mddawson1 ROCKS!!! I do not, however, feel sorry for the weak minded morans that buy into psychics, faith healers, and astrology! I don't have the heart to take their money, but guys like Edward have no problem...Edward is a scumbag, but a laughing rich one!!!!
@mddawson - you generalise. One shonky laywer does not an entire profession stigmatise; yes, there are assuredly people who pass themselves off as mediums/psychics who are nothing of the sort, but that does not make all who are mediums and/or psychics, a con. My point stands - why do you feel the need to attack others' beliefs; they're not hurting anyone by so believing. Are you so insecure in your "rational" beliefs that you need to denigrate to make yourself feel "big", or "correct"?
@dalrieda How do you tell the difference between a fake psychic & a real one??? Get the book "The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading" by Ian Rowland. He does readings with a far greater degree of accuracy than John Edward but will tell you straight out he is not using psychic powers. As for not hurting people - how is pandering to their inability to move on from the death of loved ones (at a substantial cost) helping them?
Why do so many people here feel the need to attack others' beliefs? My beliefs have been borne out by my own experiences; they don't need widespread public approval to be 'real' to me. Frankly, I couldn't care less what the 'public' opinion of my beliefs is. But it's incredibly saddening to see people expressing their beliefs here and being shot down in flames of vitriol. People deserve to be able to hold their beliefs without them being attacked by others who feel differently.
People that believe in psychics are gullible idiots. They believe because they WANT to, and no evidence will ever make them stop believing; it's sad. It's no different than belief in religion.
Psychics create an illusion just like a magician does. It's convincing, but it's not real.
Edwards is a big a fraud as Sylvia Browne. The more that is done to expose these two dirt bags for what they are the better. They both charge hundreds of dollars for phone readings even though they both claim they don't.
@ebrobaru ::There you go again, making generalized denials. How many people did you poll before deciding that "no one" is an accurate statement? It is your opinion, state it as such.
@k0smon Not really, a simple credible solid proof would do. You sound like someone who had provided tons of evidence, when in reality, we are still waiting for a single one. So come, on, please, just one
How the hell do you know??? How can you prove you are right? I don´t know why I bother wasting my time on you. I know what I believe in and I know people who has been in contact wit diseased relatives..
@Jenzemannen - If it was obvious that they are faking people wouldn't believe it. This type of act comes out of the branch of magic called mentalism. Don't be closed minded to the possiblity you can be fooled.
You think mediums who have done this for over thirty years make their living by gussing??? I´ve seen many examples of mediums whos have gotten messages from spirits to relatives that only they could know of. That´s what they do the spirit´s! They say something to prove that it´s really them and that they still exist in spirit!
@Jenzemannen Its not just guessing, it is a process called cold reading. The process allows the medium to control the conversation making it appear they are receiving the info from elsewhere. Ian Rowland gives people readings & they say exactly what you have written. Then Ian tells them he is not psychic & he used cold reading. There are always a deluded few who tell him he is psychic.
I know it is SO easy to post a response like this, it means nothing in terms of empirical evidence.
BUT. I saw Doris Stokes perform live. She is NOT a fake. The reports that are quoted of her gathering information prior to performing ONLY STARTED late in life when she was dying of cancer and her skills were fading and she wanted a back-up should she be unable to do her normal work.
She was genuine, but blew her rep. late in life.
How do I know she was for real? Takes one to know one.
I hear it all the time, people say there is no way the psychic could know that but they have never heard of cold reading. Then we get comments from other deluded people who think they are psychic so have a vested interest in confirming the psychics abilities of others. So how did what Doris Stokes do different from cold reading (aside from hot reading)? Check out the video Derren Brown - Psychic Mediums.
I was just looking at Doris on YouTube & she was hopless. 10x10 min videos with the first 2 of her rambling about nothing. When she finally starts he act she was cold reading - he act as just like all mediums - faking talking to the dead by cold reading.
I guess u have no leads as to where from exactly? If not, don't worry. I'll keep looking. I'm not trying to be a medium btw incase your concerned, I just want to be able to replicate it as best as I can. You should read the book "Confessions Of A Medium". It makes for interesting reading on the subject.
mddawson1, you have given the most complete, thorough explanation, with bibliography examples, that I have seen. Congratulations to you. Let´s hope it doesn´t fell on deaf ears.
Again, please show us ANY evidence that she helped with ANY murder case. Just because she´s your psychic of choice, it doesn´t mean she´s any better than the rest of them.
The fact is no psychic has ever solved a murder. Even the supposedly best evidence of a psychic solving a crime, psychic Nancy Weber naming serial killer James Koedatich, is flawed. Koedatich was caught through police work & not a psychics predictions. To hear the full story listen to the podcast #102 of Skepticality. Just imagine you are being tried for murder. The judge says all the evidence points to Fred Nurk committing the murder but the psychic says you did it so you are guilty. :-P
I don't want to offend but please don't call Doris Stokes scum, a member of my family met her and she told her alot of things that no one knew, she didn't do what this fraud is doing, she said the names 'a man with the name M or N or P' bla bla, she solved many murder mysteries CORRECTLY and helped a hell of alot of people, she did sittings for free for years and years then charged a POUND, just a pound. Not like thousands. She was a lovely lady an does't deserve that label 'scum'.
Stokes was doing exactly what JE does. Personal anecdotes like what you wrote are exactly what you can expect from cold reading. It is also documented that Stokes sent researchers to towns prior to her performance to find out the names of people who had recently died. She would then invite their relatives to shows so if her act was falling flat she could point them out & tell them that the deceased relative is saying they are happy, etc. If that isn't a scummy act I don't know what is.
:( Well that's just totally ruined it for me. Where did you read this and what do they do in cold readings? I don't know, i do like to believe there is such a thing as mediums because it's comforting to know that my loved ones aren't just dead and gone, but are in the spiritual world.
The best place to start with cold reading is wikipedia. For in depth study try & get a copy of The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland. Rowland descibes CR as "a set of techniques to do with the psychology of communication, that enables you to influence what other people think, feel & believe." "Some people use it to pretend to be psychic or to give supposedly "psychic" readings. This is one of the commonest & least ethically responsibly uses".
All psychics use cold reading whether knowingly or not. When they fish for names with "I'm getting a name starting with P - Peter or Patrick" - its fishing. The subject will give feedbck from a nod/shake of head to a yes/no response. If yes then the psychic can continue on that path while a no can have the psychic say "think harder" or "you can't remember them ATM". It forces the subject to try & match that name to someone they know.
Now with the Doris Stokes story, you can find it on p 338-339 of Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown. Cold reading shows can fall flat if the psychic isn't too good of the audience is not responsive to the questions. By gathering info prior to the show, Stokes was then performing hot reading - already knowing the info about a person. This would indicate she was knowingly committing fraudulent readings, why else would she need the info if she could in fact speak to dead people?
I am totally with you that it would be great if we could converse with dead relatives (we can talk to them, just don't expect a response). Some people argue that mediums offer comfort to people but how is false hope a comfort? Mediums can & do destroy the 1 thing we have left of these people, our memories of them. I think the only way to move on from the death of a loved one is to accept that they have gone & try to be the person they hoped you would be.
Also none of this means there is no afterlife. Personally I doubt there is one. My main aim with this video is to warn people about con-artists who want to take their money. People need to be a bit more skeptical when extraordinary claims are made as proof of those claims requires extraordinary evidence - anecdotes from even the most trustworthy source don't cut it. Everyone is capable of being fooled. When we invest time & money into a con its hard to admit we have been conned.
Final response. If you ever go to a psychic, record the reading then listen to it afterwards. A brains have this habit of only remembering the "hits" & forgetting the misses. I bet you can recall a time you thought of someone you haven't seen for ages who calls you soon after? You remember because its a hit. You forget all the times you think of people who don't call. Same in psychic readings. You come out thinking how accurate it was. Listen to the tape & count the hits/misses & be unimpressed
I think he means going to mediums & spiritualists after leaving your rational brain at home. I wish these "true-believers" would take the time to read Ian Rowland's 'Full Facts Book of Cold Reading'. It lifts the mystery of what appears to be happening opening your eyes to the process that is taking place. Sure it also makes it clear that nothing "magical" is happening but you can then start to appreciate the trick when performed by a master like Derren Brown (BTW JE is a hack at it).
What are you so threatened by? How are they affecting you on a personal level? What sort of insecurities do you have to have to project such hate and anger? I feel for you and hope that your issues are worked through in a loving way. God bless.
I have a problem with anyone who rips people off. How would you feel if you took a car for repair, get charged $300 only to discover they did nothing? Would you say they meant well because you would have had piece of mind if you had not discovered the fraud?
I admit that some mediums are fake and frauds but not all. To say so would be unfair to those that are genuine and do help people through grief and enable them to move on with their lives in a positive beneficial way. One would have to question the motives you have behind having such strong critcisms of people making postivie changes to other people's lives.
How does deluding people that their dead relatives are floating about them helping them move on? Only by accepting that they are gone for good can help you move on. Also tell us how to distinguish between real & fake mediums? They both seem to do exactly the same thing. Also going by you argument it shouldn't matter to you if they are fake as they are, in your opinion, are "helping people".
Remember, for those that believe they require no convincing. For those that don't , no amount of proof is enough. Medium's role is NOT to convince people/sceptics but to help those in need.
What kind of bullshit is this???? "crossing over" oooh so cool... Oh no i can predict shit cuz i read ur public file!!! What a load of crap. I understand that some mediums and phsycics wanna share their abilities but respect man respect. This guy is a total fake out.
