StopSylviaBrowne: Exploring Psychic Powers Live!

[RSLancastr]

Another new article up today:

Sylvia Browne on Exploring Psychic Powers Live! (http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/exploringpsychicpowerslive.shtml)

Sylvia Browne and James Randi give very different accounts of a show. Who is right?

Recently-released video allows us to finally know the answer (as if we couldn't have guessed).

[AZAtheist]

Thank you Robert for keeping up the good fight. I for the life of me can't see how you continue on without getting worn out. It seems the supporters never tire.

[quixotecoyote]

A little much with the English major digs? I love your site, but you don't need to take the extra digs as they detract from the appearence of objectivity. Maybe you coudl keep the language use stuff on the Enlish major article and update the mistakes you see her say elsewhere.

I just think it's a little weak to use language errors as evidence against a Enlish education. I have a communication studies degree, but I have occasional failures to communicate.

[Tamazon]

Love how she bombs miserably!

The only other thing that I could see people arguing about is that Mr. Randi said that there were 140 audience members. Unless there were many more there that could not be seen in the video, I only counted about 24 people. Not that it really matters, just something I noticed.

She would have been more believable if she would have said that the audience was packed with skeptics instead of Germans. Silly woman.

And since we're talking about English, I hate to be the spelling police but there are a few minor mistakes:

"with the entire audience filed with Germans who could not speak English."

"This lady over hear. You've never met me before, have you? [the woman shakes her head "no."] There is a young male in your life that has very, very puppy dog eyes."

"She's sitting her saying "Please don't let her call on me." All right. Who is Kathy?"

Once again, fabulous work! Love it. :D

[CFLarsen]

(as if we couldn't have guessed).

No, no. We're just psychic!




Pssst....

"Bill Bixby introducing Browne"

[yairhol]

Pssst....

"Bill Bixby introducing Browne"

Nope, "Brown" is the correct spelling since at that time, as RSLancastr had said at his site, that was her name. She only later added the additional "e".

BTW, Great article.

Regards,
Yair vbmenu_register("postmenu_2635612", true);

[CFLarsen]

Then, "Brown(e)", like is also used.

[RSLancastr]

Thank you Robert for keeping up the good fight. I for the life of me can't see how you continue on without getting worn out. It seems the supporters never tire.Thanks, AZA!

A little much with the English major digs?Possibly. I will reread it tomorrow and see if I agree. I cranked the article out pretty quickly.

I just think it's a little weak to use language errors as evidence against a Enlish education.Maybe so.

The only other thing that I could see people arguing about is that Mr. Randi said that there were 140 audience members. Unless there were many more there that could not be seen in the video, I only counted about 24 people. Not that it really matters, just something I noticed.It definitely sounds like there are more, but that could easily be a laugh track.

And since we're talking about English, I hate to be the spelling police but there are a few minor mistakes:Ah, yes. None of which would have been caught by spell-check. Thanks, fixed!

Once again, fabulous work! Love it. :DThanks, Tamazon!

"Bill Bixby introducing Browne"No, that was intentional, as it was her name at the time of the show.

Where it got dicey was in my comments within the section about the old show, I referred to her as Browne. I could have gone either way.

Or, I could have mentioned at the top of the article that I would be referring to her as Browne throughout, and left it at that.

Ah, well. Choice made.

[rjh01]

Minor issues
In the Analysis section you refer in one case to Sylvia as Brown The only thing even close to a "hit" was when Woman #1 thought that someone she had recently met could possibly be the person Brown was describing. At other times in the same section as Browne.

Also you say (Randi is not known for pulling his punches), Would it be better to say
(Randi is known for not pulling his punches),
Note I have moved the word not.

[JoeTheJuggler]

So the audience is instructed not to give her extra information (to avoid cold reading techniques), and she does all she can to get around that ("Do you understand what I'm saying?" which will always get a "Yes" even when the reading is a big fat "No". And "Who is Kathy" which could invites more than a "yes" or "no" answer--except that in this case it was a total miss.)

So Sylvia has been a slimy, lying predator for many years.

And her best defense of her miserable performance is that the producers set her up by filling the audience with Germans? So she claims to be able to tell people all sorts of things about theirs lives, their dead loved-ones, their future, but freely admits that she can't determine their nationality?

