox
Uri Geller said that he was deeply shocked at the unexpected death of Michael Jackson.
Some Psychic he is.

Mrmoe

I generally class them in the same group of people who say they speak/communicate with god/gods.

efb

like yer wan that said her sacking on 98fm was unexpected...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKyzBe0CA2Q

Too tired to write a full reply but a right bunch of cnuts

StormWarrior

Has anyone heard of the so-called psychic Angie Kruger? Her spirit guide is supposedly Richey from the Manic Street Preachers (even though his body has never been found, he may not even be dead). She has a radio show in the UK and is starting a TV show in the US. She gives readings and I once phoned her show for a reading. It was absolute bollox. When I got on air, I said that I wanted to speak to Rich, meaning of course her spirit guide Rich (as she calls him.) But she totally misunderstood what I meant, and wrongly thought that I had a deceased friend named Rich who I wanted to contact. From my voice she wrongly guessed my age, and said that she had the spirit of my teenage friend Rich coming through to speak to me.

I said that I don't have a deceased friend named Rich, and unable to backtrack live on air, she was like, "well you must have cos he's here!" She then gave me a reading, and everything she said about my interests, friends and personality was totally, totally wrong. (for example she said that I'm a talented musician deeply involved in the music scene, which is about as far from the truth as you can get.)

I know someone who had been in contact with Kruger, and Kruger told this woman that Richey's spirit told her that during his lifetime he had been date-raped by a man he met in a gay bar. She made up similar rubbish to tell to other people. We later found out that Kruger had been a big fan of Richey and had a copy of his tattoo and went to his shows before he disappeared. A bit of a coincidence that your favourite rockstar would become your spirrit guide!

I heard of one woman who was tricked by this so-called psychic into giving her alot of money, the "psychic" then got into an argument with her and assaulted her and smashed up her car!

NC27

Well this sums it up for me.

AckwelFoley

Show me a psychic that cann pick the winning lotto numbers and i'll show you a genuine psychic.

It all bull****.

Riddle101

Let me try predict the future. I can see a darkness coming on this thread, a thread filled with anger, annoyance and stupidity. I predict a huge argument will break out eventually and this thread will go on for a futher 20 pages or so with posters arguing non stop until someone sees sense to close the thread.

If i'm wrong, then I guess i'm not a psychic. If i'm right, I told ya so.

eightyfish

darkman2 wrote: »

"Psychics" or "Psychos"?

Add a poll, a poll!!

If they don't really believe what they say then they’re con artists. If they do believe it, then they’re psychos. They are only psychics if they’re fictional characters.

ChocolateSauce

All liars and con artists. Every last one.

thetonynator

Keith Barry claims to do it as well.

Therefore any chance of anyone believing it is now gone. . . .:pac:

eightyfish

thetonynator wrote: »

Keith Barry claims to do it as well.

He had a psychic vision in which he saw a Derren Brown performance. Then he copied it.

Erica<3

I personally do go to a psychic regularly and she's bang on with everything and fairly reputable, but i woul dnever, ever, ever, ring a hotline or anything like that, more than likely it's people just chancing their arm, and any of your previous calls or texts are saved to a database so can be easily accessed and sussed out and whatnot. Whereas if you go to a psychic who has set up their own shop or whatever, you're more likely to find one that actually is the real deal.

WhiteRussian

vinylmesh wrote: »

Psychosis is not the same as psychopathy.

So no, they are not "psychos", but they are delusional .

I roffled

m@cc@

I don't see them as anything other than a bit of harmless fun. As the saying goes 'a fool and his money are soon parted'.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Erica<3 wrote: »

I personally do go to a psychic regularly and she's bang on with everything and fairly reputable, but i woul dnever, ever, ever, ring a hotline or anything like that, more than likely it's people just chancing their arm, and any of your previous calls or texts are saved to a database so can be easily accessed and sussed out and whatnot. Whereas if you go to a psychic who has set up their own shop or whatever, you're more likely to find one that actually is the real deal.

lol

Pace2008

Erica<3 wrote: »

I personally do go to a psychic regularly and she's bang on with everything and fairly reputable, but i woul dnever, ever, ever, ring a hotline or anything like that, more than likely it's people just chancing their arm, and any of your previous calls or texts are saved to a database so can be easily accessed and sussed out and whatnot. Whereas if you go to a psychic who has set up their own shop or whatever, you're more likely to find one that actually is the real deal.

So do her a huge favour and tell her about One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, and maybe politely request a small portion of her earnings for giving her the heads up.

