Medium double bluff?

[Azrael 5]

The medium is Simon Peters(a new one on me)and this is a quote form his Demonstration section of his site.
Please do not tell me anything, then you will know for sure that the information given to you can only come from one place; the spirit person in communication with myself. This is the only way I can prove to you, and all of the audience, that what I do is real and this eliminates any chance of so called “cold reading� or picking up on any kind of “body language� and or "trickery".

So on Friday when he is onstage in Huddersfield,near me,I will be seeing a phenomenon for the first time,I assume.Or when I discover he is cold reading I can ask him to remove that from his site.Fat chance,I know..;)

ETA: It gets better
you can expect for me to tell you lots of information I could not possibly have known about. Such as, why the person died, if it was Cancer I want to know what type of Cancer and where did it start, what day it was, what day was the funeral held on and what the weather was like on both days. Names, dates and time of death to the minute, i.e. 12-41 pm are common pieces of information spirit people pass on to you through me in order to prove to you they are okay.
I'll hold him to that.Sounds like we have a contender for Randi's million folks.;)

[Ducky]

Originally posted by Azrael 5
The medium is Simon Peters(a new one on me)and this is a quote form his Demonstration section of his site.


So on Friday when he is onstage in Huddersfield,near me,I will be seeing a phenomenon for the first time,I assume.Or when I discover he is cold reading I can ask him to remove that from his site.Fat chance,I know..;)

ETA: It gets better

I'll hold him to that.Sounds like we have a contender for Randi's million folks.;)

My psychic prediction is that he's never going to apply, and that he's cold reading.

Do these "psychics" ever learn?;)

[Azrael 5]

I forgot the link,lol. Its at the end,but looky here:
I welcome any scientific testing that can be done while I am communicating with spirit people.

I'll despatch an email forthwith with the $1 million dollar link.
Click (http://www.simonpeters.co.uk/demonstration.php)
;)

[Ducky]

Originally posted by Azrael 5
I forgot the link,lol. Its at the end,but looky here:


I'll despatch an email forthwith with the $1 million dollar link.
Click (http://www.simonpeters.co.uk/demonstration.php)
;)


Would I win the million if I predicted he tucks tail and never responds, or that he falls through on negotiations of a protocol?

Probably not, *sigh*

Have fun with that, though. Always fun messing with the frauds.:D

[Ashles]

Although I do not have any personal relationship with Derek, I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without his input into my life through some amazing spirit messages he has given me.
Derek was coming to present a live show at York on 1st December 2003, so my wife and I went to see him.
But Derek’s prediction of him and I working together was coming closer than I would have ever thought.
Translated:
"I know Derek in a work sense but have no personal relationship with him. And nor does my wife. Have I mentioned that I'm married?"

Azrael, I don't know why but I am detecting (almost psychically) that you are in for a particularly inept demostration of cold/warm reading on Friday. I think it is going to be a good one.

Ask him if you can record the show (after all he doesn't mind scientific testing, does he).

I'll be interested to see what he says. After all if a spirit can communicate the exact second they died (because, obviously, they were keeping an eye on the time) then communicating their DAMN NAME shouldn't be any trouble at all.
So you shouldn't have to listen to any of this "someone with a 'P' or a 'J'" crap.

But above all, have fun. :)

[Azrael 5]

Thanks Ash,with regards recording,there's no need.He sells a cd of the show after for £10 a pop.Although I wont be paying,but I'll still get one.The wonders of a Press card(although 2 years out of date which no-one ever notices)can achieve miracles. ;)
But how "clean" these recordings are,Im not sure.I will of course report here first.

[Ashles]

Originally posted by Azrael 5
Thanks Ash,with regards recording,there's no need.He sells a cd of the show after for £10 a pop.
Every evening is recorded on CD, which keeps a true and accurate recording of the whole night and you are welcome to purchase one of the tapes (£10.00) at the end of the evening so that your message can be played to your family and loved ones.
Strange - he records a CD, but you only end up with a tape.

Not a techical high-flyer I'm guessing.

[Ducky]

Originally posted by Ashles
Strange - he records a CD, but you only end up with a tape.

Not a techical high-flyer I'm guessing.


Or a generational thing.

How many of us old timers still call it a record?

I would love a copy of that cd or tape or whatever. I could use some good comedy ripped into my ipod. Heck I'd even be willing to do a word for word analysis...

