Do you believe in psychics? anonymous poll

[summer2007]

I realize some people get all worked up that believe in this so if it upsets you sorry!


First off I don't believe in psychics at all. I don't think anyone could disprove or prove that I can see little green men for instance but you could for sure prove if what they were telling me was accurate or not.

It seems to me that these psychics on tv get their fair share of airtime even after channeling the spirits of the LIVING and making other blunders that you would think would be career ending...yet they still thrive charging a lot for readings and writing books.

Instead of playing the " I'm thinking of a name starting with the letter J" game all that would be needed is to just do a simple test.

Have 20 people that recently lost a loved one tell their name and where they are from and let the psychic tell you about your lost loved one without playing 50 questions. I bet no psychic could even get the gender right much better than chance...that is why none will ever take a challenge like that.

But with all this said I'm in the MINORITY for sure in my family that does not believe in this! In fact I'm not sure that anyone else out of maybe 30+ people does not believe in it but me.

There is a lot of smart people on here I wanted to see what other thought on if this is for real or not....you know my answer...NO WAY!

Jim

 

[DougViages]

Numbers, I only want numbers...

Six number, with the powerball identified. Then, I'll be a believer!O0

 

[Marquette]

How can you not believe in physics? That's just stupid. ;-)

 

[Martha]

Well, you did come to the right place to ask the question for the answer that you want. We are a board of skeptics.

Sometimes I do think that people can become convinced of their own con.

 

[73ss454]

These people are con artists. They prey on people who have lost loved ones and want to believe this nonsense.

 

[FUEGO]

Ha! I thought the thread title was "Do you believe in physics?"! (not everyone does, dontcha know!)

Seriously - NO WAY!

But since when have people stopped believing in a bunch of phony hooey mumbo jumbo supernatural nonsense that violates all concepts of rational thought? People like to believe. In psychics, in the supernatural, in religion. It's comforting in a non-analytical way. Who wouldn't like to think that our earthly existence continues on in some form or another post mortem? And that psychics can communicate with these perma-souls?

Unfortunately our level of desire for some thing to be true doesn't have any bearing on the ultimate truthfulness of that thing.

But be careful condemning something like psychics for milking folks for their money. They provide comfort to folks. To remain intellectually honest, you might find yourself condemning all the world's religions as equally ridiculous.

 

[citrine]

This is going to spark a lively discussion....I can just sense it!
Being the resident board artist and into the supernatural /energy mumbo jumbo....I do beleive in psychics. I have been to a couple of bad ones, but I have also gone to two really good ones who would never have known the details of my life based just on my birthday and my name.
I have always had the philosophy that anything is possible and probable in this vast universe and try to keep a very open mind.

 

[HFWR]

I'm always bemused when someone has passed, and the remark "they're in heaven now" is delivered, as comfort I suppose. My understanding is that no one will enter heaven until the "end of time"...

Consistancy is the hobgoblin of skeptical minds, or something like that...

"He's dead, Jim"

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading
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[FUEGO]

This is going to spark a lively discussion....I can just sense it!

You might even say that your rational faculties have led you to infer that, based on observation of past discussions of similar types both on this board and in your personal life, that this type of discussion generally leads to a lively discussion? Seems like a rational, logical, well-founded inference.

 

[mbooth]

Well, the "reely-truuuly sci-kicks" would have seen this thread coming and prepared some really insprirational replies.......waiting......waiting.......waiting ;-)

OTOH, this is a somewhat realists's forum, so maybe the "reely-truuuly sci-kicks" would have determined that responding would have been a waste of time.

......either way I'm right, so does that make me a sci-kick?

 

[W2R]

These people are con artists. They prey on people who have lost loved ones and want to believe this nonsense.

I agree 100% - - self-styled psychics who charge a fee consistently seem to be con artists.

On the other hand, I don't discount the possibility that some people can sense the spirits of the dead. A lot depends on how you define "spirits". Frank and I have both felt a strong presence of lost loved ones (though we haven't actually seen them or sat down and had a heart to heart chat with any of them! )

 

[bbbamI]

Most people believe in what they want to hear.

 

[CitricAcid]

Don't believe in pyschics at all. I would say I don't believe in 97.31% of psychology either.

 

[FUEGO]

Don't believe in pyschics at all. I would say I don't believe in 97.31% of psychology either.

Wait. Pys-chics? What sort of strange beings do you consort with?

 

[OAG]

All BS.

 

[travelover]

Back in the day, at work, a half dozen people shared a couple of phone lines and we took messages for each other (quaint, eh?). Someone called to leave a message to say the company psychic's club meeting had been canceled. I heard my cohort exclaim, "if that crap worked you wouldn't need to call!"