KevinVonSpiel

Pace2008 wrote: »

So do her a huge favour and tell her about One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, and maybe politely request a small portion of her earnings for giving her the heads up.

No percentages! Just ask for a straight up finder's fee!!!

Orangutani

This guy is hilarious. Seriously, try to spend 5 minutes on this site without pissing yourself.

http://www.kodasplace.com/

Capt'n Midnight

Tom Higgins - Irish Psychics Live

IMHO he wouldn't have gotten away with some of this stuff in the UK.

http://www.tjmcintyre.com/2008/09/how-to-be-sued-by-space-cadets-regtel.html


http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t27850.html

, the regulator said it was reasonable to assume 80 per cent of the profits were attributable to services which the regulator had deemed to have been operated in breach of the code.

http://www.dataprotection.ie/viewprint.asp?DocID=331&StartDate=1+January+2010
Case Study 11 - Prosecution of 4’s A Fortune Ltd – unsolicited marketing communications

http://www.dataprotection.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=104&Catid=38&StartDate=1+January+2009&m=c
Realm Communications- Unsolicited SMS texting and direct marketing

Dave!

Psychics are either charlatans/scam-artists, or else just deluded nutjobs

People who pay for their services are credulous gimpazoids

If psychics do their readings by genuinely communicating with the dead, then they're doing it the hard way*

*James Randi

WindSock

I think some are ok. Sure why not. It's a bit of craic.

Ciaran500

WindSock wrote: »

I think some are ok. Sure why not. It's a bit of craic.

Most people that go for a reading don't think its a bit of craic

galwayrush

Our Government obviously has used them to help in making their decisions in recent years,:D

WindSock

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Most people that go for a reading don't think its a bit of craic

Let them to it then. People get so angry and high horsey when they rant about psychics & mediums etc. If others want to believe that cards will reveal something about there current or future situation, then let them. There's no harm in it, unless, like everything it is done in excess or used as a crutch.

strobe

WindSock wrote: »

Let them to it then. People get so angry and high horsey when they rant about psychics & mediums etc. If others want to believe that cards will reveal something about there current or future situation, then let them. There's no harm in it, unless, like everything it is done in excess or used as a crutch.

It's not so much the people that go use the psychics & mediums that most people get angry and high horsey about. It's the liers and con men that sell a service they know is bullsh1t to people.

Personally I don't see any difference between a "psychic" and some bloke that sells a laptop computer on Ebay to someone and then only sends them an empty box, or a mechanic that charges someone to service thier car but just resets the service light ect. They are basically thieves.

The fact that a lot of these "mediums" by the very nature of their job actively target people who are desperate e.g. someone hoping to find out what happened to a deceased love one etc. Then string them along for as long as possible, deliberately playing on their emotional pain to extract the maximum amount of money they can from them makes them all the worse than the two above examples.

Abrasax

Derren Brown nails it on the head with this video re: a psychic technique known as cold reading...
(a few people might be put off by the first section with the clown. The second part start at about 2 minutes in)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btP_vy5cQq4

And another in an interview with Richard Dawkins..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xswt8B8-UTM

WindSock

strobe wrote: »

The fact that a lot of these "mediums" by the very nature of their job actively target people who are desperate e.g. someone hoping to find out what happened to a deceased love one etc. Then string them along for as long as possible, deliberately playing on their emotional pain to extract the maximum amount of money they can from them makes them all the worse than the two above examples.

I agree there are some who conduct themselves fairly piss poorly and take advantage of the emotionally vulnerable, but that is not to say that they are all like that. Many exist as a service and don't 'target' anyone.

strobe

WindSock wrote: »

I agree there are some who conduct themselves fairly piss poorly and take advantage of the emotionally vulnerable, but that is not to say that they are all like that. Many exist as a service and don't 'target' anyone.

In regards to the ones that genuinly believe they can communicate with the dead I'd agree they don't target anyone, they are just a bit unhinged themselves. To use the previous analogy, they are the equivelent of a mechanic that genuinly believes that by just reseting the service reminder on your car they are actually helping the car to run better for longer. In otherwords they are not playing with a full deck themselves so can't really be accused of deliberate wrongdoing. But I'd imagine the proportion of mediums that genuinly believe they have magic powers is a fraction of the people that know they are actively defrauding people.