[Ashles]

Originally posted by fowlsound
Or a generational thing.

How many of us old timers still call it a record?

I would love a copy of that cd or tape or whatever. I could use some good comedy ripped into my ipod. Heck I'd even be willing to do a word for word analysis...
However, time is a great healer and all spirit communication stopped. I became very interested in trying to understand both people and myself and by the age of 21 I had become qualified as a Psychotherapist and Analyst. I became a man of science and tried very hard to make sense of all that had happened in my childhood, with regard to the paranormal and the only way I could rationalise it all was to say I imagined and hallucinated the whole thing. Couple that with a healthy dose of total denial and you begin to see how even I could pretend the whole thing did not happen. I spent 12 years with nothing paranormal happening at all, very happy and contented as a psychotherapist, helping people find the roots of their illness, etc. I came to love the laws of physics and the fact that everything can be explained through science and cause and effect. So, imagine my shock on 21st January 2003 when out of the blue, in a session of bereavement counselling, Spirits started to communicate with me again? My patient was amazed, to the point of shock, when I could bring myself to tell her the information from her passed away loved one. I was scared again! For the first time in 12 years, I was scared, terrified, in case all the bad things that happened in the past would start again.
So he's 34-35? He should be fairly familiar with the concept of CDs. I'm 33 and I wouldn't consider tape for anything these days.

[Ducky]

Originally posted by Ashles
So he's 34-35? He should be fairly familiar with the concept of CDs. I'm 33 and I wouldn't consider tape for anything these days.


Aha! I will amend my observation to this:

He's a freakin' tool.:D

[Gr8wight]

Originally posted by Ashles
So he's 34-35? He should be fairly familiar with the concept of CDs. I'm 33 and I wouldn't consider tape for anything these days.


Yes, but the average age of his audience is probably about 64.

[Lothian]

Your seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis and no special seats can be held for you, (although if you use a wheel chair, or have special needs, Simon himself will make sure you sit where ever you want to, if possible) so, if you would like really good seats make sure you are first in the queue when the doors open at approx 6-50 pm to 7-00 pm.

Although he doesn't do cold reading he appears to do warm reading. He is there at the start showing people to their seats. I wonder how many of the disabled / special needs / first arrivals get read.

He doesn't have time for private readings. I am not surprised. He is doing 54 gigs in 121 days. an average of 200 people paying £10 a go. Take off expenses and you are still looking at nearly £100k for 3 months work, he doesn't need to do private readings.

[Lothian]

Just found this fantastic testimonial Simon
Just quick email to say how much we enjoyed the evening. Thank you for the time you took afterwards, talking, hope we didnt spoil the 'jacket and tuna' too much. It was our first time at an event as such and although we didn't receive a direct communication, we both felt that we had witnessed something special and took away a message of a kind.
"The more and more you listen, the more and more you will hear. The more you hear, the more and more deeply you will understand".
We will definitely come again.

Kind Regards.

Dave and Caroline Jefferson
(The Novotel York, 30th July 2005) Not only does he talk to the dead but he gets testimonials before the event !!

[Azrael 5]

Just an update,an obvious one....
Yesterday, 10:12 PM Post #28 QUOTE(7th Son of a seventh son @ Jul 25 2005, 09:29 PM)
No replies since July12th,oh well here's my question.
Simon would you be interested in applying for James Randi's $1 Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge? If not please state genuine reason for not doing.There are many other organizations offering similiar rewards-worldwide! Surely if you did object to James Randi's you cant object to all challenges.
A genuine medium can have no objections IMO.I await your reply.
Regards




Simon Peters wrote..Yes.. I would love too!
I have nothing to hide!
As long as Ciaran O'keefe (uni of liverpool can be the referee)
I think you will find, that it is randi who is the cheat!


Simon..
Click (http://www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=4688&st=15&p=65850&) ;)

Who is this Ciaran guy?

[TheBoyPaj]

Is he the guy on Most Haunted?

[ohms]

Originally posted by Azrael 5
Who is this Ciaran guy?