I am not forcing my opinion on anyone, just trying to educate people about this sham. Why I bother is that I think people who prey on the grief of others are pieces of low life shit - they aren't concerned about their audience or the dearly departed, only how much money they can con out of people. It is attitudes like yours which do the greatest harm, you lack the compassion for your fellow man to take a stand against con artists.
How would you feel if you found out that a beloved relative of yours, say your grandmother, paid a lot of money to a psychic so they could communicate with a dead friend or relative? Grief concelling is best handled by professionals. Even a family friend is better help than these frauds.
Educate people?!?! oh please. What a load of crap. Why don't you actually do some proper research. What personal experiences if any have you had with mediumship? Have you received a reading? Experienced giving a reading? Experienced a development group? Spoken at length with member's of a Spiritualist church? I'm guessing not.
I'm in the uk and I can't believe how bad this is and he gets away with it. WAKE UP AMERICA. He talks about himself all the time to justify a miss. He knows she's italian and italians have big close families so a lot of room for guesswork. All italian families have a tony and m is the most popular letter for beginning of names of that age group. The most of the reading is him telling her what she is, which psychologically every single person can identify with. ABSOLUTE RUBBISH.
Who is DICK? I see a DICK.. and the initials J. E.? Does that mean anything? I also see a ballroom dance instructor acting like he can speak with arbitrary dead people. He gives initials, common names based on 'racial/ethnic profiling" and then offers common ways of dying.. he asks a room full of people with issues regarding DEAD PEOPLE to make his words match a situation... Hmmm... Am I a medium? Maybe I'm getting messages from YouTube? Is there a John? Or maybe an Edward? Because I see that..!
Try this, get a pyschic reading but record the whole reading on tape or video. Go home & write down how accurate you felt it was noting everything you remember about the reading & what the psychic told you. Once you have done that listen to the recording & see if what occurred is what you remember - you may be surprised.
mdddawson what a load of rot a medium sets out to ivestigate the sitter at huge cost then charges a fiver or nothing to give them proof crikey some closed eyes here.
to quote another commenter, HOW do you know, well you dont
John Edward charges $200 to $500 for tickets to his live show. Sylvia Browne charges $700 for a 30 minute phonecall. Note that this money does not guarantee that you will get an actual reading or the reading will not consist of 30 minutes of guessing games where you will not learn anything more than you already know.
So "how do I know" its bunk - any stage mentalist can provide the same info that a "psychic" does, often with vastly more detail & accuracy than the psychic. The use the same methods as a psychic - start by asking general questions, pick a subject/victim then refine the questions based on the feedback, answers & info provided by the subject/victim. The one main difference is the mentalist will tell you he has no psychic powers & will often explain exactly what processes he used to get the info.
I feel so sorry for the person who claims that the departed cannot be contacted, you are gonna feel such a fool when you pass over my friend and want to let those you leave behind know that you are living on "there are none so blind as those who will not see.
I feel sorry for you wasting your life on "what ifs" & not actually living it. Unfortunately you will not know the truth as when we die we are no longer aware.
"If you want to know what deaths like, just think back a few years to before you were born. Deaths exactly the same thing." - Phillip Adams
I was just trying to illustrate that scientific "fact" is really a misnoma as scientific fact is actually fluid, changing and adapting.
Also you didn't answer the question about, " Sure a lot of mediums are rubbish but, what about the rare genuine connections when the proof is....well proof? "
It is really refreshing to discuss this in a very intelligent way. Nice to meet you.
What proof of mediums are you talking about? Yes I know that the understanding that science gives us must always remain open to the input of new info. However properly controlled scientific studies provide correct answers even if the testers premise is incorrect (eg: James Lind). When properly controlled testing of psychics is done, the results are no better than chance (guessing). Don't get me wrong, it would be great to talk to the dead but I doubt it is possible to get them to answer.
The problem I find with a purely scientific view is that....it is justthat..scientific.
A silly example would be, lets say we were having this conversation 500 years ago and I said the world was round you, as a scientist would say I was talking rubbish as the world is flat.
Sure a lot of mediums are rubbish but, what about the rare genuine connections when the proof is....well proof.
The earth was known to be round by the ancient Greeks & Indians as far back as 600BC. The flat earth theory was being pushed in Europe by men of faith, not scientists. When scientists argued the earth was round they were jailed (Galileo) so its little wonder that scientists of the time may have shared the churches view of the world. A similarity today would be an atheist living in a muslim country, they don't believe in god but would attend prayer each day to avoid persecution.
Because there is no mechanism for such a conversation to take place. We know that our thoughts & feelings are products of our minds. When a person dies their mind ceases to function so there is no viable means of creating messages for a medium to pick up on. If a medium were real then surely they can provide more info than "(Insert dead relative here) says they love you" or "Remember the holiday at the beach". If you study cold reading methods then you see that JE, JVP & SB are just cold reading
if you pay to see a medium then expect to get disinfo,,,, look for the mediums that dnt charge you....... and as for mentioning doris stokes in your links ,,,,, then your scum mddawson1...... sounds like to me you have been ripped off a few times prob a gypsy with a crystal ball knocking your front door ,,,,,,
Why is getting a reading from someone who is self-deluded any different from a reading from a conman? I actually haven't been ripped off by psychics as I had the common sense to research them first (ie; reading Ian Rowlands cold reading book). BTW Doris Stokes had assistants go to towns to research recent deaths prior to her performances. She would invite the relatives then turn to them if her cold reads fell flat. She was a manipulative scumbag at best.
You are of course, entitled to your own opinions - but don't forget mediums do bring a lot of comfort to people who are grieving, like myself who lost my mum 6 years ago - on personal experience i believe that there is an afterlife i have had some brilliant readings (and yes one bad one). Everybody has the right to believe what they like and to call genuine mediums scum is out of order - scumbag!!
Whether or not people charge is ultimately not the issue, can these people communicate with the dead? Anyone can claim to do anything & there will always be people who never use their critical facilties so blindly accept their claims. No one has ever explained how mediumship is possible let alone proved it. What its proponents must do is suggest the mechanisms by which "it works" so they can be independantly tested. If found not to work then the mediums must admit that they are wrong.
I base my theory on the fact that skeptics such as yourself diminish the basis of this whole medium ability, which is belief. They say if a person isn't open minded a reading will not work. Faith is all they have, I would not charge people a fee for something so indefinite. The majority of people who need mediums are in a weak moment in there life, therefore, charging for readings is just taking advantage.
Amateur psychology is also unhelpful at those times. There are plenty of professionally trained people who will help for free or at most a minimal charge - your GP, Lifeline, even a clergyman (watch out for the bad touching :-P). Thinking believing something may help is in no way comparable to seeking real tried & tested help.
understandable, but I'm sure these people have exercised the option of a therapist. They actually want a divine sign or inspiration, which they believe an individual with a NATURAL special gift can provide. They still want to hold on or have access to the unknown, basically hoping for a miracle.
Don't misunderstand skeptics, we want to believe in all this stuff. It would be wonderful to know there was an afterlife & that I could talk to my dead parents but extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, merely claiming "I can talk to the dead" is not proof & combined with the fact that every single medium I have seen uses cold reading & offers no new information indicates to me that mediumship is not real.
Skeptics, such as yourself, have a viable reasoning to your logic. I feel a medium should first prove their validity by answering a question that is not general. I.E something only the person would know, then continue with the assumptions and ridiculous facts about the loved one that passed... whatever. Its just the process is so random! "she/he says they love you and will always be with you" is so uncreative don't you think?
Also let me ask you a question. Have you ever been to a medium. I mean have you actually given them a chance. I have, and they proved to me just how unreliable they are, but I've always thought they where for entertainment purposes only.
I have not been to a medium (my wife has). I did do a scientology personality test (for entertainment purposes - mine). Doing any of these things with the knowledge that they are 99.9% bogus is fine (200% bogus in the case of scientology). Unfortunately most people who see mediums are true believers & take too much stock in what they are told. You should search YouTube for 'Derren Brown medium'
let me suggest you type in the search above, "David Van Praag guessing game". Someone put together a compilation of his "cold readings" and uncovered how much of a complete fraud he is. Its a part one and 2 it is hilarious!
I saw those & yes they would be very funny if it were not so sad that people believe in it. BTW re the Derren Brown clip, he is a mentalist (a magician who uses mind tricks) & a skeptic. He did the clip I mentioned as an example of how easy it is to cold read receptive people & how they will say the medium was 80-90% accurate, something that any reasonable cold reader can achieve. If JE was to come out with "Your father hid his will under the elm tree in the backyard" - that would be something
Also, they read statistics, and about %80 of Americans have had a dysfunctional child hood. I don't know how accurate that is now, but based on this knowledge, anyone could do a cold reading. I saw the Derren Brown clip you mentioned, and the second reading he did is a perfect example of what I'm saying. I can't help but wonder if maybe they know there fake, or if they really think they can tell the future or communicate with the dead?
Well it's quite simple: the mechanism is that messages come from spirit..
If you mean we need to discover the mechanism in non-paranormal terms, all I can say is that remember, it was only very recently that it became possible to measure electricity. Science has some catching up to do with the afterlife.
And mediumship has been around as long as the knowledge of electricity yet mediums still cannot explain the natural processes that are in operation. Science does not need to catch up with the afterlife, mediums need to prove it exists.