She belongs in jail.

[Dunstan]

Ah, what the hell, I'm bored. I'll do a fisking of Sylvia's performance:

Reading #1:

Brown: This lady over here. You've never met me before, have you? [the woman shakes her head "no."] There is a young male in your life that has very, very puppy dog eyes.


So we have a person in her life who is (1) young, (2) male, and (3) has "puppy dog eyes." We never get confirmation on any of these, which means they're probably misses. We can't say for sure, of course, but that's the nature of cold reading: avoid giving the subject a chance to say "no."

Brown: You know what I mean? The eyes droop down at the corners... He is going to come back into your life and then leave your life and come back into your life. This looks like a direct connection to you. He's kinda slender, he's athletic-looking, he has sort of large bones. Ummm, and this is going to cause you a great deal of problems. Do you understand what this is about? Do you understand what I'm saying?


A flurry of stuff here. First, there's the "explanation" of "puppy dog eyes" as being "eyes [that] droop down at the corners." I'm not sure that this is what that phrase means to most people, but I'll give Sylvia the benefit of the doubt and say that it is. Either way, the subject still does not pick up on this.

Second, this person is "going to come back into your life and then leave your life and come back." The subject will later say that there is a person who has come back and forth in her life, but is that really a hit? Note that this is a prediction of the future, not a description of something that's already happened -- meaning, of course, that it's unfalsifiable.

Third, this man is "kinda slender, he's athletic-looking, he has sort of large bones." I have no idea what it means to have "large bones." That's usually a euphemism for someone who is heavy-set, in which case it contradicts her claim that he's slender. Sylvia really is covering all the bases here. If the subject is thinking of a man who's slender, she can claim a hit. If she's thinking of a man who's heavy, she can claim a hit on "large bones." If she's thinking of a man who's neither slender nor heavy, she can claim a hit on "athletic-looking."

Fourth, "this is going to cause you a great deal of problems." Again, note the future tense.

Finally, there's the "Do you understand what this is about? Do you understand what I'm saying?" Sylvia is fishing for feedback here. A lot of people will nod or say "yes" at this point because, yes, they do understand what she's saying, and not because the "reading" is accurate.

Woman #1: Uh-huh. Yes I do.

Brown: And what part?

Woman #1: Umm... The... person coming back and forth and cause problems.

Brown: Who is that to you?

Woman #1: [pause, shakes her head] I think it's somebody I know, I've met recently.

Brown: That keeps coming back and forth. [the woman nods her head "yes."]


Sylvia's fishing has sort of worked, here, in that the subject has picked up on part of the long monologue Sylvia just gave. The subject thinks that Sylvia is referring to somebody she's met recently who is "coming back and forth and caus[ing] problems."

This is a pretty questionable "hit." First, the subject doesn't sound very sure ("I think it's somebody I know"). Second, the "coming back and forth and causing problems" was supposed to be a prediction for the future, not a description of the past.

And note all the misses! The subject's use of the word "person" suggests to me that the individual she's thinking of is not a man, let alone a young man. No hit on "puppy dog eyes." The subject doesn't even pick up on the "kinda slender, he's athletic-looking, he has sort of large bones" cue. It's no wonder that Sylvia moves on at this point, because this subject isn't helping her out enough.

Summary of reading:

There is a person in the subject's life who is: (1) young, (2) male, (3) has puppy dog eyes (that droop in the corners), (4) is slender, athletic-looking, and/or has sort of large bones.

This person (5) is going to come in and out of the subject's life, and (6) cause problems.

(1) and (2) are so general as to apply to virtually everyone. After all, who doesn't have a young male in his or her life, whether it's a friend, boyfriend, brother, son, nephew, etc.?

(3) is a little more specific, but if the subject has a young male in her life who she loves, she may well believe he has "puppy dog eyes."

(4) is so broad and contradictory that it would cover almost any person.

(5) and (6), as stated above, are non-falsifiable predictions of the future. But they serve a useful purpose for Sylvia in that she may be able to turn them into "hits."

