Does the "Amazing" Kreskin have Memory Problems?

Gord_in_Toronto · 26th October 2008, 10:23 AM

In Saturday's Toronto Star there is a fawning, credulous interview with the "mentalist" the "Amazing" Kreskin.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment...article/523475

Among the many, err, amazing claims made is that:

Quote:

But that was fairly trivial compared with an incident a few years before. On Jan. 1, 2001, Kreskin appeared on a CNN program to discuss his latest book and make some predictions for the year, all in a lighthearted mode.

"Suddenly, I saw something," he says, his voice shaking. "I interrupted the host and I said, `While the public is not aware of this, we are at war with terrorists and this September, there will be a major disaster involving four airlines."

And when 9/11 came around that year, very few of us were happy that Kreskin had seen the future.

The Star "reporter" neglected to do is actually read the transcript of the show which is available on-line at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP...01/tod.11.html
to see what Kreskin actually said:

Quote:

KRESKIN: You know, Joie, I'm not a negative person, by the way, and I don't want anyone to misunderstand this, but I do believe by September or October there will be two major plane crashes. I don't predict disasters in which people are hurt, but it will be the disaster of two companies going out of business. And that I'm almost willing to bet.
CHEN: Wait, are those two things related? The plane crashes and the...
KRESKIN: The plane crashes -- there will not be planes crashing. The crashes will be the companies collapsing, going out of business.
CHEN: Oh, I see. OK.
KRESKIN: No crashes. No crashes at all.
CHEN: No crashes. Big airlines, ones we know about?
KRESKIN: Huh?
CHEN: Big airlines, those who have big names?
KRESKIN: We'd better not say. I've got to fly one tomorrow. Gee, don't even look it up. Don't look it up, Joie.

My bolding.

With a "warning" like that I bet a whole bunch of people immediately closed their offices in the WTC and left New York!

He also offered to bet the first person to take him up $10,000 that the Yankees would win the World Series.

Kreskin is not as bad as the Sylvia Browns and John Edwards of the World as, as far as I know, he does not do individual "readings".

However, by "mis-remembering" his predictions, he supports and promotes the psychic woo.

The Toronto Star has low journalistic standards.

Wowbagger · 26th October 2008, 11:34 AM

All psychics seem to have memory problems. They all claimed they made more accurate predictions than they actually did.

Corsair 115 · 26th October 2008, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

The Toronto Star has low journalistic standards.

Yes, it does seems to have slipped some over the years. I suggest you send them a crisply-worded letter to the editor repeating the points you made in the OP. Does the Star still have an ombudsman?

Azrael 5 · 26th October 2008, 12:53 PM

I dont know a great deal of Kreskin's integrity regarding claims of psychic powers,but all I see him doing is giving copy/advertising for his book.
Had he made a claim of psychic powers initially I would be irked.

From link:

Quote:

"Let's get one thing straight from the start," he says on the phone from his New Jersey home, "I am not a mystic, a clairvoyant or a psychic. I am a thought-reader, pure and simple.

Maybe the journalist edited it to appear woo.

Gord_in_Toronto · 26th October 2008, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by Corsair 115

Yes, it does seems to have slipped some over the years. I suggest you send them a crisply-worded letter to the editor repeating the points you made in the OP. Does the Star still have an ombudsman?

Amusingly enough I have done that a few times in the past about similar psychicpuffpieces in the Star. In one I had an email go round with the reporter. The reasoning from the Star was that it was in the Entertainment Section and thus was not real news. My response was "so what?" do your standards do not apply to everything you publish?

In the another I was promised a follow up and am still waiting a couple of years later.

I may try again with this. But I don't think I'll be satisfied by the answer.

Gord_in_Toronto · 26th October 2008, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by Azrael 5

I dont know a great deal of Kreskin's integrity regarding claims of psychic powers,but all I see him doing is giving copy/advertising for his book.
Had he made a claim of psychic powers initially I would be irked.

From link:

Maybe the journalist edited it to appear woo.

Kreskin does a lot of waffling on what he is and does. He usually claims to be a mentalist.

In this case he most definitely did not predict airplanes crashing into the WTC. His "major disaster involving four airlines" was that the would fail in a business sense.

Quote:

KRESKIN: The plane crashes -- there will not be planes crashing. The crashes will be the companies collapsing, going out of business.

Azrael 5 · 26th October 2008, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

Kreskin does a lot of waffling on what he is and does. He usually claims to be a mentalist.