What these people don't tell you about is the readings and demonstrations that can't be explained by cold-reading. They seem to think they are so clever because they understand cold-reading, yet they are totally ignorant of how genuine mediumship works. My advice to the small-minded 'what we say is always right' types is to see a medium yourself. Who knows, they might help you to get a life ;)
Seeing you know some mediums then test them out. Ask a friend or colleague (who the medium does not know) to have a sitting. Try to get the sitter to remain poker faced & only provide yes/no answers to direct questions. You will soon find that the medium will be unable to get a clear reading because you have removed many of the unconcious cues they normally get from reading a believer.
Then you need to expand your knowledge and research beyond the charlatans. A real medium does not need the sitter to say anything at all, because the messages come straight from spirit. Only last week I witnessed a medium provide, amongst other details, the full name of the spirit who was passing on very particular messages. This isn't possible by reading body language, coincidence etc. It's amazing to see, you just have to accept it which is of course difficult or impossible for many.
There is also the possiblity of a 'hot reading' which Doris Stokes used to do. She would send people ahead to research recent deaths in towns she will soon perform in & invite the relatives to performances. If the act was failing she could then turn to those people with very exact info, not because it came from spirits but because it came from the local newspapers.
I sincerely hope that people who view this video will ignore the small-minded and self-serving comments written by its 'host' here on you tube.
I know personally some people who are mediums. They are a damn sight more genuine than the person who is ready to cast judgement on people who can't fight back, all on the basis of a miniscule amount of evidence.
Many mediums genuinely believe they have a gift but that does not mean they do. To paraphrase a quote "If it looks like cold reading & sounds like cold reading then it most likely is cold reading".
Also: what if you were told 'Your grandfather's name begins with a Z' and that was true - but you yourself could not remember what the rest of his name was? You admitted that science does not all the answers, that's true. So why do you proclaim that everyone who apparently 'defies reality' in some way is false?
Stokes is known to have used researchers who went to towns prior to an act to gather info on recent deaths. In 1 recorded case Stokes rang a woman would had just lost her son & told her she would be appearing in her town next week & wanted to do a reading. Stokes refused a phone reading but told her to come to the show in a red dress. During the show when her act was failing (all misses, no hits) she pointed to the woman in the red dress & said she was getting a message from her dead son.
I was trying to explain the difference between a cold & hot reading. Stokes obviously performed a cold reading on your mother. It would be good if you had a video of the reading (everyone should do this) for later review. I am not saying your mother is lying but our memories of what happens in a reading can differ quite markedly to what actually takes place.
Our minds remember the "hits" but not the misses. I bet you can remember a time when you thought of someone & soon after they phone you. What you don't remember are the 1000s of other times you think of someone who doesn't phone. People who do record sittings find that what they remember is quite different to whats on the tape.
John Edwards is probably not psychic (I would be very surprised if he was), and I do not blame you for calling him a con artist. But my mother (whom I trust utterly) interviewed Doris Stokes privately, and she knew things that she could not possibly have known (remember, this was in the time before computers and the internet). Nobody could have told her - and it was not for money. But it is your opinion, and I respect that.
There is a process called 'cold reading' that many magicians use in their acts (eg Derren Brown). It is a method of obtaining seemingly personal info from someone you have just met & gives the appearance of "magically" knowing private things about that person. I have read the Ian Rowland book on it & now as I watch John Edward I can see all the telltale signs of cold reading.
J.E. is the undisputed KING of all frauds... the fact that he still hasn't been discovered as a fraud is amazing. I can't wait for the day he is exposed. Anyone who would prey on grieving people purely for profit is disgusting and vile.
that fuckin red bar is so annoying. who fuckin reads that slow. speed it up or get rid of it cuz theres nothing interesting on it anyway. ur just sayin your opinion without backing anything up u idiot
Saying that something doesn't exist simply because you don't see it, is only what a blind man would say. It is like thinking that the ability to hear doesn't exist for others if you were never borne with ears. What I believe about you, mddawson, and your closed mindedness, is that if you ever encounter and have to battle situations that science does not have an answer for that you will fall to the ground in defeat because you live in your small contained world full of your own unwise wisdom.
And you thinti are also closed minded to the probability that psychics are con artists. Mediums have had over 100 years to provide evidence of their claims & the best that the current "great ones" can do is "I am getting a B" - Sure science may not answer all our questions but it is still the best method we have for steering us towards reality.
If in your view you can accept that doctors are people, and, as people, have varying degrees of abilities, then you have to understand that mediums are people and, as so, also have varying levels of capabilities. I think that there are only a handful of really strong mediums. And I also don't believe that everyone that calls themselves a medium is one.
How can you tell which medium is real & which is fake? How can you tell the strong from the weak? Your statement implies you have some technique for testing & comparing the abilities of mediums. Please share this technique with us.
yes the technique is very simple....like i said people have varying degrees of abilities. If you find one that only gives you bs like "i see a b" and nothing else, good chance he is a fake. If you are lucky enough to find a true person who can tell you only things that are so personal that only you can know, good chance they are geniune. Good luck finding one, it is like looking for a needle in a hayshack
If you get a chance, check out the 1st episode of season 1 of Penn & Teller : Bullshit! It is about mediums & illustrates a simple way to test them - be poker faced & give yes/no answers. They are the medium, its up to them to provide you factual details. Another way is to lie to them. "Is your brother dead" to which you say "Yes" when he isn't. Once again if they are for real then they should not get this stuff wrong.
you are pretty smart, so i wont check it out, i will take your word for it.....like i said there are of course con artist, and when i see people like that i turn the channel. So my advice to you is to go ahead and be a skeptic for now until you see something that is personally profound for you, or you can wait a few or many years, when science can find a way to convince you that there is a true possibility.
And of course there are con artists in the supernatural field just like con artist exist in the scientific field. There are doctors who lied about their grades, their training, their license, their expertise, yet they still call themselves doctors. And some people may trust these so-called doctors. Then there are doctors who truly studies and embodies what is scientific, and can cure cancer only 5% of the time, while there are the seldom few who can cure cancer 90% of the time.
And also, you are wrong, because if all mediums can say is "I see a B," and have people believe the possibility of another existence, then I admit the world only have fools in them. But from my experience I think people are extremely intelligent beings.
My opinion of people is everyone have varying degrees of abilities, and abilities includes intelligence. So ok, if there are people who denies moon landing or 9/11 as you've stated, then yes it isnt too smart. But what are you saying? that we should only look at people who arent too smart as examples?
I am just illustrating how many people will believe in nonsense dispite the evidence to the contrary. The main issue with all mediums is that if you understand the principles of cold reading then it is obvious that this is what they all do. If a medium was getting info from the dead then you would expect them to make direct statements that provide new factual info, not something a person already knows.
Exactly, wasnt that my position from the start. That a true and wise medium would be able to do so. What happened to cloud your views is that you only observed those that were not able to do so. And also this is a very complex area, when we talk about the paranormal. And everytime i respond to you i always have to shorten my answers, b/c they only allow 500 characters. So if you still want to talk about this message me instead.
My opinion of people is that everyone have varying degrees of capabilities, and that includes intelligence. And if there are people who denies moon landing or 9/11 as you have stated, then yes, they are not too smart. But what are you saying? That we should look up to these people as examples as to what to believe? Also, as stupid as they sound about 9/11, I bet you even in this group of people, there are people who have different intelligence that exceeds those who acknowledges 9/11
The cure of cancer is dependent on many things - early correct diagnosis, the correct treatment and most importantly, the patient. All proper doctors will be honest & tell the patient they have an ?% of recovery. This figure will usually be low & based on the known success rate of the treatment. A quack like Hulda Clark will promise +80% cure rate but actually deliver 0%. If her patients have cancer they will die & also leave the family heavily out-of-pocket.
very good point, so you can see how complex just the knowledge of cancer is in this world. And you infered that you have to trust the right doctors for real help, just like i said you have to find the right medium who is "honest" and have to be smart too. Dont get me wrong, even though i defend the existence of something paranormal, i also acknowledge all the benefits i have acquired through the works of science. I am in no way saying that science is stupid.
Hi Thinti. Don't waste your breath on good old Mark - 45 years - from Canberra. Been there, done that. When confronted with a person who is open to a reasoned and intelligent discussion, he resorts to foul-mouthed insults and derision, the standard fare of an "dyed-in-the-wool" capital "s" Skeptic. He quotes third hand lies about people like Doris Stokes, but DEMANDS we stick to the facts good luck!!
To all skeptics don't waste your breath on "soundthinker". When confronted with evidence he resorts to lies & misinformation. He is closed minded to any evidence that dismisses his beliefs.
Also note that a week ago I challenged soundthinker (what a misnomer) to use her psychic abilities which she has failed to do. Funny how when put to the test these self proclaimed mediums always fail.
John Edward is real, Doris Stokes was real. Mediumship is real. I have ONE question for the person who posted this. Have you ever been to a medium yourself??? It's SO easy to be a couch potatoe and bag what you see on TV. It's another thing to get off your backside and sit with a REAL medium face to face. I am a medium and I could convince you in ten minutes. Don't believe me? Be scientific. DO SOME RESEARCH. How can you be an expert if you have NEVER been in a room with a real medium?
I enjoyed you impartial response :-P I have done lots of research. What mediums do whether or not they are aware is cold reading. Stokes also used hot reading, sending researches to towns to gather information prior to a show. She would then contact people who had a recent loss & ask them to come to the show. She wouldnt give them a phone reading. If the show started going flat (cold reading not working) she would point out the guest & give them a reading based on her prior info. Mediums = scum
Also science is the study of nature. Talking to dead people (if real) is supernatural - beyond nature & therefore beyond the scope of science. However if the research remains within the bounds of nature then science shows us that mediums always use cold reading, are often self deluded & that the whole process can be explained by psychology.