Sylvia was probably expecting the reading to go differently; she probably thought she'd get hits on some of (1) through (4), but the subject didn't take the bait on those. Fortunately for Sylvia, the subject turned Sylvia's predictions of (5) and (6) into descriptions of the past, so Sylvia was able to claim some semblance of victory and move on to a more pliable subject.

[Dunstan]

There isn't much more to Reading #2 than RSL did in his article, but just to be thorough:

Brown: All right, there's somebody here too, this lady right next to you. [turns to audience behind her] I'll get over to you in just a minute. [turns back to second woman] Uhhh, the name Bill keeps coming through so strong from you. Do you know anyone at this point by the name of Bill?

Woman #2: No, I don't.

Geez, how did she miss on this? Who doesn't know someone named Bill? I almost feel sorry for Sylvia. You know, if she weren't a slimy lying predator.

Brown: There's a heavy-set, full-faced man with jowls, very, very blue eyes that really has something to do with real estate or property that's going to help you. This is aside from the Bill, because this William is also another person.

[The woman shakes her head "no."]



"Heavy-set, full-faced man with jowls" can probably count as one statement, though they don't necessarily go together. "Very, very blue eyes" is another. "Real estate or property" is a third. And the "William" is a fourth, though frankly I'm surprised Sylvia would try that after she just failed with "Bill."

The "going to help you" is another predictive statement. Note that it can be used to salvage the rest of this part of the reading: if the subject knows a heavy-set man with jowls and/or very blue eyes, Sylvia can say that he might not be involved in real estate right now, but in the future....

Anyway, Sylvia comes up snake eyes all around.

Brown: And this has to do with a two-layered property. In other words, an upstairs and a downstairs.

Woman #2: No, I...


Wow. How many properties are there that don't have an upstairs and a downstairs? All Sylvia needs is for this woman to live in a house rather than an apartment, or be thinking about buying a house, and she could score a hit. But this subject isn't playing ball, so it's time to try someone else.


Brown: Not at this point.

Woman #2: [shakes her head "no"] Not at this point.

Brown: Okay. 'Cause this person is going to be very significant to you by the name of William. All right? [the woman nods her head "yes.] Because a lot of times these things can be in the future.


And here's the escape hatch RSL noted. Sylvia completely whiffed on this reading -- she couldn't even score hits with "Bill" and "upstairs and downstairs"! -- but she passes it all off as being in the future.

[wahrheit]

Robert, thanks again for another great article and video which shows what Browne really is.

My Kraut ears tried hard to figure out what the guy was saying where you write unintelligible, but the sound of the video is too bad to be really sure. However, I am pretty certain he says something like "I must do much think[in'] when you speak English ..."

Anyway, it's not too important. This performance of Browne as a 'psychic' is one of the worst cold readings I've seen to date.

[Dunstan]

Reading #3. All predictions here.

Brown: [turns to a man behind her] Let's go, let's go to you. There is a two-year, two and a half-year period in which it looks like you are going to be - I don't want to say without a job, but there's a flat period in which you're not doing what you want to do. [the man is smiling] And that's going to cause you a lot of dissension. And it's a two-and-a-half-year period, then you're going to get into a lot of marketing and sales work. And this marketing and sales work has to do with three other men that you're going to be training.

What's the cliche? Everyone who goes to a psychic, palm reader, etc. wants to know about love, money, career, or health? Sylvia's going after the career part. I would say that most people, especially those under, say, fifty, aren't yet doing what they want to do. Note that if this guy is currently unhappy, Sylvia can claim that the two, two-and-a-half year period has already begun. If not, well, hey, it's in the future!

Marketing and sales is a somewhat more specific prediction, but a lot of jobs involve that in some capacity. Even if the subject says "I hate sales and marketing and would never want to do that," Sylvia can just fall back on something like him forming his own company and having those "three other men" as his sales and marketing staff since he hates it so much.

Man #1: I understand you not so good, I am a German.

Brown: I don't care whether you're German, you still work or not work, don't you? [the man laughs] I mean, we do that in France, or in Germany, or wherever, don't we?

Ok, note that Sylvia could have bailed out here, if the language barrier was a problem. I couldn't fault her for that. But instead, she sticks with him. Why? Because, far from being the handicap that she now claims, it's an advantage! What do you do when you're travelling and dealing with someone in a language you're not comfortable with? Smile and nod, right? That's perfect for Sylvia! And anything that's a miss she can write off as "he didn't understand me."