A quick Google turned up a couple of links

http://hopelive.hope.ac.uk/psychology/staff/ciaranokeeffe.htm

http://www.jonscelebworld.com/BadPsychics/Interviews/Interviews-CiaranOKeefe.html

[mayday]

I think Mr. Randi is probably an okay guy, but his so-called million dollar challenge is a joke. He wouldn't let go of that million dollars if Jesus Christ himself showed up. That million dollar prize is just a ruse to get people to apply. He wants people to be able to consistently reproduce their dowsing or psychic abilities when dowsing and psychic intuition just don't work that way. Hence, Randi can continue to say no one can win his million dollar challenge, even though what he demands is unreasonable.

[Starrman]

He wants people to be able to consistently reproduce their dowsing or psychic abilities when dowsing and psychic intuition just don't work

I agree - good point, Mayday.

[Gr8wight]

Originally posted by mayday
I think Mr. Randi is probably an okay guy, but his so-called million dollar challenge is a joke. He wouldn't let go of that million dollars if Jesus Christ himself showed up. That million dollar prize is just a ruse to get people to apply. He wants people to be able to consistently reproduce their dowsing or psychic abilities when dowsing and psychic intuition just don't work that way. Hence, Randi can continue to say no one can win his million dollar challenge, even though what he demands is unreasonable.


That's a much better picture of Niel Young, Mayday. When did you drwaw that one?

[Bronze Dog]

Originally posted by mayday
I think Mr. Randi is probably an okay guy, but his so-called million dollar challenge is a joke. He wouldn't let go of that million dollars if Jesus Christ himself showed up.
*snip*
Hence, Randi can continue to say no one can win his million dollar challenge, even though what he demands is unreasonable.
And how do you know he won't give up the million? Can someone pass the test? No? How do you know the reason they can't pass the test is because they don't have powers.

Drop the poison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well), mayday.

[Azrael 5]

mayday instead of talking rubbish why not give us some proof of paranormal;and no more of your silly bat/ghost/blob pictures please!:p

[misawafan]

Originally posted by Gr8wight
That's a much better picture of Niel Young, Mayday. When did you drwaw that one?

Damn, you beat me to that one.
Has Jamie Farr now replaced Neil Young as the new love interest?

[mayday]

Originally posted by Starrman
I agree - good point, Mayday.

Using the same tactics of misrepresentation Randi uses.
Good going.

[Bronze Dog]

Originally posted by mayday
Using the same tactics of misrepresentation Randi uses.
Good going.
For humorous purposes, but being able to reproduce psychic powers under tightly controlled conditions is exactly what you need to do to prove the existence of psi. It's that simple.

[JPK]

Good afternoon mayday.

Originally posted by mayday
He wants people to be able to consistently reproduce their dowsing or psychic abilities when dowsing and psychic intuition just don't work that way. Hence, Randi can continue to say no one can win his million dollar challenge, even though what he demands is unreasonable.
Isn’t it a bit curious that these psychics feel confident enough to do regular shows or accept large sums of money for readings even over the phone, yet somehow not confident enough to attempt proper testing? Why is it that their confidence seems to disappear at the thought of being tested?
JPK

[Bronze Dog]

I also find it curious that the demand is "unreasonable." I personally find it unreasonable to believe in something as extraordinary as psi with anything less to go on. The believer's maximum hopes seem to be less than the scientific minimum requirements.

[Azrael 5]

Id love to be able to report on my evening with Simon Peters,"Britains Most Famous Medium" but alas he refused me entry to his show.Due to me being nasty to him online at SupernaturalWorld forum!! which translates as asking him for evidence and picking holes in his life story(exorcised twice at age 20,was one!)and he claimed to have taken some scientific test,which is open to debate as well!
"I know who you are[real name] and I know what you are doing.You can come in if you pay"

(I work in press and have a NUJ ID card,so wanted in for free in return for a review-which prior to himself arriving,his assistant agreed to if I would write a good review!! I said I couldnt guarantee that,so she said £10 please!!

Anyhow he then had hotel staff remove me from premises! Nothing to hide,blah blah blah.I'll take any test,blah,blah blah,Im genuine,blah blah blah



:D

[TheBoyPaj]

What a slimeball.

And he seemed such a nice guy when he presented Children's BBC.

[Azrael 5]

Originally posted by TheBoyPaj
What a slimeball.

And he seemed such a nice guy when he presented Children's BBC.

Lol.Your PM thingy not working paj? Sent one.

[Dr Adequate]

So has Mr "Nothing to hide" sent in his application form yet?