I would also like to know how you can tell who "a real medium" is? What quantative testing procedures & measurements do you use to determine who is real & who is fake. No doubt you will come up with some BS like "my intuition".
You say you have done lots of research. One question.. Have you ever sat face to face with a "real" medium ??? If not, you're NOT qualified to comment. It's like perporting to be an expert on Italian food without ever having actually eaten any - but only read about it, or seen pictures of it on TV. I said I am a medium, and you say Medium=Scum. Not exactly inviting friendly discourse are you???? Minds are like parachutes my friend, they only function when they are open....
But not so open that your brains fall out. Have you had a face to face reading by JE or DS? If not how can you claim they are genuine? Until mediums can provide a testable explanation of the mechanisms that are used to contact the dead then their claims mean nothing.
I'm always fascinated by the fact that when Skeptics are asked simple direct questions they NEVER answer them. So I'll repeat myself one last time. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A PRIVATE READING YES OR NO???? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN FACE TO FACE WITH A REAL MEDIUM. It's a simple enough question really, only requires a yes or no.... Come on, honest discussion, honest answers, that's what I deal in, how about you?
Unless you have been read by JE or DS your question is redundant. If you can claim they are real without having sat with them then why should I be required to sit with a medium to justify my statements???
I actually have seen Doris working "live". BUT, you still won't answer will you? Science requires hands-on research and a willingness to accept the outcome. You have no hands-on, nor the enquiring mind that would allow you anything other than your zealously held foregone conclusions. Meanwhile, the dizzying heights of your rhetoric is to call people like me scum. I tire quickly of tiny minds. Missed your last chance. Goodbye
It is impossible to prove a negative. It is up to mediums to prove they talk to the dead. Just saying you can is not proof as there are other ways of getting the answers - cold reading.
I noticed you failed to address my challenge below. That is because you know that like all other mediums, you are a fraud & a con artist who preys on the bereaved. You are a leach on society.
Just a parting comment. Because you NEVER let a complete lack of the facts stand in the way of your strongly held beliefs. I do my "work" in Spiritualist Churches and do not get paid. So who am I leaching from? You say I am a fraud? I might as well call you a paedophile. I have NOTHING to base that accusation upon, just as much as you have nothing to base your's upon. You are ignorant, rude and insulting. And it is YOU that claim to be on the side of reason & science?
I have challenged many mediums in internet forums to answer 1 question for me. I will be totally honest either way you answer: "What is the pet name my mother gave me?" - Your a medium get to it. 1 hint, my mother has passed away.
I have no problem with people not believing in psychics, just as long as they realize there is evidence to support their ability. The biggest misconception I've heard from people is that they are "cold reading," even though they have no knowledge what cold reading is. Because their has been testing done that eliminates the possibility of cold readings in psychics like John Edwards and they still come up with solid information.
There is testing & there is testing. A valid test has to be properly controlled to eliminate any fraud &/or bias from anyone involved. Even the triple blind test rely on subjects emotional response to the reading & giving it an approx rating. Check out the YouTube video watch?v=G18NfN76bAs
I also do know what cold reading is as I own the cold reading bible - 'The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading' by Ian Rowland. Once you read this book you can immediately see through JEs act spotting all the different processes he uses to gather info from his subjects.
Self delusion is a very strong thing. A week after my fathers death I was sitting in the local shopping mall & I saw this man walking towards me. I could have sworn that it was my father but then my rational mind kicked in, I knew he was dead, it couldn't be him. I looked again & saw it was a stranger who at a distance looked a bit like my dad. Our emotional state can lead us to mistaken ideas & beliefs which is why rigorous tests are required.
As for Victor Zammit, what we have here is a deluded "true believer". He shows a lack of logical thought by offering $1000000 for skeptics to prove the afterlife doesn't exist. It is impossible to prove a negative & it is up to believers to provide solid evidence to back their claims.
"it is up to believers to provide solid evidence to back their claims."
It also is up to ultra skeptics to let go of their prejustices about the afterlife and actually "look" at the evidence objectively. Everything that Victor laid out in his book is solid evidence. . .and when put together it makes a solid case for survival of human consciousness.
OK lets for arguments sake assume the soul is seperate from brain functionality & that it can exist independant from the body. How? How does it exist beyond the body without disobeying the laws of nature such as the laws of thermodynamics. What energy do spirits utilize to support themselves? By what system do they tell JE my first name begins with M? How does it work?
Well the theory is that our brain is a reciever to our consciousness and that our consciousness actually exists in another non-material dimension. So think of our brain as an antenna. By that thinking, you can imagine that this "antenna" may be able to pick up on other signals out there. Also, if the "antenna" is destroyed (person dies) that doesn't destroy the source of the broadcast. That's about as simple as I can put it.
So using ockham's razor to decide which is the more likely between messages coming from a non-material dimension or psychics use a known method called cold reading - which is the most likely to be correct?
Well, when you look at Gary Schwartz research that eliminates the possiblity of cold readings, then the cold reading argument doesn't hold up. Now I've read Hyman's pitiful excuse of a critique of Gary's work, where he says if he had a year or two's practice he could emulate what the psychics were doing. To which Gary replied, "prove it." Which is a legitimate answer.
I'm not going to take Hyman's word for it, that he can simulate what the psychics were doing under laboratory conditions. Maybe his word is good enough for you. But I need to see evidence.
mddawson1 ROCKS!!! I do not, however, feel sorry for the weak minded morans that buy into psychics, faith healers, and astrology! I don't have the heart to take their money, but guys like Edward have no problem...Edward is a scumbag, but a laughing rich one!!!!
MrJimmy9306 3 months ago
@mddawson - you generalise. One shonky laywer does not an entire profession stigmatise; yes, there are assuredly people who pass themselves off as mediums/psychics who are nothing of the sort, but that does not make all who are mediums and/or psychics, a con. My point stands - why do you feel the need to attack others' beliefs; they're not hurting anyone by so believing. Are you so insecure in your "rational" beliefs that you need to denigrate to make yourself feel "big", or "correct"?
dalrieda 11 months ago
@dalrieda How do you tell the difference between a fake psychic & a real one??? Get the book "The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading" by Ian Rowland. He does readings with a far greater degree of accuracy than John Edward but will tell you straight out he is not using psychic powers. As for not hurting people - how is pandering to their inability to move on from the death of loved ones (at a substantial cost) helping them?
mddawson1 11 months ago
Why do so many people here feel the need to attack others' beliefs? My beliefs have been borne out by my own experiences; they don't need widespread public approval to be 'real' to me. Frankly, I couldn't care less what the 'public' opinion of my beliefs is. But it's incredibly saddening to see people expressing their beliefs here and being shot down in flames of vitriol. People deserve to be able to hold their beliefs without them being attacked by others who feel differently.
dalrieda 1 year ago
@dalrieda - I believe Charles Manson and Jime Jones felt exactly the same way you do.
Why do you ignore the evidence when something is demonstrably a con?
mddawson1 1 year ago
watch his left eye all the way through.....
MrKlyber 1 year ago
People that believe in psychics are gullible idiots. They believe because they WANT to, and no evidence will ever make them stop believing; it's sad. It's no different than belief in religion.
Psychics create an illusion just like a magician does. It's convincing, but it's not real.
JoshSitar 1 year ago
Edwards is a big a fraud as Sylvia Browne. The more that is done to expose these two dirt bags for what they are the better. They both charge hundreds of dollars for phone readings even though they both claim they don't.
RS1963 1 year ago
Jenzemannen, unfortunately what you know is wrong. These people are just taking advantage of you. No one can contact the deceased.
ebrobaru 1 year ago
@ebrobaru ::There you go again, making generalized denials. How many people did you poll before deciding that "no one" is an accurate statement? It is your opinion, state it as such.
k0smon 5 months ago
@k0smon How about your proving of a SINGLE one that can?
ebrobaru 5 months ago
@ebrobaru::::As a skeptic, one of your mainstays is denial. No matter what proof I would offer you would deny it.
k0smon 5 months ago
@k0smon Not really, a simple credible solid proof would do. You sound like someone who had provided tons of evidence, when in reality, we are still waiting for a single one. So come, on, please, just one
ebrobaru 5 months ago
How the hell do you know??? How can you prove you are right? I don´t know why I bother wasting my time on you. I know what I believe in and I know people who has been in contact wit diseased relatives..
Take care
Jenzemannen 1 year ago
@Jenzemannen - If it was obvious that they are faking people wouldn't believe it. This type of act comes out of the branch of magic called mentalism. Don't be closed minded to the possiblity you can be fooled.
mddawson1 1 year ago
You think mediums who have done this for over thirty years make their living by gussing??? I´ve seen many examples of mediums whos have gotten messages from spirits to relatives that only they could know of. That´s what they do the spirit´s! They say something to prove that it´s really them and that they still exist in spirit!
Jenzemannen 1 year ago
@Jenzemannen Its not just guessing, it is a process called cold reading. The process allows the medium to control the conversation making it appear they are receiving the info from elsewhere. Ian Rowland gives people readings & they say exactly what you have written. Then Ian tells them he is not psychic & he used cold reading. There are always a deluded few who tell him he is psychic.
mddawson1 1 year ago
You are right. Your response means nothing. Takes one to know one? SO YOU are real?
ebrobaru 2 years ago
I know it is SO easy to post a response like this, it means nothing in terms of empirical evidence.
BUT. I saw Doris Stokes perform live. She is NOT a fake. The reports that are quoted of her gathering information prior to performing ONLY STARTED late in life when she was dying of cancer and her skills were fading and she wanted a back-up should she be unable to do her normal work.