Man #1: I'm [unintelligible] speak English, and I understand your words.

I'm not so sure I agree with RSL's transcription here, or his conclusion that the man seemed to speak reasonable English. I think the "your" in that sentence may have been "few" or "some" or something else indicating that his English was limited. But either way, Sylvia presses on, confident that she can get a "yes."

Brown: Okay. Two years of no working that you like.

Man #1: Yes.

Brown: Okay. [To rest of audience] That's my German. [laughter] Okay. [back to man] Then you're going to be traveling and doing some telemarketing work. Marketing and sales.

Man #1: Yes.

Brown: Yes. Is that yes for me, or yes for you?

Man #1: Yes for me. [laughs]


I really don't think he understood her very well. Hell, I don't even know what "yes for me, or yes for you" means! He could just be confirming that he understands her.

Sylvia would have loved it if this guy had said that he works in sales or marketing now, or wants to in the future, or hates his current job, or anything that tied into her prediction. She had to settle for "yes," whatever that means.

Come on, Sylvia, fourth time's the charm....!

[Dunstan]

Reading #4.

Brown: Okay, let's see, who else? [Walks up aisle. To young woman] Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. [the woman laughs] She's sitting here saying "Please don't let her call on me." All right. Who is Kathy?

Woman #3: I don't know.

Steee-rike One! (Note that she'd claim a hit for Cathy, Catherine, and probably Katie or Katrina and other similar names.)

Brown: This girl by the name of Kathy has dark, curly hair, and she is a friend that looks like she's going to be in school with you. She has very, very beautiful blue eyes, and she does a lot of paperwork with you - which looks like school, 'cause everybody young is in school usually. This person is... by the name of Kathy. Also looks like you are going to get into some sort of therapy work.

Another flurry of statements. All the stuff about Kathy (dark, curly hair, blue eyes, school, paperwork) is safe for Sylvia to throw out there, since it's someone she hasn't met yet.

Note also how Sylvia covers her butt by clarifying that "school" could just be anything else that involves paperwork. So even if the subject says "I'm not in school, and not planning to go back," Sylvia could salvage it. She even explains her thought process -- she's only guessing school "'cause everybody young is in school usually."

So it's all predictions here, with the hope of turning it into a hit if the subject: (a) is in school; (b) is thinking of going back to school; (c) has a job that involves paperwork.

The "therapy work" is a little more specific, but it's still just a prediction.

Woman #3: [shakes her head "no."] I don't know, that doesn't sound familiar.

Brown: Do you know what you're going to do?

Woman #3: Yes.

Brown: Okay, but it doesn't have anything to do with therapy. [the woman shakes her head "no."]


Stee-rike Two! (And I'm being generous in only counting this as one strike.)

But it looks like you're going to be dealing with people that have to do with therapy. In other words, advising people, helping people, talking to people.

Wow, get a little broader, why don't you? This prediction encompasses therapists, guidance counselors, career counselors, life coaches, financial advisors, lawyers, doctors... heck, whose job doesn't involve "talking to people"? And she only needs to be "dealing with people" in those lines of work. She's got to get some helpful feedback this time, right?

Okay? [the woman raises her eyebrows in a doubtful expression.] All right.

Stee-rike Three! By the way, it's worth watching the video for this one alone. My psychic abilities tell me that the subject is thinking "wow, are you full of it..."



Edited to add: I'm not going to do Reading #5, since it's a two-liner and I have nothing to add to what RSL said.

[Senex]

RSLancastr,

My friend who does brilliant work, I wish to say that you have long surpassed the point of discrediting Slyvia Browne beyong a reasonable doubt on the Internet. I think you are gifted at running a debunking website and wish you would give us another topic to support you for.

Just my humble opnion.

[Questioninggeller]

You can download: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVsNsUBpPrw with http://vixy.net/

[Mr. Scott]

Nope, "Brown" is the correct spelling since at that time, as RSLancastr had said at his site, that was her name. She only later added the additional "e".

BTW, Great article.

Regards,
Yair vbmenu_register("postmenu_2635612", true);

Robert: Great stuff!

