George Anderson and Allison Dubois-are they frauds?

[FlexGunship]

I'm actually liking the look of something coming up on TV in the UK over halloween.

They're taking a group of scientists one night and ghost hunters the next to study a "haunted" location and then comparing the findings.

Although, without strict conditions I see the oportunity for a bit of foul play. So a pinch of salt may be required.

Yikes! If they hand-picked the scientists, they're likely to cause a "woo-woo" uproar when the "scientists" confirm haunted happenings. And then every even-minded person in the world will need to be on the defense.

Those kinds of shows are often poison for the minds of the public.

 

[Vagn]

Mediums and Psychics are good at reading people, if you've ever tried people watching or watched the newest Sherlock Holmes then you'll no what I mean. You can tell some information about a person from how they carry themselves, how they sit and how they talk, what sort of contact they have with you, all a psychic doesis pick up on this information and then ask leading questions and judge how accurate it is by the persons response. I'd like to see a reading with an actor, similar to the one posted earlier in the thread, where the person takes on a certain guise, to try and trick the psychic.

I'm actually liking the look of something coming up on TV in the UK over halloween.

They're taking a group of scientists one night and ghost hunters the next to study a "haunted" location and then comparing the findings.

Although, without strict conditions I see the oportunity for a bit of foul play. So a pinch of salt may be required.

Out of curiosity, what channel is it on and when? It sounds quite interesting.

 

[JaredJames]

Out of curiosity, what channel is it on and when? It sounds quite interesting.

It's halloween weekend. 9PM Living TV.

This is the show:
http://www.livingtv.co.uk/shows/paranormal-investigation-live.php

Should be good for entertainment if nothing else.

 

[mugaliens]

So 2012 garbage is locked but this thread isn't? What's the difference? They're both garbage.

 

[FlexGunship]

So 2012 garbage is locked but this thread isn't? What's the difference? They're both garbage.

The particular types of "garbage" that get thread-locked will often be influenced by the thread-locker's conception of "garbage."

 

[patzy]

I consider myself a 'skeptic' but again, try and keep an open mind. I admit, I didn't read all the posts in this thread, but so many spoke of people being able to read, faces, mannerisms, clothing etc etc. How about via telephone readings? How does a person read anything...except perhaps voice inflection/s..but if the 'medium' asks for NO info..calls not knowing the person they are calling (as with george anderson...you can get a reading under anyone's name, switch the person he will talk to. ) I had read about george over the years and was intrigued. Persons like Sylvia Browne, John Edwards etc...have always left me cold. (Browne takes the cake in that arena...brrrrr! I saw her live years ago and she was rude, bad mouthed others etc..even if she possessed a gift I'd steer clear of her. not that I believe she does as she blatently asks the person what they want to know and whom they want to hear from...say wha?) Back to George, after years of reading, considering and seeing him in San Francisco as just a member of the audience..no reading...I finally popped for a reading via the telephone. He was right on about my Brother and Father having passed, who passed first. the issues physically my brother had, what areas of the body were affected..he brought up people that were friends of my parents so not directly connected to me. Spoke of an Ed and Eddie (father and son...son had committed suicide years before his father passed from natural causes) Brought up issues between me and my Father..who would even guess these things..things so personal? At the end of the call he became more personal and 'knew' I had cats and my situation in life at that time...since I originally opted for a reading when I lived in one area and then received the call at an entirely different area/town...so no P.I.s tracking me down as some folks have suggested on other threads re: george.Imagine paying P.I.s to track down everyone who has a reading from george...the cost would be prohibitive and silly to say the least as again, one can reserve a reading and send another in the reservers place. Many ways one can try and 'trip up' george...I came away impressed and plan to opt for another phone call as my Mother passed away 6 years ago and this will be the next 'test' for george, to see if my Mom comes through and for him to tell me how she passed. I've lost 3 friends in the past 8 years and that will be another test.
So if anyone has made me think again, that I have all the answers as a skeptic, it is george.

 

[Chronos]

That sounds like the 'truth' of the past, present and future is out there - floating around in some sort of 'aether' accessible to the 'gifted'. I find that explanation ... unsatisfying. So, give me the winning numbers for next weeks powerball. I would consider that compelling evidence.

 

[patzy]

Lol...don't we all wish for that. (winning Lotto numbers)


...but your answer just ignores my post..addressing nothing.

I presented a more difficult scenario for a 'psychic' to prove themselves...(don't doubt, I still question)besides one would imagine the 'other side' would not be interested in such things as the Lotto, (and perhaps have no access to such knowledge) but given a conduit to 'loved ones' would rather try and let them know by passing along shared knowledge, to confirm they are 'there', to the recipient.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I consider myself a 'skeptic' but again, try and keep an open mind.

I have to say this is a baffling statement. A skeptic is someone who strives to keep an open mind, its not a case of "I'm a skeptic but".

I admit, I didn't read all the posts in this thread, but so many spoke of people being able to read, faces, mannerisms, clothing etc etc. How about via telephone readings?

Cold reading can still work on the telephone, it can work in nearly any medium. You just rely less on what you can see and more in what the person says and how they say it. For example:

Psychic: I'm sensing you've had some loss in the past (most people who call psychics will do so because they have lost someone, especially when the psychic advertises mediumship. Furthermore the sentance is amazingly ambiguous, it could apply to anyone. "Loss" could mean bereavement but not necessarily, you could be going through a hard time because you've lost your job or partner. "The past" is equally vague and could literally mean any time in your life).

Then they just work from there. The biggest point to remember is that there have been endless studies into psychics and there are a multitude of opportunities for psychics to prove themselves (think Randi) but none ever has. I mean, if there really were psychics with this good a track record who can prove themselves with a simple phone call then why isn't our civilisation built around them? Why aren't investors snapping them up to predict how the market will work? Why aren't governments bringing them in for similar reasons?

I finally popped for a reading via the telephone...

This whole example shows that you need to look into what it means to be a skeptic more. So you've had an experience that you can't explain (and it's not the job of the people of this forum to explain it either). In that case you have an unknown phenomenon. It does not lead credence to the idea that some people are magic. Until there is some reasonable evidence that psychic powers exist using it as an explanation for something is fallacious.

I presented a more difficult scenario for a 'psychic' to prove themselves...(don't doubt, I still question)besides one would imagine the 'other side' would not be interested in such things as the Lotto, (and perhaps have no access to such knowledge) but given a conduit to 'loved ones' would rather try and let them know by passing along shared knowledge, to confirm they are 'there', to the recipient.

Why would you "imagine" anything like that? If I were dead but somehow still alive in some magic afterlife and could somehow observe this world you can bet your bottom dollar I will try everything to get things like the lotto numbers to my remaining family.

Secondly if the world is teeming with dead people who can be communicated with somehow then it should be easy for psychics to exchange information with each other from afar. Simply put them in separate locations, get one psychic to locate a willing dead participant, give him a random message and get that dead person to find the other psychic and give him the message. Again as I said above, if things like this were true we would have confirmed them and built our societies around them centuries ago.

 

[rectifryer]

I think the important key here is that no psychic actually introduces new information that can be validated outside both parties.