I am a practicing psychic!

[EGarrett]

Yes...I am a JREF member and now apparently also a practicing fake psychic.

I made a joke years ago in my AOL profile that instead of using a computer, I get on the internet with "the psychic online method." The line has been there for years and I never thought about it.

Then, several days ago...I got an instant message from a girl asking if I "gave free readings." Initially I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. But I checked my profile and found that old line still there.

Apparently, she had searched the AOL member directory for "psychic" (I'm guessing) and found me.

Never one to turn down a great opportunity...I told her I did give free readings and gave her a sort of cold reading based on what I knew she probably was stressing about as a teenage girl (her boyfriend and college).

I was dead-on...when she asked about where she was going to be I said a new school with new friends in a year or two and she was amazed.

She asked about "what's going to happen with Jared" and with no other clues I simply said "I see a young man in your thoughts who is closer to you than a friend"...that was him. She still didn't let me know if he was a lost brother or boyfriend (if he had been a dead relative I would've ended things there instead of leading her on)...but I said that "Jared is happy where he is right now." and I eventually inferred that it was her ex-boyfriend, and I basically told her in a psychic-kind-of-way to start dating someone else so she could get over him. It was shockingly easy, and if I had known better at the time I would've saved the transcript to maybe post here.

Anyway, I exchanged pictures with her (I'm in college) and she told me I was "gorgeous." And apparently she's quite fond of me and amazed by my psychic abilities. So much, it seems...that she has now told all her friends about my abilities...as I received another message from a girl telling me she NEEDED to contact someone. I basically told her no thanks, but she keeps asking me. I then told her I'd charge money and she said that she'd have to get a paypal account (I have NO intention of stealing money from the poor girl, I was just trying to get her off my back for the time being.)

Anyway, the next time she sees me online I know she will ask me again. This is a strange situation. Should I...

A) Just tell her that I really have no powers and that there's no such thing as psychic mediums. (this would be tidy but would also be condescending and she wouldn't believe me just saying it.)

B) Do the reading...be as fake and ridiculous as possible so she gets the idea herself.

C) Do the reading...be as REAL as possible so she's amazed...THEN tell her I'm a fake.

D) Something else?

And should I save the transcript? Would anyone be interested in reading my amazing fake readings and how easily people gobble them up? Or is it old hat at this point?

Let me know people...in the meantime I got a kick out of being a JREF member and a practicing fake psychic

[rebecca]

I'm not proud of it, but I've done this.

I was surfing around during a boring college class one day a few years ago, and I hopped into a psychic chatroom just for kicks. I think I named myself "Madame Midnight," or something equally absurd.

"Ask me anything - all questions answered." Most chatters said something like "Gimme a break, you're not serious," etc. One person took the bait.

I amazed myself with my Internet cold reading techniques, and amazed her with my "psychic" abilities. She was hooked. That's when she asked if I saw her very serious health problems abating in the future. Eek.

I felt AWFUL. Terrible. Evil. I private messaged to her that I wasn't a real psychic, that there was no such thing. I told her that I felt she just needed someone to talk to.

She didn't believe me, at first. Luckily, she stuck around and chatted, and seemed to feel better by the end of my class. I left her with a caution against trying to fix problems through the supernatural. I hope she's a better person for it, but who knows if she listened?

I still feel bad, and if you read this girl, I imagine you probably will, too.

[jj]

I've done the same thing, stopped in the middle and said "you do realize I'm conciously making all of this up based on your responses, don't you?" only to be told "that's what you think, but you really do have the gift".

Ow.

I'm not sure exactly how to respond to such things.

I insisted several times that no, I have no "gift" other than a basic understanding of cold reading, only to get the same response, even when I explained the thought processes that led me to my "amazing" discoveries, including wrong ones.

Again, I'm not sure just how to respond. I think you have a duty to explain you're cold-reading, I wish I knew a book to point NON-skeptics at in such cases, but I don't.

[thaiboxerken]

Telling them that you aren't psychic and that you were just cold-reading might not go over too well. I remember Denise doing readings on PalTalk and then letting people know she was cold-reading. Well, they claimed that she really was psychic and just didn't know it.

[carrot]

Don't listen to these people. You are gifted. I'll be your agent.

Do the reading, and collect the money. And send it to me.

[jj]

A serious question here, where can you send someone who won't believe that you were cold-reading them?

It really is quite provoking to have someone tell you that "no, you really have the gift even if you deny it" when you've just done the most elementary cold-read on the planet by looking at hands, shoes, age, clothing, and purse....

[Zep]

Why not just tell them HOW you arrive at your startling conclusions?

Walk them through it point by point, showing how what you picked up from them leads you to draw conclusions. Illustrate with an example of positive feedback of info from them.

I've seen that done once - the person being read was skeptical of the reader, but you could just about see the mental readjustment going on once the "tricks" were revealed.

[jj]

Originally posted by Zep
Why not just tell them HOW you arrive at your startling conclusions?