I suggest you spell it Browne with the 'e' since it will google better. You could mention the spelling issue at the top of the article, but I'd use the 'e' for the rest, or people searching for her with the modern spelling won't find your excellent work.

[RSLancastr]

Would it be better to say
(Randi is known for not pulling his punches),
Note I have moved the word not.Either is grammatically correct, but the way I use it is the more common, and also the more humorous, in a mild way.

Out of curiosity, I Googled the two phrases, and there were 563,000 instances of it my way (My favorite on the first page: "Hooters is not known for its food."), and only 21,300 instances your way. So there. :p

But seriously, thanks for the input. I will be correcting the Browne/Brown you brought up.

So she claims to be able to tell people all sorts of things about theirs lives, their dead loved-ones, their future, but freely admits that she can't determine their nationality?Funny, that.

She belongs in jail.No argument here, Joe.

There isn't much more to Reading #2 than RSL did in his article, but just to be thorough:I purposefully avoided going into depth on the cold-reading analysis, as the thrust of the article was whether or not Browne had lied on the Larry King show. Thanks for filling in the blanks!
Wow. How many properties are there that don't have an upstairs and a downstairs?Lots, actually. I just counted ten properties I can recall living in over my life, and only two of them had an upstairs and a downstairs.

Robert, thanks again for another great article and video which shows what Browne really is.Thanks, warheit!

However, I am pretty certain he says something like "I must do much think[in'] when you speak English ..."I'll give it a listen and see if I hear that as well, thanks.

This performance of Browne as a 'psychic' is one of the worst cold readings I've seen to date.She made James Va Praagh's readings look good! :)

My friend who does brilliant work, I wish to say that you have long surpassed the point of discrediting Slyvia Browne beyong a reasonable doubt on the Internet.Thanks for the kind words, but we're not done yet. Hang in there.

I think you are gifted at running a debunking website and wish you would give us another topic to support you for.Again, thanks. But not just yet!

Robert: Great stuff!Thanks, Mr. Scott!

I suggest you spell it Browne with the 'e' since it will google better.Well, since it is spelled "Browne" hundreds of times on the site, and more than once on that page alone (including in the title), I don't think it is in danger of not being found.

But, as I said in an earlier post, I may change it just for consistency's sake, with a note at the top of the article explaining why I have done so.

[The Mad Hatter]

Robert, wonderful work as usual. I think this is one of the more "convincing" articles on your site.

A while ago, I think you mentioned the possibility of adding a "worst of" category. Now that you have articles by the dozen, I really think this would be helpful.

[Kilgore Trout]

Apart from the claws, she doesn't seem (to me) to share much resemblance to modern times. Sure it's been 17-18 years but even her readings were more personable and she seemed more apt to joke rather than shoot a look like the person she was reading for is a complete and utter moron.

Has Randi ever pulled a punch?

And slight typo. Sylvia says that "Ron Lion even said so later." It's Ron Lyon (link to his entry on imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0528981/)) and in the biography, apparently written by Mr. Lyon, it does list this show: "During his career, Lyon has functioned as executive, creator, executive producer, line producer and director, emphasizing television movies, series and reality-based programming produced on location in Europe and the US. His special "Exploring Psychic Powers" hosted by Bill Bixby with James Randi and Uri Geller was a huge U.S. syndication ratings success."

It doesn't list his age or similar information; perhaps he's still alive, although with the Googling I've done, contact may prove difficult to say the least. I didn't find anything but the imdb.com page and a couple links to videos on Amazon. (and as a bit of totally unrelated trivia, seems he acted in Women of the Prehistoric Planet, which was later MSTied... I digress.)

Anyway, another great article, as always.

[Kilgore Trout]

Well. Maybe not so difficult. Lyon works with a Jenny Paschall and they have a web site here (http://www.wizardsofweird.com/).

They have a "Traveling Roadshow" and they seem pretty wooish. However, that may actually be even more reason that Lyon would refute the idea that he said it was a setup.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Why...color me purple, it's the young Sylvia Browne! Having seen her in person and being so familiar with her from TV, it's a little surreal.