She was genuine, but blew her rep. late in life.
How do I know she was for real? Takes one to know one.
soundthinker 2 years ago
I hear it all the time, people say there is no way the psychic could know that but they have never heard of cold reading. Then we get comments from other deluded people who think they are psychic so have a vested interest in confirming the psychics abilities of others. So how did what Doris Stokes do different from cold reading (aside from hot reading)? Check out the video Derren Brown - Psychic Mediums.
mddawson1 2 years ago
I was just looking at Doris on YouTube & she was hopless. 10x10 min videos with the first 2 of her rambling about nothing. When she finally starts he act she was cold reading - he act as just like all mediums - faking talking to the dead by cold reading.
mddawson1 2 years ago
@soundthinker She was a proven fake very early on. Not just near the end of her live. She had been proven a fake by many over the years.
RS1963 1 year ago
Do you know where i can get a copy of pages from a mediums notebook or do you just have the excerpts from derren browns book?
batman496 2 years ago
Only have the excerpt from DBs book. It looks like it can be purchased from specialist magic suppliers.
mddawson1 2 years ago
I guess u have no leads as to where from exactly? If not, don't worry. I'll keep looking. I'm not trying to be a medium btw incase your concerned, I just want to be able to replicate it as best as I can. You should read the book "Confessions Of A Medium". It makes for interesting reading on the subject.
batman496 2 years ago
mddawson1, you have given the most complete, thorough explanation, with bibliography examples, that I have seen. Congratulations to you. Let´s hope it doesn´t fell on deaf ears.
ebrobaru 2 years ago
Again, please show us ANY evidence that she helped with ANY murder case. Just because she´s your psychic of choice, it doesn´t mean she´s any better than the rest of them.
ebrobaru 2 years ago
The fact is no psychic has ever solved a murder. Even the supposedly best evidence of a psychic solving a crime, psychic Nancy Weber naming serial killer James Koedatich, is flawed. Koedatich was caught through police work & not a psychics predictions. To hear the full story listen to the podcast #102 of Skepticality. Just imagine you are being tried for murder. The judge says all the evidence points to Fred Nurk committing the murder but the psychic says you did it so you are guilty. :-P
mddawson1 2 years ago
I don't want to offend but please don't call Doris Stokes scum, a member of my family met her and she told her alot of things that no one knew, she didn't do what this fraud is doing, she said the names 'a man with the name M or N or P' bla bla, she solved many murder mysteries CORRECTLY and helped a hell of alot of people, she did sittings for free for years and years then charged a POUND, just a pound. Not like thousands. She was a lovely lady an does't deserve that label 'scum'.
Kelhibbert 2 years ago
Stokes was doing exactly what JE does. Personal anecdotes like what you wrote are exactly what you can expect from cold reading. It is also documented that Stokes sent researchers to towns prior to her performance to find out the names of people who had recently died. She would then invite their relatives to shows so if her act was falling flat she could point them out & tell them that the deceased relative is saying they are happy, etc. If that isn't a scummy act I don't know what is.
mddawson1 2 years ago
:( Well that's just totally ruined it for me. Where did you read this and what do they do in cold readings? I don't know, i do like to believe there is such a thing as mediums because it's comforting to know that my loved ones aren't just dead and gone, but are in the spiritual world.
Kelhibbert 2 years ago
The best place to start with cold reading is wikipedia. For in depth study try & get a copy of The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland. Rowland descibes CR as "a set of techniques to do with the psychology of communication, that enables you to influence what other people think, feel & believe." "Some people use it to pretend to be psychic or to give supposedly "psychic" readings. This is one of the commonest & least ethically responsibly uses".
mddawson1 2 years ago
All psychics use cold reading whether knowingly or not. When they fish for names with "I'm getting a name starting with P - Peter or Patrick" - its fishing. The subject will give feedbck from a nod/shake of head to a yes/no response. If yes then the psychic can continue on that path while a no can have the psychic say "think harder" or "you can't remember them ATM". It forces the subject to try & match that name to someone they know.
mddawson1 2 years ago
Now with the Doris Stokes story, you can find it on p 338-339 of Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown. Cold reading shows can fall flat if the psychic isn't too good of the audience is not responsive to the questions. By gathering info prior to the show, Stokes was then performing hot reading - already knowing the info about a person. This would indicate she was knowingly committing fraudulent readings, why else would she need the info if she could in fact speak to dead people?
mddawson1 2 years ago
I am totally with you that it would be great if we could converse with dead relatives (we can talk to them, just don't expect a response). Some people argue that mediums offer comfort to people but how is false hope a comfort? Mediums can & do destroy the 1 thing we have left of these people, our memories of them. I think the only way to move on from the death of a loved one is to accept that they have gone & try to be the person they hoped you would be.
mddawson1 2 years ago
Also none of this means there is no afterlife. Personally I doubt there is one. My main aim with this video is to warn people about con-artists who want to take their money. People need to be a bit more skeptical when extraordinary claims are made as proof of those claims requires extraordinary evidence - anecdotes from even the most trustworthy source don't cut it. Everyone is capable of being fooled. When we invest time & money into a con its hard to admit we have been conned.
mddawson1 2 years ago
Final response. If you ever go to a psychic, record the reading then listen to it afterwards. A brains have this habit of only remembering the "hits" & forgetting the misses. I bet you can recall a time you thought of someone you haven't seen for ages who calls you soon after? You remember because its a hit. You forget all the times you think of people who don't call. Same in psychic readings. You come out thinking how accurate it was. Listen to the tape & count the hits/misses & be unimpressed
mddawson1 2 years ago
OzeBoy25, what do you mean by "proper research"?
ebrobaru 2 years ago
I think he means going to mediums & spiritualists after leaving your rational brain at home. I wish these "true-believers" would take the time to read Ian Rowland's 'Full Facts Book of Cold Reading'. It lifts the mystery of what appears to be happening opening your eyes to the process that is taking place. Sure it also makes it clear that nothing "magical" is happening but you can then start to appreciate the trick when performed by a master like Derren Brown (BTW JE is a hack at it).
mddawson1 2 years ago
ebrobaru I think you know that by genuine he meant honest nice not real persay/
foundoutthat 2 years ago
Care to give us some examples of the ones that are "genuine and do help people"?
ebrobaru 2 years ago
What are you so threatened by? How are they affecting you on a personal level? What sort of insecurities do you have to have to project such hate and anger? I feel for you and hope that your issues are worked through in a loving way. God bless.
OzeBoy25 2 years ago
I have a problem with anyone who rips people off. How would you feel if you took a car for repair, get charged $300 only to discover they did nothing? Would you say they meant well because you would have had piece of mind if you had not discovered the fraud?
mddawson1 2 years ago
I admit that some mediums are fake and frauds but not all. To say so would be unfair to those that are genuine and do help people through grief and enable them to move on with their lives in a positive beneficial way. One would have to question the motives you have behind having such strong critcisms of people making postivie changes to other people's lives.
OzeBoy25 2 years ago
How does deluding people that their dead relatives are floating about them helping them move on? Only by accepting that they are gone for good can help you move on. Also tell us how to distinguish between real & fake mediums? They both seem to do exactly the same thing. Also going by you argument it shouldn't matter to you if they are fake as they are, in your opinion, are "helping people".
mddawson1 2 years ago
Remember, for those that believe they require no convincing. For those that don't , no amount of proof is enough. Medium's role is NOT to convince people/sceptics but to help those in need.
OzeBoy25 2 years ago
No its to help line the pockets of the medium - that is all.
mddawson1 2 years ago
What kind of bullshit is this???? "crossing over" oooh so cool... Oh no i can predict shit cuz i read ur public file!!! What a load of crap. I understand that some mediums and phsycics wanna share their abilities but respect man respect. This guy is a total fake out.
KannaAoko 2 years ago
Why are you trying to force your own opinion on everyone through that huge irritating red banner?!
There's no difference between you and the "mediums" - they insist they have special abilities, you insist they don't.
Both sides struggling to attract the most amount of crowd, and its not comfortable for us..the "crowd"!!
They are or not telling the truth, why do you bother?! just let it pass and wave it good bye.. why the big fuss you're making?!
anticlungy 2 years ago
I am not forcing my opinion on anyone, just trying to educate people about this sham. Why I bother is that I think people who prey on the grief of others are pieces of low life shit - they aren't concerned about their audience or the dearly departed, only how much money they can con out of people. It is attitudes like yours which do the greatest harm, you lack the compassion for your fellow man to take a stand against con artists.
mddawson1 2 years ago
... pfft!
I just think you're wasting your time because this is not a very affective way of changing people's minds.
And the fact that i neither believe or disbeleive those people does not make me disrespectful for the dead, so don't throw random words.
anticlungy 2 years ago
How would you feel if you found out that a beloved relative of yours, say your grandmother, paid a lot of money to a psychic so they could communicate with a dead friend or relative? Grief concelling is best handled by professionals. Even a family friend is better help than these frauds.
mddawson1 2 years ago
Educate people?!?! oh please. What a load of crap. Why don't you actually do some proper research. What personal experiences if any have you had with mediumship? Have you received a reading? Experienced giving a reading? Experienced a development group? Spoken at length with member's of a Spiritualist church? I'm guessing not.
OzeBoy25 2 years ago
People who attend Spiritualist churches are closed minded to the probability that they are being fooled by a conman.
mddawson1 2 years ago
I'm in the uk and I can't believe how bad this is and he gets away with it. WAKE UP AMERICA. He talks about himself all the time to justify a miss. He knows she's italian and italians have big close families so a lot of room for guesswork. All italian families have a tony and m is the most popular letter for beginning of names of that age group. The most of the reading is him telling her what she is, which psychologically every single person can identify with. ABSOLUTE RUBBISH.