Walk them through it point by point, showing how what you picked up from them leads you to draw conclusions. Illustrate with an example of positive feedback of info from them.


I did. Several times. The person in question seemed to regard the thought process as some kind of psychic gift. (rolls eyes)

[Zep]

Originally posted by jj

I did. Several times. The person in question seemed to regard the thought process as some kind of psychic gift. (rolls eyes) Ah well. I suppose there's got to be SOME people about who keep the IQ average at 100... :D

[BillHoyt]

Originally posted by Zep
Why not just tell them HOW you arrive at your startling conclusions?

Walk them through it point by point, showing how what you picked up from them leads you to draw conclusions. Illustrate with an example of positive feedback of info from them.

I've seen that done once - the person being read was skeptical of the reader, but you could just about see the mental readjustment going on once the "tricks" were revealed.

Good suggestion, but it also needs to include caution informed by Randi's sad post-Tonight Show experience. Carson let him demonstrate exactly the sleight-of-hand involved in psychic surgery. IIRC, one woman in the audience fainted even though the audience was told it was sleight-of-hand. After the show, Carson's people took many phone calls asking how to contact a good psychic surgeon.

No, that wasn't a typo.

[Eos of the Eons]

Oh by gosh! No wonder so many people chuck away their guilt and charge money. Those that are so gullible-I really have a hard time feeling sorry for them. How do they get that way? I know my brother is extremely gullible, but he has a condition like asperger's and doesn't have a high IQ.

Maybe that is why they should make taking money from people doing unproven psychic junk and such. There are people who truly cannot get how this stuff is fake.

But if they have a normal IQ? Why? Man, I could use some extra dollars to start up some college funds for my kids...

I'm just not good at cold reading or bullsh*tting in general, so I would fail miserably. Lying just doesn't come naturally to me.

People still looking for a psychic surgeon after JR showed it was bunk? Argh!!!!

[Iconoclast]

Originally posted by jj
A serious question here, where can you send someone who won't believe that you were cold-reading them?Now let me think, oh I know this one! There's this web site, can't remember the name of it, but it specialises in explaining this sort of stuff. It's run by an old guy named.... sexy, no.... horny, no that's not it either.... ah! Randy.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by EGarrett
B) Do the reading...be as fake and ridiculous as possible so she gets the idea herself.

C) Do the reading...be as REAL as possible so she's amazed...THEN tell her I'm a fake.


To a believer there is no such thing as too ridiculous.

Note that Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes no less, was a friend of Houdini and believed that Houdini had supernatural power despite Houdini's protestations to the contrary.

Conan-Doyle even believed in fairies.

Either totally withdraw and change your profile or give in to the dark side. Those are your only two options.

[rebecca]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons
People still looking for a psychic surgeon after JR showed it was bunk? Argh!!!!

And didn't the same thing happen when he exposed the evangelists on Carson? Or was that the same episode? I just remember him talking about it to Penn & Teller on their latest DVD.

[Oso]

Originally posted by carrot
Don't listen to these people. You are gifted. I'll be your agent.

Do the reading, and collect the money. And send it to me. Don't listen to this amateur. My experience as a former pimp makes me much more qualified for this sort of thing.

The proper approach is to first tell her it is for entertainment puposes only and that this kind of entertainment is very expensive, and does she have any friends.

[c4ts]

Bah, I'm a REAL psychic. I predict a terrible disaster later on this month. It looks like... yes, a plane crash. I see red on the tail. And it looks like it's headed for... no... no! NO! Anything but that! BEWARE! BEWARE!

Next, I predict... a horrible traffic jam that spans for miles in none other than NEW YORK CITY! STAY OFF THE STREETS! THE ROADS ARE NOT SAFE! BEWARE! TRAFFIC! BEWARE! MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK!

Also... I predict... record breaking heat this summer. And tomorrow afternoon it will rain in Florida. The five day forecast for the Tampa/St. Pete area is... no... No! NO! The Fox site is down! BEWARE! BEWARE! I'M STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE CAPS LOCK!

[jj]

Originally posted by Iconoclast
Now let me think, oh I know this one! There's this web site, can't remember the name of it, but it specialises in explaining this sort of stuff. It's run by an old guy named.... sexy, no.... horny, no that's not it either.... ah! Randy.

Um, no, I mean a book I can point somebody to, one that starts at "this is the word evidence"...

[rebecca]

Originally posted by jj


Um, no, I mean a book I can point somebody to, one that starts at "this is the word evidence"...

The dictionary? Just tear out Aardvark through Evict.

Or, maybe a fourth grade science book? Oh, but not one from Georgia, I think.

[jj]

It's funny and all that, but I am serious, there ought to be some book out there that was written to persuade, not for academics, that can teach people enough cold reading that they realize it for just what it is...

[Thomas]

I'm a practicing psycho!

I've had a huge debate with a guy some years ago who kept claiming that I was a descentant master from some guru. This guy belived in everything that had the label 'divine' on it. The bible, crystals, alchemy, astrology, Sai Baba - you name it. I bet he still belives that I'm divine to this day, although I used all my best reason to convince him that I was nothing like any damn descentant master of anybody.