Two observations: a) she's had plastic surgery. I'd stake the million dollar prize on it b) this takes me back to the first time I ever heard of Sylvia Browne, when my woo woo friend Caroline first gave me a book of hers. :) I was already a skeptic of psychic powers but had never heard of Sylvia before.

I flipped through and read a little to find something to debunk her on as a challenge to myself but ended up recycling it. Don't remember what the title was now, maybe cause they're so generic but I remember an anecdote about Sylvia predicting for her doctor that his wife would be in a car crash and it later coming true.

Does anyone else remember the first time you had ever heard of her?

[Locknar]

I could be wrong but I thought that English was a required second langauge in post WWII Germany? This would seem to, in part, refute Brown(e)'s claim that the group, being all German, was unable to understand her.

I've spent time in Germany. I can't say that every German understands English...but I can say that I never had any issues/problems, and I don't speak German.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Another two observations: as a celebrity and TV personality, she's wholly charisma-free and her cold-readings haven't gotten any better in two decades. A good cold-reading is like a good magic trick: it should create the temporary illusion of psychic ability but every second I was on Montel, I was painfully aware I was seeing by-the-numbers cold-reading.

She's no more entertaining or believable on Montel than she is in this clip. To my ears, she's not bombing any worse than when she's on his show or Larry King's.

[RSLancastr]

Robert, wonderful work as usual. I think this is one of the more "convincing" articles on your site.Thanks, Hatter!

A while ago, I think you mentioned the possibility of adding a "worst of" category. Now that you have articles by the dozen, I really think this would be helpful.Yes, it will be, but don't expect it in the next few weeks.

And slight typo. Sylvia says that "Ron Lion even said so later." It's Ron Lyon.You know I thought it might be, but that was the way it was in the Larry King Live transcript (which also had Randi as Randy at least once). Thanks for looking into it.

Thanks also for finding that web site! I will contact him and see if he has anything to say.

Please, nobody else do so, if you haven't already. I think he is more likely to respond to a single inquiry than a flood of them.

Two observations: a) she's had plastic surgery. I'd stake the million dollar prize on itYes, on the eyes, the nose, the neck. A couple of points in the video you catch her in profile, and see that her nose was much longer and pointier back then.

b) this takes me back to the first time I ever heard of Sylvia Browne, when my woo woo friend Caroline first gave me a book of hers.This actually was the first time I saw her, though I don't recall it (that's how impressed I was). I distinctly remember the tests in the show (dowser, astrologer, aura reader).

[QUOTE=EeneyMinnieMoe;2637549]Another two observations: as a celebrity and TV personality, she's wholly charisma-free and her cold-readings haven't gotten any better in two decades.[quote]Yes, but expectations have been lowered because She Is On The Montel Williams Show Every Week So She Must Be Real.

[clerihew80]

she's had plastic surgery.
And clearly, it has made a huge difference. Her surgeon is the real magician here. :rolleyes:

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

And clearly, it has made a huge difference. Her surgeon is the real magician here. :rolleyes:

I was about to say the plastic surgeon hasn't done a good job since she's still as ugly as ever but on 2nd thought, give the poor guy a break. Look what he had to work with! You can't make nothing out of nothing.

[RSLancastr]

I've seen close-ups of her before and now. Her face does look younger now.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Maybe younger but not better.

It's like trying to improve a bad and flawed painting- you might correct the flaws but the effect as a whole remains no better so you should just give up.

Maybe if she had plastic surgery when she was still young, maybe then it would have really done something for her.

[Reno]

Brown: This girl by the name of Kathy has dark, curly hair, and she is a friend that looks like she's going to be in school with you. She has very, very beautiful blue eyes, and she does a lot of paperwork with you - which looks like school, 'cause everybody young is in school usually. This person is... by the name of Kathy. Also looks like you are going to get into some sort of therapy work.

When I watched this part, it seemed to me that Brown was accidentally thinking out loud. She's thinking;"everybody young is in school usually, so I'm bound to get a hit if I guess in that area"

It seems to me that she inadvertently vocalises part of her thought and incorporates it into the rambling guesses. Anyone else notice this, or am I just being too picky?