As far as your run of the mill psychic that just sees it as a kind of performance they are charging people to see, like a magician putting on a show with smoke and mirrors, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with. The difference is the magician doesn't advise his audience to make life decisions on the basis of them believing the rabbit was actually materialised into the hat from thin air.

NothingMan

I know a girl who absolutely believes in this stuff. Not only psychic readings but group session mediums. She thinks i'm naive for not believing in it, and thinks it's completely crazy that I don't believe in God. I have heard of some peoples "freaky experiences". For example my girlfriend was told she would end up with a guy with the letters M & S in his name. I have those letters in my name but what does that prove? I mean my girlfriend also like M&S food. She's also partial to a nice spanking (S&M), or did she only give me a chance because I had those letters in my name? Would she have jumped the bones of the first Sam or James she met either?

For me to believe in this stuff I would have to be shown, in person, absolute proof that what is happening is real. But as people have said, if any "Psychic could do that they would have a million dollars and wouldn't waste their time with me.

Abrasax

strobe wrote: »

As far as your run of the mill psychic that just sees it as a kind of performance they are charging people to see, like a magician putting on a show with smoke and mirrors, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with. The difference is the magician doesn't advise his audience to make life decisions on the basis of them believing the rabbit was actually materialised into the hat from thin air.

As long as they're giving positive advice, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
This advice would work on the gullible in the same way a hypnotist or NLP practitioner might and, the human mind working the way it does, this positive outcome may be realised.
For the same reason any 'psychic' dispensing negativity, should have their psychic powers removed.

strobe

Abrasax wrote: »

As long as they're giving positive advice, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
This advice would work on the gullible in the same way a hypnotist or NLP practitioner might and, the human mind working the way it does, this positive outcome may be realised.
For the same reason any 'psychic' dispensing negativity, should have their psychic powers removed.

I get your point about a psychic telling someone, for example "if you try your absolute hardest in the upcoming competition the cards/ crystals/ spirits tell me you will win", and how that could be a positive thing. The thing is for that to work for someone they would have to actually believe the psychic had magic powers, which they do not, so it is still dishonest. Basically if that person rang their Mother they would get exactly the same advice, minus the spooky stuff, and save themselves money in the process. There is also the point that a psychic is in no position to be giving any advice whatsoever to anyone about anything, what with knowing nothing about them. Also your basic psychic reading tends to involve a lot more "something important will happen in March or April" "someone with the letter M in their name will betray you" kind of stuff, as opposed to "believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything".

Like I said before I don't have a problem with psychic stuff if veiwed by both the psychic and the customer as a kind of performance, as a form of entertainment. But when it goes beyond that I equate it to someone selling a magic baseball cap to a child and telling them it will help them win the big football game. It might make the kid believe in himself more and believe that he will win and therefor be a positive thing. But you knew the hat wasn't magic and now you are down the pub drinking the kids pocket money.

General Zod

the only example I ever saw of Psychic power was at the Mind Body and Spirit festival in the RDS last year. All the psychics had managed to set their prices identical, at €50 for a 20 minute reading, either by Tarot, Crystal ball, or "angel cards". Amazing!

BTW, it's all a fraud, every one of them are fakes, no matter how "accurate" they or you claim them to be.

Dave!

I'm sure for most people no harm comes of the odd psychic indulgence, but for those who genuinely believe it, particularly if they're visiting a particularly ruthless psychic, there can indeed be quite alot of harm done.

ShooterSF

Pace2008 wrote: »

So do her a huge favour and tell her about One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, and maybe politely request a small portion of her earnings for giving her the heads up.

You have overlooked one small problem. As soon as she decides to tell her psychic about the challenge, the psychic, being psychic will forsee the conversation and just go collect the million for being psychic without having to hand over a commission.

Lemegeton

they make me sick. anyone who claims they have psychic ability are con-men pure and simple. its a load of bollocks IMO

Giselle

People who claim to be psychic exploit the vulnerable, desperate, and grieving, at the lowest points in their lives - for money. Without a conscience.

People who genuinely believe themselves to be psychic probably are motivated to help people (donations welcome also), but it doesn't make them harmless.

Either way, its unbelieveable that people in the year 2010 think the most that their dead granny, who found a way back to talk to them, took time out from valhalla, heaven, nirvana or wherever, just to tell them to beware of a tall blonde stranger and that the will is in a dark place.

If you're interrupting your blissful spiritual existence to chat, tell them something specific and useful, ok granny?

Capt'n Midnight

galwayrush wrote: »

Our Government obviously has used them to help in making their decisions in recent years,:D

Nancy Regan