Elibobbob 3 years ago
Who is DICK? I see a DICK.. and the initials J. E.? Does that mean anything? I also see a ballroom dance instructor acting like he can speak with arbitrary dead people. He gives initials, common names based on 'racial/ethnic profiling" and then offers common ways of dying.. he asks a room full of people with issues regarding DEAD PEOPLE to make his words match a situation... Hmmm... Am I a medium? Maybe I'm getting messages from YouTube? Is there a John? Or maybe an Edward? Because I see that..!
VimisiDigitalMedia 3 years ago
I think this video is great. All I had to do was ignore the stupid banner.
serose8 3 years ago
Try this, get a pyschic reading but record the whole reading on tape or video. Go home & write down how accurate you felt it was noting everything you remember about the reading & what the psychic told you. Once you have done that listen to the recording & see if what occurred is what you remember - you may be surprised.
mddawson1 3 years ago
mdddawson what a load of rot a medium sets out to ivestigate the sitter at huge cost then charges a fiver or nothing to give them proof crikey some closed eyes here.
to quote another commenter, HOW do you know, well you dont
royfranc 3 years ago
John Edward charges $200 to $500 for tickets to his live show. Sylvia Browne charges $700 for a 30 minute phonecall. Note that this money does not guarantee that you will get an actual reading or the reading will not consist of 30 minutes of guessing games where you will not learn anything more than you already know.
mddawson1 3 years ago
So "how do I know" its bunk - any stage mentalist can provide the same info that a "psychic" does, often with vastly more detail & accuracy than the psychic. The use the same methods as a psychic - start by asking general questions, pick a subject/victim then refine the questions based on the feedback, answers & info provided by the subject/victim. The one main difference is the mentalist will tell you he has no psychic powers & will often explain exactly what processes he used to get the info.
mddawson1 3 years ago
I feel so sorry for the person who claims that the departed cannot be contacted, you are gonna feel such a fool when you pass over my friend and want to let those you leave behind know that you are living on "there are none so blind as those who will not see.
royfranc 3 years ago
I feel sorry for you wasting your life on "what ifs" & not actually living it. Unfortunately you will not know the truth as when we die we are no longer aware.
"If you want to know what deaths like, just think back a few years to before you were born. Deaths exactly the same thing." - Phillip Adams
mddawson1 3 years ago
I was just trying to illustrate that scientific "fact" is really a misnoma as scientific fact is actually fluid, changing and adapting.
Also you didn't answer the question about, " Sure a lot of mediums are rubbish but, what about the rare genuine connections when the proof is....well proof? "
It is really refreshing to discuss this in a very intelligent way. Nice to meet you.
johnsawyer48 3 years ago
What proof of mediums are you talking about? Yes I know that the understanding that science gives us must always remain open to the input of new info. However properly controlled scientific studies provide correct answers even if the testers premise is incorrect (eg: James Lind). When properly controlled testing of psychics is done, the results are no better than chance (guessing). Don't get me wrong, it would be great to talk to the dead but I doubt it is possible to get them to answer.
mddawson1 3 years ago
The problem I find with a purely scientific view is that....it is justthat..scientific.
A silly example would be, lets say we were having this conversation 500 years ago and I said the world was round you, as a scientist would say I was talking rubbish as the world is flat.
Sure a lot of mediums are rubbish but, what about the rare genuine connections when the proof is....well proof.
johnsawyer48 3 years ago
The earth was known to be round by the ancient Greeks & Indians as far back as 600BC. The flat earth theory was being pushed in Europe by men of faith, not scientists. When scientists argued the earth was round they were jailed (Galileo) so its little wonder that scientists of the time may have shared the churches view of the world. A similarity today would be an atheist living in a muslim country, they don't believe in god but would attend prayer each day to avoid persecution.
mddawson1 3 years ago
Hi,
You wrote ....
"There is no such thing as a genuine medium, i.e. a person who can, at will, communicate with departed spirits or obtain messages"
Just a question : How do you know ?????
johnsawyer48 3 years ago
Because there is no mechanism for such a conversation to take place. We know that our thoughts & feelings are products of our minds. When a person dies their mind ceases to function so there is no viable means of creating messages for a medium to pick up on. If a medium were real then surely they can provide more info than "(Insert dead relative here) says they love you" or "Remember the holiday at the beach". If you study cold reading methods then you see that JE, JVP & SB are just cold reading
mddawson1 3 years ago
if you pay to see a medium then expect to get disinfo,,,, look for the mediums that dnt charge you....... and as for mentioning doris stokes in your links ,,,,, then your scum mddawson1...... sounds like to me you have been ripped off a few times prob a gypsy with a crystal ball knocking your front door ,,,,,,
xm0nitorx 3 years ago
Why is getting a reading from someone who is self-deluded any different from a reading from a conman? I actually haven't been ripped off by psychics as I had the common sense to research them first (ie; reading Ian Rowlands cold reading book). BTW Doris Stokes had assistants go to towns to research recent deaths prior to her performances. She would invite the relatives then turn to them if her cold reads fell flat. She was a manipulative scumbag at best.
mddawson1 3 years ago
ok mddawson
take a deep breathe in and accept, what is , what was and the what will be, will be dependent on what you say think or do NOW!
take care
enjoy the sun
eat some chocolate
go out with some friends
live
gerbera1969 3 years ago
I wanna be the NEXT John Edward.
Godzilla1985 3 years ago
You are of course, entitled to your own opinions - but don't forget mediums do bring a lot of comfort to people who are grieving, like myself who lost my mum 6 years ago - on personal experience i believe that there is an afterlife i have had some brilliant readings (and yes one bad one). Everybody has the right to believe what they like and to call genuine mediums scum is out of order - scumbag!!
reymyst01 3 years ago
There are no "genuine mediums" they are all con artists. BTW how does perpetuating a lie that our loved ones are floating about us help anything.
mddawson1 3 years ago
Not to forget that they are making money of other peoples grief.
cmomofilm 3 years ago
Exactly, giving "false" comfort to pacify.
Gentilejedi 3 years ago
I think that if it is a gift and you want to help people. You wouldn't charge people for it. thats why it looks like you taking advantage of people.
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
Whether or not people charge is ultimately not the issue, can these people communicate with the dead? Anyone can claim to do anything & there will always be people who never use their critical facilties so blindly accept their claims. No one has ever explained how mediumship is possible let alone proved it. What its proponents must do is suggest the mechanisms by which "it works" so they can be independantly tested. If found not to work then the mediums must admit that they are wrong.
mddawson1 3 years ago
I base my theory on the fact that skeptics such as yourself diminish the basis of this whole medium ability, which is belief. They say if a person isn't open minded a reading will not work. Faith is all they have, I would not charge people a fee for something so indefinite. The majority of people who need mediums are in a weak moment in there life, therefore, charging for readings is just taking advantage.
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
Amateur psychology is also unhelpful at those times. There are plenty of professionally trained people who will help for free or at most a minimal charge - your GP, Lifeline, even a clergyman (watch out for the bad touching :-P). Thinking believing something may help is in no way comparable to seeking real tried & tested help.
mddawson1 3 years ago
understandable, but I'm sure these people have exercised the option of a therapist. They actually want a divine sign or inspiration, which they believe an individual with a NATURAL special gift can provide. They still want to hold on or have access to the unknown, basically hoping for a miracle.
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
Don't misunderstand skeptics, we want to believe in all this stuff. It would be wonderful to know there was an afterlife & that I could talk to my dead parents but extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, merely claiming "I can talk to the dead" is not proof & combined with the fact that every single medium I have seen uses cold reading & offers no new information indicates to me that mediumship is not real.
mddawson1 3 years ago
Skeptics, such as yourself, have a viable reasoning to your logic. I feel a medium should first prove their validity by answering a question that is not general. I.E something only the person would know, then continue with the assumptions and ridiculous facts about the loved one that passed... whatever. Its just the process is so random! "she/he says they love you and will always be with you" is so uncreative don't you think?
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
Also let me ask you a question. Have you ever been to a medium. I mean have you actually given them a chance. I have, and they proved to me just how unreliable they are, but I've always thought they where for entertainment purposes only.
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
I have not been to a medium (my wife has). I did do a scientology personality test (for entertainment purposes - mine). Doing any of these things with the knowledge that they are 99.9% bogus is fine (200% bogus in the case of scientology). Unfortunately most people who see mediums are true believers & take too much stock in what they are told. You should search YouTube for 'Derren Brown medium'
mddawson1 3 years ago
let me suggest you type in the search above, "David Van Praag guessing game". Someone put together a compilation of his "cold readings" and uncovered how much of a complete fraud he is. Its a part one and 2 it is hilarious!
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
Im sorry its "James Van Praag" not David.
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
I saw those & yes they would be very funny if it were not so sad that people believe in it. BTW re the Derren Brown clip, he is a mentalist (a magician who uses mind tricks) & a skeptic. He did the clip I mentioned as an example of how easy it is to cold read receptive people & how they will say the medium was 80-90% accurate, something that any reasonable cold reader can achieve. If JE was to come out with "Your father hid his will under the elm tree in the backyard" - that would be something
mddawson1 3 years ago
Also, they read statistics, and about %80 of Americans have had a dysfunctional child hood. I don't know how accurate that is now, but based on this knowledge, anyone could do a cold reading. I saw the Derren Brown clip you mentioned, and the second reading he did is a perfect example of what I'm saying. I can't help but wonder if maybe they know there fake, or if they really think they can tell the future or communicate with the dead?
pumkinpie27 3 years ago
Another video to watch here is 'penn teller talking to the dead' (actually a 3 parter) from P&Ts BS series. Penn gets quite cranky in this one.
mddawson1 3 years ago
Well it's quite simple: the mechanism is that messages come from spirit..