[Azrael 5]

He says Randi is a cheat Dr A. He wouldnt even let me quiz him,what hope has Randi got,lol. Although,on that board they think Randi refused to test man who lived on air without giving the matter any thought of course!

For anyone who wants to catch up-I have been castigated today by delusionals-here's the linkLink (http://www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=4688&st=45&p=66334&) :)

[Bronze Dog]

Originally posted by Azrael 5
He says Randi is a cheat Dr A. He wouldnt even let me quiz him,what hope has Randi got,lol. Although,on that board they think Randi refused to test man who lived on air without giving the matter any thought of course!

For anyone who wants to catch up-I have been castigated today by delusionals-here's the linkLink (http://www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=4688&st=45&p=66334&) :)
It's my understanding that he refused because the test would be far too dangerous for the applicant.

[Azrael 5]

Originally posted by BronzeDog
It's my understanding that he refused because the test would be far too dangerous for the applicant.

Tell that to the kids-or loonies-today and they won't believe you! No ..they wont!

Apologies to Monty Python ;)

[Azrael 5]

Ill keep updating this thread,but it is turning into a me against him affair so I may not continue.

Simon Peters claims on his website that he has been Exorcised three times at age 20,by Church of England head;also on he claims to have taken applied to take a test of his abilities.I emailed him to ask for more info,here's a copy of both emails

Me to him
So which test have you applied for.Also while I remember Adrian Wood kindly forward information of where you had both your exorcisms
Adrian Wood being his real name.

His reply:
I am already doing exactly what you suggest! I am already with out your help, doing just that.. I wanted to do it and asked if I could, I suggested it, not you!

You have not made me go for testing, my own moral duty as a human being has done that for me!
I belive what I have is a gift from God, as such I would like to have some answers for it too."

As for your questions. I have nothing to say.

Due to you behaviour, you are banned from my functions, you will not be allowed in to any of my events..

Good bye

Simon Peters

Anyone knows how to find out about this exorcism Id love to know.
;)

[kip]

Ill keep updating this thread,but it is turning into a me against him affair so I may not continue.

What does that mean? After reading from the link you provided, it seems as if you are getting close to badgering him into something?;)

[Azrael 5]

Here are two transcripts of Simon Peters "Evening of Clairvoyance" which I have analyized and written up again.They are PDF files which can be viewed by downloading Adobe acrobat reader for free.(For those who dont know) ;)

These files are incomplete for some formatting silly reason so Ive taken them off for now.:(

[Azrael 5]

here's the second,cant put both in the post above!!

[FramerDave]

First off Mayday, love the new dress. A little electrolysis should help with that excess hair.

He wants people to be able to consistently reproduce their dowsing or psychic abilities when dowsing and psychic intuition just don't work that way

Um...Now how is it then that these people can make it work on demand in front of camera crews for TV shows, audiences at their events, for private readings, for friends, family and all manner of people and events if they can't consistently reproduce their abilities ?

All of these psychics and mediums doing these shows and events constantly would seem to prove exactly the oppsosite, that they can make their abilities work at will. Or maybe it only works when they're getting paid?

I guess you're going to say that all the skeptical "negative energy or vibes" will throw them off or make it not work. Do you really think that everyone who ever sits in the audience is a 100% true believer and that there is never a bit of skepticisim?

[Dubium]

Grrrr - what a fraud! Psychics should be licenced - and then only allowed to practice for financial gain if they pass a test such as Randi's. They are as shonky as the most corrupt business person. If there is a law against financial fraud, why not against 'spiritual fraud'.

I say again - GRRRRR.

[Kenny 10 Bellys]

Didn't Geller flee Israel after he was sued for false advertising or something? He claimed to have paranormal powers yet when he used his conjuring skills and no real powers the people sued and won. He had to stop claiming he had godlike abilities and admit he was an illusionist using trickery, so instead he bailed out and ended up in the UK.

Dont we have a similar law in the UK we could use to shut down these nutjobs and fraudsters? Any legal eagles out there know if I can sue Simon Peter/Adrian Wood for claiming to be something he's patently not? Oh, what a day that would be!

"Kenny puts mediums, psychics and other frauds out of business! Hailed as genius! Geller moves to US!"

Of course my home would then be burned to the ground by pensioners and nutters, but it might be worth it.