 

[CitricAcid]

Wait, you haven't heard of pyschics yet? Let's just say, they've heard about you...

 

[ls99]

The ones I encountered were very good at extrapolating from bits of information gleaned during introductions. One specific event I encountered long ago in Tampa, Florida. A friend took me to a meeting run by a self professed psychic.

Upon entering I was introduced as a friend from New York, then the show begun. Part way through the psychic announced that we have a visitor from very very far away, where they speak in ancient tongues.

And that she can see the tall building around where I now live, and little buildings from where our guest was born. Further she announced that this visitor is going far away to the cold cold cold world, where there is important work for him to do. Then she asked if I could confirm her vision. I said yes. Whereupon the crowd cheered and congratulated her.
Not wishing to engage in explaining that her visions were precise generalities easily extrapolated from our introduction, I left shortly thereafter. Oh and there were errors.

Yes then I came from NY, but did dot live in Manhattan, but 30 miles away in suburbia with max. 3 story buildings. Yes she could discern my still distinct accent, and the fact that during intro, based on her question I said I was born in a small village in a European country (I named the country). Doh-- small buildings.

She also knew from intro that I was heading to Alaska, but did not know that the destination was the Aleutian Islands, which rarely go below 28 degrees F. Oh yes there was Important work. I was getting paid by my university research labs to install seismic sensor gear and telemetry. It was important to the Phd types to get data and write papers and get more funding to do more resaerch to get more data ........ wash rinse repeat often.

So yeah I too could be a psychic, but am not good at frequent BS. Though can pull it off successfully if needed.

Edit add; But she was a really good looking psy chic.

 

[unclemick]

Edit add; But she was a really good looking psy chic.

Tall blond Phd, Tulane - I tested INTJ. Years later - The Retire Early Homepage - Is There a Retire Early Personality Type?

Karma? Nope just dinking around with my webtv I got on sale at K Mart. Also Dory36's old forum.

heh heh heh - skeptical - but I've had my coffee so I will try to keep an open mind.

BTW - the free market on the other thread is now on coffee release. .

 

[ls99]

Tall blond Phd, Tulane - I tested INTJ. .

Yeah in the days of the company of Marie Brizard, my Thinking was Judgmental as well, among other things.

 

[tmm99]

I believe, I BELIEVE!!

Well, I think some people have a keener sense of the things unseen. I would even venture to say that it is scientifically proven. (Not talking to the dead part, but the fact that some people have more paranormal abilities than others, but I know some universities, including Stanford here, have had some studies like that done in the past.)

I have seen on TV one time of this guy who was legally blind but he could walk without any trouble because he could detect objects around him (I think he used his mouth to make noise and determined the way the noise reflected back to him to find out if he was close to hitting something, but I saw this segment a few years ago and I cannot remember exactly how he did it...). Not many blind people can do that, but this guy could. He somehow developed an extraordinary sensory ability to do things average people cannot.

My point is, just because I don't have much of the 6th sense doesn't mean others don't.

This is not to say all the psychics have extraordinary abilities to see the unseen. I believe majority of them are out there to take advantage of the vulnerable and desparate.

tmm

 

[A854321]

My neighbor believes in psychics, crystals, naturopaths and every other woo-woo thing out there. Funny, though. You would have thought a psychic would have been able to tell her her husband was a pathetically bad businessman who wouldn't be able to retire because he can't save.

 

[CitricAcid]

That characteristic thing I can never grasp. I am either ENTJ or ESTJ, don't know if I am more intuition or sensing. On one hand, I like to deal with facts as opposed to the abstract, however, I can often justify myself going for my gut feeling most of the time.

I would say ESTJ.

 

[bssc]

Well, I had an interesting experience with one. We were at a friends' house. She was sponsoring a medium and we paid $20 to hear him along with 30 or so other people. It was very interesting. He contacted my wife's late mother. (He didn't know my wife's name and it is different than mine). He knew two of my wife's brothers' names (Dennis and Eugene (not common names)). He knew that Eugene was dead and Dennis was a teacher. He knew my FIL was dead also. He knew some other family stuff. My wife is from a small town in Montana so family stories would not be common knowledge down here in Phoenix. He was wrong on one or two things and there was a story about a Buick that we could never verify. We have never heard from him again asking for more money or even a referral.

So, I thought it was very eye opening. I have no better explanation, given the information that he presented other than he was psychic and received that information through some unexplained connection.

Go figure.