ETA: gratz me on my 500th post in almost 6 years here :)

[clerihew80]

I've seen close-ups of her before and now. Her face does look younger now.
Still, she paid for that surgery with money she bilked from desperate, gullible people. At the very least, she should find a more productive way to spend her ill-earned gains.

[clerihew80]

Maybe if she had plastic surgery when she was still young, maybe then it would have really done something for her.
Nah, any benefits would have been canceled out by all the bon-bons and cigarettes.

[Reno]

If Jabba the Hutt had gone through cosmetic surgery when he was a young...ummm...slug/huttlet/slimething, he'd still look like Jabba the Hutt.

[Geckko]

There is a stronger point on this German audience member.

He told Sylvia right off the bat that he was German and did not have very good English. But SHE pushed HIM and insisted he go on with the reading. Hardly a set up. She could have simply moved on.

What I think is most delicious about this article is the evidence-based opportunity it gives to call Sylvia a liar. I think everyone should do it.

Is Sylvia a psychic??

No, she is a LIAR.

[pspaddict]

Wonderful article, RSL. Was the video uploaded for your benefit or was that something you saw on a random trip on YouTube?

I'd like to point out the transformation of Sylvia Browne of the 80s to what we have now. Back then she focused on individuals, but her evil genius came up with something much more helpful: instead of she going to each individual, she'd just address the whole crowd and ask "Who is Kathy?" Out of the dozens of people there'd bounds to be a few who'll know a Kathy, or a John, or a Joan, or a Michael. She's come a long way honing her cold reading skills.

[Uncle Feedle]

I wasn't aware she'd been in business that long. It's scary how long she's been getting away with this. Who knows what damage she's done over the years? :mad:

[Minarvia]

I was about to say the plastic surgeon hasn't done a good job since she's still as ugly as ever but on 2nd thought, give the poor guy a break. Look what he had to work with! You can't make nothing out of nothing.

Reminds me of something I read somewhere - "You can't make chicken salad out of chicken sh**."

[RSLancastr]

It seems to me that she inadvertently vocalises part of her thought and incorporates it into the rambling guesses. Anyone else notice this, or am I just being too picky?That's an interesting take on it, but no, I didn't notice it.

Wonderful article, RSL. Was the video uploaded for your benefit or was that something you saw on a random trip on YouTube?When Randi had dinner with a bunch of us in LA a while back, he mentioned that he had the video, and I said I'd love to see it and write an article around it. Not long thereafter, up it went!

I wasn't aware she'd been in business that long. It's scary how long she's been getting away with this. Who knows what damage she's done over the years? :mad:She's been doing this since the mid 1970s.

[JeffJ]

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/Estrus1/CG.jpg "Worst readings ever!".

Really, she has enormous balls. It's amazing she didn't hang her head in embarrassment and never attempt that again.
Her voice was almost normal back then... if I believed in karma I'd say she's slowly going to become mute as punishment for all the lies she speaks.
Let's hope it happens anyway.:)

[MortFurd]

I was about to say the plastic surgeon hasn't done a good job since she's still as ugly as ever but on 2nd thought, give the poor guy a break. Look what he had to work with! You can't make nothing out of nothing.

Did you ever consider that she might now look WORSE if she'd not had surgery? That's scary.

[RSLancastr]

A brief addendum to the article:

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/exploringpsychicpowerslive.shtml#update20070529

[Kilgore Trout]

I went back to read that after cuing in on something Randi said. When talking to the German tourist, she offers up that he's "going to be traveling." Gee, really? A guy from Germany in the US is going to be traveling?

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Did you ever consider that she might now look WORSE if she'd not had surgery? That's scary.

No, I didn't think of that. That is scary.

Actually, I admit that when I saw her in person I admired the work around her eyes and her very nicely done eyebrows. :blush:

At least one person is deservedly making a profit from all this mess and that's whoever does her eyebrows.

[PastBrowneFan]

Montel can afford wonderful special effects people, I mean makeup artists.

[Questioninggeller]

A brief addendum to the article:

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/exploringpsychicpowerslive.shtml#update20070529

That's great that Randi visits the website.

[Monza]

I remember seeing this show when it aired in 1989. I don't remember Sylvia though. What a horrible performance and what a horrible person.

Robert, you are doing a great job with the site. Keep it up.