In this case he most definitely did not predict airplanes crashing into the WTC. His "major disaster involving four airlines" was that the would fail in a business sense.

He always claims to be a mentalist as far as Im aware,it says he isn't psychic.
The OP is citing a journalist's quote,even if true as written its Kreskin seizing some free publicity for his book.Embellishment.

Gord_in_Toronto · 26th October 2008, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Azrael 5

He always claims to be a mentalist as far as Im aware,it says he isn't psychic.
The OP is citing a journalist's quote,even if true as written its Kreskin seizing some free publicity for his book.Embellishment.

I don't think much of the Star reporter's reporting but it seems an awful stretch to believe he misquoted Kreskin:

Quote:

"Suddenly, I saw something," he says, his voice shaking. "I interrupted the host and I said, `While the public is not aware of this, we are at war with terrorists and this September, there will be a major disaster involving four airlines."

I can seize some free publicity for my yet to be published book that I predicted that Dianna (the Princess of Whales) would be killed in a car crash. However, I will not, because in this Universe it is called lying.

Kreskin vacillates about what he does. I've caught him in one lie where he claimed to have predicted the future. Why would I think he has any more psychic ability than Sylvia Brown?

My objection to the article and to Kreskin is that this gives support to the belief that there is such a thing as psychic ability. And this supports the kooks of the world. YMMV.

I just checked Kreskin's website. I see that all his predictions he lists are the old "locked box" (more often "sealed envelop") stage magician trick. He calls them "predictions" not "tricks". They are tricks.
http://www.amazingkreskin.com/?cat=5

Monza · 26th October 2008, 06:13 PM

Kreskin has always tried to walk the fence. When confronted by magicians and mentalists, he makes no claims of psychic powers. But for most lay-people, he tries very hard to give the impression he is not a magician and will waffle if asked directly.

26th October 2008, 10:23 AM	#1
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,411	Does the "Amazing" Kreskin have Memory Problems? In Saturday's Toronto Star there is a fawning, credulous interview with the "mentalist" the "Amazing" Kreskin. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment...article/523475 Among the many, err, amazing claims made is that: Quote: But that was fairly trivial compared with an incident a few years before. On Jan. 1, 2001, Kreskin appeared on a CNN program to discuss his latest book and make some predictions for the year, all in a lighthearted mode. "Suddenly, I saw something," he says, his voice shaking. "I interrupted the host and I said, `While the public is not aware of this, we are at war with terrorists and this September, there will be a major disaster involving four airlines." And when 9/11 came around that year, very few of us were happy that Kreskin had seen the future. The Star "reporter" neglected to do is actually read the transcript of the show which is available on-line at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP...01/tod.11.html to see what Kreskin actually said: Quote: KRESKIN: You know, Joie, I'm not a negative person, by the way, and I don't want anyone to misunderstand this, but I do believe by September or October there will be two major plane crashes. I don't predict disasters in which people are hurt, but it will be the disaster of two companies going out of business. And that I'm almost willing to bet. CHEN: Wait, are those two things related? The plane crashes and the... KRESKIN: The plane crashes -- there will not be planes crashing. The crashes will be the companies collapsing, going out of business. CHEN: Oh, I see. OK. KRESKIN: No crashes. No crashes at all. CHEN: No crashes. Big airlines, ones we know about? KRESKIN: Huh? CHEN: Big airlines, those who have big names? KRESKIN: We'd better not say. I've got to fly one tomorrow. Gee, don't even look it up. Don't look it up, Joie. My bolding. With a "warning" like that I bet a whole bunch of people immediately closed their offices in the WTC and left New York! He also offered to bet the first person to take him up $10,000 that the Yankees would win the World Series. Kreskin is not as bad as the Sylvia Browns and John Edwards of the World as, as far as I know, he does not do individual "readings". However, by "mis-remembering" his predictions, he supports and promotes the psychic woo. The Toronto Star has low journalistic standards.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick Last edited by Gord_in_Toronto; 26th October 2008 at 10:44 AM. Reason: Added bolding.

26th October 2008, 11:34 AM	#2
Wowbagger The Infinitely Prolonged Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Westchester County, NY (when not in space) Posts: 13,510	All psychics seem to have memory problems. They all claimed they made more accurate predictions than they actually did.
	__________________ WARNING: Phrases in this post may sound meaner than they were intended to be. SkeptiCamp NYC: http://www.skepticampnyc.org/ An open conference on science and skepticism, where *you* could be a presenter! By the way, my first name is NOT Bowerick!!!!