From Monty Python's Life of Brian:

Crowd: You're the messiah!

Brian: I'm not the messiah!

Crowd: Only the true messiah will deny his true identity!

Brian: Ok, I am the messiah!

Crowd: He is the messiah!


/thomas

[Thomas]

Originally posted by jj
It's funny and all that, but I am serious, there ought to be some book out there that was written to persuade, not for academics, that can teach people enough cold reading that they realize it for just what it is...

A book to persuade the true beliver that he/she have been the victim of a scam can't be written. True faith will always find an escape from reason and common sense.
If a book could convince the rest who are in doubt already, it would be great, but these skeptic sites are doing a good job for this cause already I belive.


/thomas

[Oso]

Originally posted by jj
It's funny and all that, but I am serious, there ought to be some book out there that was written to persuade, not for academics, that can teach people enough cold reading that they realize it for just what it is... Well... if you must be serious (practicing for the new forum?), here's a good starting point.
http://skepdic.com/coldread.html

[DrMatt]

Refer them to this thread. (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39926)

[DrMatt]

Originally posted by Thomas


A book to persuade the true beliver that he/she have been the victim of a scam can't be written. True faith will always find an escape from reason and common sense.
/thomas

Cat's Cradle and Sirens of Titan are valiant attempts...

and lots of fun!

[bluess]

I don't hold out too much hope for you. I once went to a party, told everyone what I was going to do (coldread), faked five 'readings' while staring intently at palms and remembering the chit-chat before hand, told each person how I had reached my spot-on conclusions, and still had four people tell me that I should think about being tested for ESP...

[Meadmaker]

I'll just add my anecdote. It's much the same as the others.

When I was in college (c. 1984) I met up with some friends who were seriously into paganism, and definitely into the psychic aspects of it. I hung out with them, even being a founding member of the Pagan Illini. They believed all the psychic stuff. I didn't.

On the other hand, I was pretty good at reading Tarot cards.

So one night a friend of a friend was visiting from another city. I had never met him, although I had heard a few stories. A few of us chatted and told stories for a few hours and then someone broke out the Tarot cards and read the new kid's Tarot. The person doing it was a sincere believer.

She interpreted the cards, and the new kid was not very certain about what she said. I asked if I could have a try, and I gave my interpretation. I sometimes did this to annoy the sincere believer who was reading the cards at the time. It bugged the heck out of her that the skeptic could do better than the witch.

Sure enough, I was dead on. And the guy was amazed. Here was my great profundity for the night:

This twenty year old male had been sitting around telling stories for a few hours. He was living in Florida, but grew up in Arkansas. He had a father who was rather strict. One of the stories he had told involved him getting arrested for trespassing in an area where psilocybin mushrooms were known to grow. All they got him for was trespassing, but the cops knew why people trespassed in that particular place on a regular basis. When filling out forms at the jail, he had told a story about listing some obscure oriental sect under "religion", and getting all sorts of hassle because of it, including being placed on suicide control because he was obviously mentally unstable.

Now, after all that, The Heirophant (sometimes called the Pope) appeared in a position representing the past. I somehow divined that this 20 year old male with a traditional southern upbringing who sought out psilocibyn mushrooms and was at that moment having his tarot read...had recently given up an authoritarian religion. Obviously, I was psychic.

And, just as happened with all the others who have posted their thoughts, he wouldn't believe me when I told him otherwise. A few months later I heard that this guy was having some problems in his life, and was very disturbed because the cards just didn't seem to make sense when he sought answers. I tried to explain to him how I had faked the reading, but he wouldn't believe. Even if I had meant to fake it, the cards themselves must have been magical, falling into the right position that allowed me to make the reading.

I pointed out that the believer witch who had first read the cards came up with a completely different reading, trying to convince him that no, I was just cheating. This other woman, who truly believed the magic of the cards, couldn't do as well as I could,I explained, because she just relied on the cards and her psychic ability, whereas I used all the information at my disposal, most of which he had volunteered.

Still he was unconvinced. Last I heard of him he was still convinced that tarot cards were magical, and I was a great channeler. I haven't done a tarot reading since, at least in a setting where I think there was the slightest chance someone might believe me.

[emc]

Greetings, all.

The most interesting observation made in this thread, for my purposes, is that an ordinary person asserted that critical thinking is a paranormal power. ((jj's story))

I write genre fiction that involves all manner of supernatural elements. One of my focal points in story design is Setting, which I seek to display through a Character's perceptions.

My question for the forum: What range of reactions have you found to displaying critical thinking as a skill to those who have not developed it themselves?

Some have mentioned being despised, hated, etc. for shattering cherished illusions.

A few have found gratitude in those whose eyes are opened.

But jj found that critical thinking is regarded as paranormal, which is, hands down, the most fascinating response mentioned in passing.

What else have you seen? How do ordinary people perceive their world, and how do they respond to being shown a new lens?

- emc