[Diabolos]

Originally posted by Kenny 10 Bellys
Dont we have a similar law in the UK we could use to shut down these nutjobs and fraudsters? Any legal eagles out there know if I can sue Simon Peter/Adrian Wood for claiming to be something he's patently not? Oh, what a day that would be!
I'm not a legal eagle, but the UK does have the Fraudulent Mediums Act, 1951. Not sure how often if ever gets used (I suspect quite seldom):

Fraudulent Mediums Act, 1951

Chapter 33

An Act to repeal the Witchcraft Act, 1735 and to make, in substitution for certain provisions of section four of the Vagrancy Act 1824, express provision for the punishment of persons who fraudulently purport to act as spiritualistic mediums or to exercise powers of telepathy, clairvoyance or other similar powers.

[22 June 1951.]

Be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

1.-(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any person who-
(a) with intent to deceive purports to act as a spiritualistic medium or to exercise any powers of telepathy, clairvoyance or other similar powers, or
(b) in purporting to act as a spiritualistic medium or to exercise such powers as aforesaid, uses any fraudulent device,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under the foregoing subsection unless it is proved that he acted for reward; and for the purposes of this section a person shall be deemed to act for reward if any money is paid, or other valuable thing given, in respect of what he does, whether to him or to any other person.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding (the prescribed sum) or to imprisonment for a tern not exceeding four months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or on conviction on indictment to a fine... or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(4) No proceedings for an offence under this section shall be, brought in England or Wales except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(5) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall apply to anything done solely for the purpose of entertainment

2.- Repeals
The following enactments are hereby repealed, that is to
say-

(a) the Witchcraft Act 1735, so far as still in force, and

(b) section four of the Vagrancy Act 1824 so far as it extends to persons purporting to act as spiritualistic mediums or to exercise any powers of telepathy, clairvoyance or other similar powers, or to persons who, in purporting so to act or to exercise such powers, use fraudulent devices.

3.-
(1) This Act may be cited as the Fraudulent Mediums Act, 1951.
(2) This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

[Dubium]

Bring back burning at the stake I say! (Not really). But it's about time the whole psychic industry was reexamined in light of the legislation.

[Diabolos]

Originally posted by Dubium
Bring back burning at the stake I say! (Not really). But it's about time the whole psychic industry was reexamined in light of the legislation.
You're right - burning at the stake is too good for them! I expect the get-out is clause 5. I wonder if anyone who's been to any of these shows still has a ticket - does it say that the performance is for entertainment purposes only? (It usually says that on their TV shows)

[Mojo]

Originally posted by Diabolos
I'm not a legal eagle, but the UK does have the Fraudulent Mediums Act, 1951. Not sure how often if ever gets used (I suspect quite seldom) Seldom indeed: here's (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=prosecut%20fraudulent%20mediums%20act&ALL=prosecutions&ANY=&PHRASE=%22fraudulent%20mediums%20act%20%22&CATEGORIES=&SIMPLE=&SPEAKER=&COLOUR=red&STYLE=s&ANCHOR=70113w04_spnew6&URL=/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/vo970113/text/70113w04.htm#70113w04_spnew6) an answer from House of Lords Hansard, showing numbers of prosecutions and convictions under the act between 1980 and 1995. Only 6 prosecutions, with only 5 of them leading to a conviction.

As Diabolos says, section 5 is a get-out. Although I would have thought that to use the "only for entertainment" exemption, the purported medium would have to state that they are not really a genuine medium. There's another get-out in section 1(1)(a) though: with intent to deceive purports to act as a spiritualistic medium or to exercise any powers of telepathy, clairvoyance or other similar powers...So for a successful prosecution, it would have to be established that the medium intended to decieve the audience. If the medium is deluded enough to think that they have these powers (or if the prosecution can't establish that the medium knew their powers weren't real) a prosecution will fail. I think it would have to be a pretty egregious scam to be caught by this.

[Dubium]

I still think they should be 'licenced' and a licence only approved if they can pass a stringent test administered by a neutral third party. Then if their skills are not proven they should not be able to practice for money. That would fix up the lot of them!

[Azrael 5]

This thread has gone veering off topic strangely.Anyhow hopefully the Simon Peters transcripts are now okay to view.;) ;)

[Azrael 5]

And the next one....:D

[Kenny 10 Bellys]

Looks from the transcripts that he's your run of the mill cold reader groping for answers from the audience.