If you mean we need to discover the mechanism in non-paranormal terms, all I can say is that remember, it was only very recently that it became possible to measure electricity. Science has some catching up to do with the afterlife.
timmittytim 3 years ago
And mediumship has been around as long as the knowledge of electricity yet mediums still cannot explain the natural processes that are in operation. Science does not need to catch up with the afterlife, mediums need to prove it exists.
mddawson1 3 years ago
What these people don't tell you about is the readings and demonstrations that can't be explained by cold-reading. They seem to think they are so clever because they understand cold-reading, yet they are totally ignorant of how genuine mediumship works. My advice to the small-minded 'what we say is always right' types is to see a medium yourself. Who knows, they might help you to get a life ;)
timmittytim 3 years ago
Seeing you know some mediums then test them out. Ask a friend or colleague (who the medium does not know) to have a sitting. Try to get the sitter to remain poker faced & only provide yes/no answers to direct questions. You will soon find that the medium will be unable to get a clear reading because you have removed many of the unconcious cues they normally get from reading a believer.
mddawson1 3 years ago
Then you need to expand your knowledge and research beyond the charlatans. A real medium does not need the sitter to say anything at all, because the messages come straight from spirit. Only last week I witnessed a medium provide, amongst other details, the full name of the spirit who was passing on very particular messages. This isn't possible by reading body language, coincidence etc. It's amazing to see, you just have to accept it which is of course difficult or impossible for many.
timmittytim 3 years ago
There is also the possiblity of a 'hot reading' which Doris Stokes used to do. She would send people ahead to research recent deaths in towns she will soon perform in & invite the relatives to performances. If the act was failing she could then turn to those people with very exact info, not because it came from spirits but because it came from the local newspapers.
mddawson1 3 years ago
I sincerely hope that people who view this video will ignore the small-minded and self-serving comments written by its 'host' here on you tube.
I know personally some people who are mediums. They are a damn sight more genuine than the person who is ready to cast judgement on people who can't fight back, all on the basis of a miniscule amount of evidence.
timmittytim 3 years ago
Many mediums genuinely believe they have a gift but that does not mean they do. To paraphrase a quote "If it looks like cold reading & sounds like cold reading then it most likely is cold reading".
mddawson1 3 years ago
He's hot- I'd love to do him. Yumm.
Andante735 4 years ago
Also: what if you were told 'Your grandfather's name begins with a Z' and that was true - but you yourself could not remember what the rest of his name was? You admitted that science does not all the answers, that's true. So why do you proclaim that everyone who apparently 'defies reality' in some way is false?
Lemonchowder 4 years ago
Stokes is known to have used researchers who went to towns prior to an act to gather info on recent deaths. In 1 recorded case Stokes rang a woman would had just lost her son & told her she would be appearing in her town next week & wanted to do a reading. Stokes refused a phone reading but told her to come to the show in a red dress. During the show when her act was failing (all misses, no hits) she pointed to the woman in the red dress & said she was getting a message from her dead son.
mddawson1 4 years ago
But my mother went to her! She could not have known the identity and background of a random camerawoman, of whom she did not even know was coming!
Lemonchowder 4 years ago
I was trying to explain the difference between a cold & hot reading. Stokes obviously performed a cold reading on your mother. It would be good if you had a video of the reading (everyone should do this) for later review. I am not saying your mother is lying but our memories of what happens in a reading can differ quite markedly to what actually takes place.
mddawson1 4 years ago
Our minds remember the "hits" but not the misses. I bet you can remember a time when you thought of someone & soon after they phone you. What you don't remember are the 1000s of other times you think of someone who doesn't phone. People who do record sittings find that what they remember is quite different to whats on the tape.
mddawson1 4 years ago
John Edwards is probably not psychic (I would be very surprised if he was), and I do not blame you for calling him a con artist. But my mother (whom I trust utterly) interviewed Doris Stokes privately, and she knew things that she could not possibly have known (remember, this was in the time before computers and the internet). Nobody could have told her - and it was not for money. But it is your opinion, and I respect that.
Lemonchowder 4 years ago
There is a process called 'cold reading' that many magicians use in their acts (eg Derren Brown). It is a method of obtaining seemingly personal info from someone you have just met & gives the appearance of "magically" knowing private things about that person. I have read the Ian Rowland book on it & now as I watch John Edward I can see all the telltale signs of cold reading.
mddawson1 4 years ago
What a hoax
Redskins473 4 years ago
fuck this clown.
tattypatty 4 years ago
J.E. is the undisputed KING of all frauds... the fact that he still hasn't been discovered as a fraud is amazing. I can't wait for the day he is exposed. Anyone who would prey on grieving people purely for profit is disgusting and vile.
siciliano29 4 years ago
that fuckin red bar is so annoying. who fuckin reads that slow. speed it up or get rid of it cuz theres nothing interesting on it anyway. ur just sayin your opinion without backing anything up u idiot
fender102 4 years ago
It is a quote from an instruction manual for mediums that tells them how to con people. Read the extended info.
mddawson1 4 years ago
For those who Believe no proof is Needed .... For those who don't Blieve , there wlll never be enough proof .......
davetokie 4 years ago
For those who Believe no proof is Needed ....
For those who don't Believe , there wlll never be enough proof ....
For those who would like to believe no proof is forthcoming....
mddawson1 4 years ago
Quote: "For those who Believe no proof is Needed ...." - So why the hell do you believe????
mddawson1 4 years ago
Saying that something doesn't exist simply because you don't see it, is only what a blind man would say. It is like thinking that the ability to hear doesn't exist for others if you were never borne with ears. What I believe about you, mddawson, and your closed mindedness, is that if you ever encounter and have to battle situations that science does not have an answer for that you will fall to the ground in defeat because you live in your small contained world full of your own unwise wisdom.
thinti 4 years ago
And you thinti are also closed minded to the probability that psychics are con artists. Mediums have had over 100 years to provide evidence of their claims & the best that the current "great ones" can do is "I am getting a B" - Sure science may not answer all our questions but it is still the best method we have for steering us towards reality.
mddawson1 4 years ago
If in your view you can accept that doctors are people, and, as people, have varying degrees of abilities, then you have to understand that mediums are people and, as so, also have varying levels of capabilities. I think that there are only a handful of really strong mediums. And I also don't believe that everyone that calls themselves a medium is one.
thinti 4 years ago
How can you tell which medium is real & which is fake? How can you tell the strong from the weak? Your statement implies you have some technique for testing & comparing the abilities of mediums. Please share this technique with us.
mddawson1 4 years ago
yes the technique is very simple....like i said people have varying degrees of abilities. If you find one that only gives you bs like "i see a b" and nothing else, good chance he is a fake. If you are lucky enough to find a true person who can tell you only things that are so personal that only you can know, good chance they are geniune. Good luck finding one, it is like looking for a needle in a hayshack
thinti 4 years ago
If you get a chance, check out the 1st episode of season 1 of Penn & Teller : Bullshit! It is about mediums & illustrates a simple way to test them - be poker faced & give yes/no answers. They are the medium, its up to them to provide you factual details. Another way is to lie to them. "Is your brother dead" to which you say "Yes" when he isn't. Once again if they are for real then they should not get this stuff wrong.
mddawson1 4 years ago
you are pretty smart, so i wont check it out, i will take your word for it.....like i said there are of course con artist, and when i see people like that i turn the channel. So my advice to you is to go ahead and be a skeptic for now until you see something that is personally profound for you, or you can wait a few or many years, when science can find a way to convince you that there is a true possibility.
thinti 4 years ago
And of course there are con artists in the supernatural field just like con artist exist in the scientific field. There are doctors who lied about their grades, their training, their license, their expertise, yet they still call themselves doctors. And some people may trust these so-called doctors. Then there are doctors who truly studies and embodies what is scientific, and can cure cancer only 5% of the time, while there are the seldom few who can cure cancer 90% of the time.
thinti 4 years ago
And also, you are wrong, because if all mediums can say is "I see a B," and have people believe the possibility of another existence, then I admit the world only have fools in them. But from my experience I think people are extremely intelligent beings.
thinti 4 years ago
Take a look at videos by moon landing or 9/11 deniers - you may reconsider your opinion of the average persons intelligence.
mddawson1 4 years ago
My opinion of people is everyone have varying degrees of abilities, and abilities includes intelligence. So ok, if there are people who denies moon landing or 9/11 as you've stated, then yes it isnt too smart. But what are you saying? that we should only look at people who arent too smart as examples?
thinti 4 years ago
I am just illustrating how many people will believe in nonsense dispite the evidence to the contrary. The main issue with all mediums is that if you understand the principles of cold reading then it is obvious that this is what they all do. If a medium was getting info from the dead then you would expect them to make direct statements that provide new factual info, not something a person already knows.
mddawson1 4 years ago
Exactly, wasnt that my position from the start. That a true and wise medium would be able to do so. What happened to cloud your views is that you only observed those that were not able to do so. And also this is a very complex area, when we talk about the paranormal. And everytime i respond to you i always have to shorten my answers, b/c they only allow 500 characters. So if you still want to talk about this message me instead.