26th October 2008, 12:47 PM	#3
Corsair 115 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tranquility Base Posts: 8,556	Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto The Toronto Star has low journalistic standards. Yes, it does seems to have slipped some over the years. I suggest you send them a crisply-worded letter to the editor repeating the points you made in the OP. Does the Star still have an ombudsman?
	__________________ "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our abilities and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

26th October 2008, 12:53 PM	#4
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Yorkshire,Uk Posts: 5,029	I dont know a great deal of Kreskin's integrity regarding claims of psychic powers,but all I see him doing is giving copy/advertising for his book. Had he made a claim of psychic powers initially I would be irked. From link: Quote: "Let's get one thing straight from the start," he says on the phone from his New Jersey home, "I am not a mystic, a clairvoyant or a psychic. I am a thought-reader, pure and simple. Maybe the journalist edited it to appear woo.
	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

26th October 2008, 03:21 PM	#5
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,411	Originally Posted by Corsair 115 Yes, it does seems to have slipped some over the years. I suggest you send them a crisply-worded letter to the editor repeating the points you made in the OP. Does the Star still have an ombudsman? Amusingly enough I have done that a few times in the past about similar psychicpuffpieces in the Star. In one I had an email go round with the reporter. The reasoning from the Star was that it was in the Entertainment Section and thus was not real news. My response was "so what?" do your standards do not apply to everything you publish? In the another I was promised a follow up and am still waiting a couple of years later. I may try again with this. But I don't think I'll be satisfied by the answer.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

26th October 2008, 03:29 PM	#6
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,411	Originally Posted by Azrael 5 I dont know a great deal of Kreskin's integrity regarding claims of psychic powers,but all I see him doing is giving copy/advertising for his book. Had he made a claim of psychic powers initially I would be irked. From link: Maybe the journalist edited it to appear woo. Kreskin does a lot of waffling on what he is and does. He usually claims to be a mentalist. In this case he most definitely did not predict airplanes crashing into the WTC. His "major disaster involving four airlines" was that the would fail in a business sense. Quote: KRESKIN: The plane crashes -- there will not be planes crashing. The crashes will be the companies collapsing, going out of business.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

26th October 2008, 04:06 PM	#7
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Yorkshire,Uk Posts: 5,029	Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto Kreskin does a lot of waffling on what he is and does. He usually claims to be a mentalist. In this case he most definitely did not predict airplanes crashing into the WTC. His "major disaster involving four airlines" was that the would fail in a business sense. He always claims to be a mentalist as far as Im aware,it says he isn't psychic. The OP is citing a journalist's quote,even if true as written its Kreskin seizing some free publicity for his book.Embellishment.
	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

26th October 2008, 05:50 PM	#8
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,411	Originally Posted by Azrael 5 He always claims to be a mentalist as far as Im aware,it says he isn't psychic. The OP is citing a journalist's quote,even if true as written its Kreskin seizing some free publicity for his book.Embellishment. I don't think much of the Star reporter's reporting but it seems an awful stretch to believe he misquoted Kreskin: Quote: "Suddenly, I saw something," he says, his voice shaking. "I interrupted the host and I said, `While the public is not aware of this, we are at war with terrorists and this September, there will be a major disaster involving four airlines." I can seize some free publicity for my yet to be published book that I predicted that Dianna (the Princess of Whales) would be killed in a car crash. However, I will not, because in this Universe it is called lying. Kreskin vacillates about what he does. I've caught him in one lie where he claimed to have predicted the future. Why would I think he has any more psychic ability than Sylvia Brown? My objection to the article and to Kreskin is that this gives support to the belief that there is such a thing as psychic ability. And this supports the kooks of the world. YMMV. I just checked Kreskin's website. I see that all his predictions he lists are the old "locked box" (more often "sealed envelop") stage magician trick. He calls them "predictions" not "tricks". They are tricks. http://www.amazingkreskin.com/?cat=5
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

26th October 2008, 06:13 PM	#9
Monza Muse Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 929	Kreskin has always tried to walk the fence. When confronted by magicians and mentalists, he makes no claims of psychic powers. But for most lay-people, he tries very hard to give the impression he is not a magician and will waffle if asked directly.
Monza Muse Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 929