"I sense an old person who died"
"I feel a troubled young person who took their own life"
"Someone here likes watching TV"

It's a shame so many people dont see it for what it is, and these fraudsters for what they are.:mad:

[Dubium]

I imagine for an audience it would be easy to get caught up in the emotions, and most of them would be there wanting to believe. But reading the transcript without benefit of 'atmosphere' makes the fakery come through loud and clear! It's a crock! What a shyster. He achieved absolutely nothing.

I've been to a few psychics in the past (stupid me - although latterly it was mainly out of incredulous curiosity - honest!!) and because I remained po-faced and unresponsive, I got a load of old hogwash. But my sister-in-law, who is extremely susceptible, always comes away convinced that she has had an accurate reading. She must be very 'readable' for shysters.

How Simon Peters sleeps at night I do not know. He's pretty hopeless at what he does, and it seems like a lot of hard work for a scam. I couldn't live with myself if I duped people for a living like he does. He's f*cking with people's minds as well as their wallets. Sickening.

Thanks for putting all that hard work into transcribing the show! I live in Australia and have never seen Peters but I have seen Derek Acorah, so when I was reading the transcript I was imagining his voice. Shudder.

[Azrael 5]

He uses stock readings Ive discovered.The same spiel on different nights,such as the young man who comitted suicide.He's a shocking liar,and cold reader.

[Ersby]

Hmm, I've never seen a cold reader try to guess days and times. That's a pretty desperate stab at originality.

[Azrael 5]

Ersby you're right,he thinks it gives him some air of genuineness.But as you say its guesses.
Can I just ask(anyone)he claims in the intro to his readings -which isnt transcribed-that spirits and spirit guides dont talk in his ear.Yet repeatedly in the review he says"they are telling me" "they are saying" would you think this was a turn of phrase or literal.Obviously he is lying anyway so its pointless.But humour me. :D

[Francois Tremblay]

Hey guys, don't joke about murdering people. That's stupid.

The point about skeptics in the audience is a great one. Even if I was a believer, I'd have to concede that some people in the audience must be skeptics, at least once in a while. So how come the psychic looks good ALL the time ? I'd have to reason that there was something suspicious going on.

[Ersby]

Originally posted by Francois Tremblay
So how come the psychic looks good ALL the time ?

They don't.

[Azrael 5]

Murdering people? Is this two threads in one or something,Im lost!;)

[Azrael 5]

This is a quote from Simon Peters from a third transcript not up yet,bu I found it and well....words fail me.Spinal Tap?

SP: Do you remember that? and he's like..so amazed to find a medium that isn't cold reading and that isn't hot reading, that isn't making it up as he goes along, that he's here, and he just wants to....whose S? Name like Sue....Susan....S?

:D :D

[Dubium]

Just back to the matter of the illegality of what psychics do - only for a moment - I know there are some who genuinely believe they can do what they claim to be able to do.

So in addition to making them pass a 'test' to prove their powers, make them take a polygraph test and ask them whether they believe they have psychic powers.

If they say yes and fail - no licence and a stern warning about duping the public.

If they pass the polygraph test - no licence but perhaps a referral to counselling.

Or as Simon Peters might say.... If they pass the polygraph test - no licence but no...yes...thank you... I am getting a B.... and and S..... they're telling me I'm talking B.....

[Diabolos]

Originally posted by Dubium
Just back to the matter of the illegality of what psychics do - only for a moment - I know there are some who genuinely believe they can do what they claim to be able to do.

So in addition to making them pass a 'test' to prove their powers, make them take a polygraph test and ask them whether they believe they have psychic powers.

If they say yes and fail - no licence and a stern warning about duping the public.

If they pass the polygraph test - no licence but perhaps a referral to counselling.

Or as Simon Peters might say.... If they pass the polygraph test - no licence but no...yes...thank you... I am getting a B.... and and S..... they're telling me I'm talking B.....
The trouble is that polygraphs aren't dependable as lie detectors. Just like learning cold reading, you can learn to pass a polygraph. (And they don't measure lies anyway - merely physiological reactions).

I think the only answer is the licensing route, where the "psychic" has to establish their ability to talk to the dead scientifically. That would fell them in one swoop. It seems, though, that legislators just aren't interested. There would need to be a lot of public pressure for them to even consider the idea.