thinti 4 years ago
My opinion of people is that everyone have varying degrees of capabilities, and that includes intelligence. And if there are people who denies moon landing or 9/11 as you have stated, then yes, they are not too smart. But what are you saying? That we should look up to these people as examples as to what to believe? Also, as stupid as they sound about 9/11, I bet you even in this group of people, there are people who have different intelligence that exceeds those who acknowledges 9/11
thinti 4 years ago
The cure of cancer is dependent on many things - early correct diagnosis, the correct treatment and most importantly, the patient. All proper doctors will be honest & tell the patient they have an ?% of recovery. This figure will usually be low & based on the known success rate of the treatment. A quack like Hulda Clark will promise +80% cure rate but actually deliver 0%. If her patients have cancer they will die & also leave the family heavily out-of-pocket.
mddawson1 4 years ago
very good point, so you can see how complex just the knowledge of cancer is in this world. And you infered that you have to trust the right doctors for real help, just like i said you have to find the right medium who is "honest" and have to be smart too. Dont get me wrong, even though i defend the existence of something paranormal, i also acknowledge all the benefits i have acquired through the works of science. I am in no way saying that science is stupid.
thinti 4 years ago
Hi Thinti. Don't waste your breath on good old Mark - 45 years - from Canberra. Been there, done that. When confronted with a person who is open to a reasoned and intelligent discussion, he resorts to foul-mouthed insults and derision, the standard fare of an "dyed-in-the-wool" capital "s" Skeptic. He quotes third hand lies about people like Doris Stokes, but DEMANDS we stick to the facts good luck!!
soundthinker 4 years ago
To all skeptics don't waste your breath on "soundthinker". When confronted with evidence he resorts to lies & misinformation. He is closed minded to any evidence that dismisses his beliefs.
mddawson1 4 years ago
Also note that a week ago I challenged soundthinker (what a misnomer) to use her psychic abilities which she has failed to do. Funny how when put to the test these self proclaimed mediums always fail.
mddawson1 4 years ago
Wow. He figured out that Millie was short for something.
tattypatty 4 years ago
Lol, there is no such thing as a genuine sceptic :D
Medium4U2 4 years ago
John Edward is real, Doris Stokes was real. Mediumship is real. I have ONE question for the person who posted this. Have you ever been to a medium yourself??? It's SO easy to be a couch potatoe and bag what you see on TV. It's another thing to get off your backside and sit with a REAL medium face to face. I am a medium and I could convince you in ten minutes. Don't believe me? Be scientific. DO SOME RESEARCH. How can you be an expert if you have NEVER been in a room with a real medium?
soundthinker 4 years ago
I enjoyed you impartial response :-P I have done lots of research. What mediums do whether or not they are aware is cold reading. Stokes also used hot reading, sending researches to towns to gather information prior to a show. She would then contact people who had a recent loss & ask them to come to the show. She wouldnt give them a phone reading. If the show started going flat (cold reading not working) she would point out the guest & give them a reading based on her prior info. Mediums = scum
mddawson1 4 years ago
Also science is the study of nature. Talking to dead people (if real) is supernatural - beyond nature & therefore beyond the scope of science. However if the research remains within the bounds of nature then science shows us that mediums always use cold reading, are often self deluded & that the whole process can be explained by psychology.
mddawson1 4 years ago
I would also like to know how you can tell who "a real medium" is? What quantative testing procedures & measurements do you use to determine who is real & who is fake. No doubt you will come up with some BS like "my intuition".
mddawson1 4 years ago
You say you have done lots of research. One question.. Have you ever sat face to face with a "real" medium ??? If not, you're NOT qualified to comment. It's like perporting to be an expert on Italian food without ever having actually eaten any - but only read about it, or seen pictures of it on TV. I said I am a medium, and you say Medium=Scum. Not exactly inviting friendly discourse are you???? Minds are like parachutes my friend, they only function when they are open....
soundthinker 4 years ago
But not so open that your brains fall out. Have you had a face to face reading by JE or DS? If not how can you claim they are genuine? Until mediums can provide a testable explanation of the mechanisms that are used to contact the dead then their claims mean nothing.
mddawson1 4 years ago
I'm always fascinated by the fact that when Skeptics are asked simple direct questions they NEVER answer them. So I'll repeat myself one last time. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A PRIVATE READING YES OR NO???? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN FACE TO FACE WITH A REAL MEDIUM. It's a simple enough question really, only requires a yes or no.... Come on, honest discussion, honest answers, that's what I deal in, how about you?
soundthinker 4 years ago
Unless you have been read by JE or DS your question is redundant. If you can claim they are real without having sat with them then why should I be required to sit with a medium to justify my statements???
mddawson1 4 years ago
I actually have seen Doris working "live". BUT, you still won't answer will you? Science requires hands-on research and a willingness to accept the outcome. You have no hands-on, nor the enquiring mind that would allow you anything other than your zealously held foregone conclusions. Meanwhile, the dizzying heights of your rhetoric is to call people like me scum. I tire quickly of tiny minds. Missed your last chance. Goodbye
soundthinker 4 years ago
It is impossible to prove a negative. It is up to mediums to prove they talk to the dead. Just saying you can is not proof as there are other ways of getting the answers - cold reading.
mddawson1 4 years ago
I noticed you failed to address my challenge below. That is because you know that like all other mediums, you are a fraud & a con artist who preys on the bereaved. You are a leach on society.
mddawson1 4 years ago
Just a parting comment. Because you NEVER let a complete lack of the facts stand in the way of your strongly held beliefs. I do my "work" in Spiritualist Churches and do not get paid. So who am I leaching from? You say I am a fraud? I might as well call you a paedophile. I have NOTHING to base that accusation upon, just as much as you have nothing to base your's upon. You are ignorant, rude and insulting. And it is YOU that claim to be on the side of reason & science?
soundthinker 4 years ago
I do have something to base it on, you claim to be a medium - thats enough to say that at least you are self deluded.
mddawson1 4 years ago
I have challenged many mediums in internet forums to answer 1 question for me. I will be totally honest either way you answer: "What is the pet name my mother gave me?" - Your a medium get to it. 1 hint, my mother has passed away.
mddawson1 4 years ago
i enjoyed watching the john edwards clip, but all those words scrolling across were annoying..
musicfan99999 4 years ago
I'd kick Edwards in the nuts... if he had any.
911SGY 4 years ago
I have no problem with people not believing in psychics, just as long as they realize there is evidence to support their ability. The biggest misconception I've heard from people is that they are "cold reading," even though they have no knowledge what cold reading is. Because their has been testing done that eliminates the possibility of cold readings in psychics like John Edwards and they still come up with solid information.
tristenmc 4 years ago
There is testing & there is testing. A valid test has to be properly controlled to eliminate any fraud &/or bias from anyone involved. Even the triple blind test rely on subjects emotional response to the reading & giving it an approx rating. Check out the YouTube video watch?v=G18NfN76bAs
mddawson1 4 years ago
I also do know what cold reading is as I own the cold reading bible - 'The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading' by Ian Rowland. Once you read this book you can immediately see through JEs act spotting all the different processes he uses to gather info from his subjects.
mddawson1 4 years ago
Interesting, perhaps you could be a millionare then. Just go to Victor Zammit's website and explain away the psychic phenomena.
tristenmc 4 years ago
Self delusion is a very strong thing. A week after my fathers death I was sitting in the local shopping mall & I saw this man walking towards me. I could have sworn that it was my father but then my rational mind kicked in, I knew he was dead, it couldn't be him. I looked again & saw it was a stranger who at a distance looked a bit like my dad. Our emotional state can lead us to mistaken ideas & beliefs which is why rigorous tests are required.
mddawson1 4 years ago
As for Victor Zammit, what we have here is a deluded "true believer". He shows a lack of logical thought by offering $1000000 for skeptics to prove the afterlife doesn't exist. It is impossible to prove a negative & it is up to believers to provide solid evidence to back their claims.
mddawson1 4 years ago
"it is up to believers to provide solid evidence to back their claims."
It also is up to ultra skeptics to let go of their prejustices about the afterlife and actually "look" at the evidence objectively. Everything that Victor laid out in his book is solid evidence. . .and when put together it makes a solid case for survival of human consciousness.
tristenmc 4 years ago
OK lets for arguments sake assume the soul is seperate from brain functionality & that it can exist independant from the body. How? How does it exist beyond the body without disobeying the laws of nature such as the laws of thermodynamics. What energy do spirits utilize to support themselves? By what system do they tell JE my first name begins with M? How does it work?
mddawson1 4 years ago
Well the theory is that our brain is a reciever to our consciousness and that our consciousness actually exists in another non-material dimension. So think of our brain as an antenna. By that thinking, you can imagine that this "antenna" may be able to pick up on other signals out there. Also, if the "antenna" is destroyed (person dies) that doesn't destroy the source of the broadcast. That's about as simple as I can put it.
tristenmc 4 years ago
So using ockham's razor to decide which is the more likely between messages coming from a non-material dimension or psychics use a known method called cold reading - which is the most likely to be correct?
mddawson1 4 years ago
Well, when you look at Gary Schwartz research that eliminates the possiblity of cold readings, then the cold reading argument doesn't hold up. Now I've read Hyman's pitiful excuse of a critique of Gary's work, where he says if he had a year or two's practice he could emulate what the psychics were doing. To which Gary replied, "prove it." Which is a legitimate answer.
tristenmc 4 years ago
I'm not going to take Hyman's word for it, that he can simulate what the psychics were doing under laboratory conditions. Maybe his word is good enough for you. But I need to see evidence.
tristenmc 4 years ago
You might enjoy this video: watch?v=haP7Ys9ocTk
mddawson1 4 years ago