Wertbag Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Colin Fry, made famous by his TV show "6th sense" and previously touring to sold out audiences Colin Fry now returns to New Zealand for another round of cold reading, money making shananigans. His tickets are $60 each ($70 for front row) and he regularily sells out 400-500 seats ($24k per night x 6 shows with very little outgoing cost, he easily pockets $100k for the month!). The suckers will be lining up to see him, the media will give their normal stunned reviews, the odd voice of the skeptic will be drowned out in the roar of the believers stampeding to buy the merchandise. I find it sickening that such obvious frauds can make so much money off other peoples misfortune (eg the death of a loved one). I've read transcripts of his shows, and it is so obvious that he is fishing for answers, "Does the letter M mean anything to you?", "He said hes with the one he loved now, who would that be?" etc. He never comes straight out and says "John Smith your father Sam is here, he wants to say your wife Sue is cheating on you, ditch her" or anything that shows psychic ability. And this is after the stupid TV show "Sensing Murder" won the award for best reality show. This is the one where two psychics are hired (apparently at upto $5k per day!), are given a picture of a murder victim whose death was never solved and are asked to provide information about it. The show has run in 8 different countries now and not once has a single crime been solved. In fact apart from reporting exactly what is in the police report, nothing new is ever found. Surely the numerous attempts to find the murder weapons or the missing bodies would have found something? Reading the forums of the sensing murder show there are just tons of people who believe automatically. Why? Dear FSM why? Oh but the stupidity doesn't end there. There are now TV ads for psychic phone networks (For only $3 per minute we can tell you your future) that are now expanding to include txt message options (For $3.50 per text send us your name and the name of your crush and we'll tell you if there will be love), the daily horroscopes have expanded to include both western and chinese versions and it doesn't seem to slow 'em down when investigations by TV shows such as 20/20 or 60 minutes show the psychics are false. One test done was to have a reading done where the first guy claimed he wanted to contact his dead brother (he never had one) and the second person said they wanted to contact their dead grand mother (she was still alive). Both times the psychic still contacted the spirit and had a chat with them about how they were fine now that they'd passed over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Here in the USA we have John Edwards and Sylvia Browne. To me, this is no different than religious ceremonies, it's the power of suggestion. People will see what they think they are suppose to see and they'll hear whatever they are told to hear. I've sat in church services and someone goes to speaking in tongues and everyone else is 'awing' and 'oohing' and nodding their heads but no one is interpreting what is being said. It looks more like the descriptions of demonic possession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprus Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Calm down, Wertbag, and hey...don't be surprised. This kind of hucksterism has been going on for over a hundred and fifty years, at least here in the USA, and in a fashion, still is. Where there are gullible people, unscrupulous other people will be there to exploit them and take their money. As Shakespeare said it, "...Fill thy pockets with money." The religion purveyors obviously know what to do. Live your own way, try to tell the truth about the liars who ply their trade among you, and don't be surprised if the trapped ones condemn you for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have a message here for someone who is ermm called 'Smith'... erm Knows someone called Smith whos maybe passed, but could still be with the living... says that knew a George... older man... Grandather? No... Uncle? Elder brother.... I have something of an aversion to Corpse Fiddlers and Angel Botherers... although I was once blind sided by someone (a famous British comedian) telling me I'd solve the problem I was working on, and the maths was actually quite simple once I'd got past the noise... considering all I'd said to anyone was 'Great show, can you sign this to 'Roger' it rocked me back on my heels somewhat... how the hell he found out I was working on the maths for a predictive dynamical model for technology lead markets in an arbitrary dimensioned retailed unit phase space still puzzles me. You just don't expect that in Doncaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Calm down, Wertbag, and hey...don't be surprised.This kind of hucksterism has been going on for over a hundred and fifty years, at least here in the USA, and in a fashion, still is. Where there are gullible people, unscrupulous other people will be there to exploit them and take their money. How true, Piprus. "There's a sucker born every minute...and two to take 'em." - attributed to P.T. Barnum. The psychic will try to get as much information out of you as he can. I overheard one guy doing a palm reading. This charlatan was asking the person "What do you expect to get out of this reading?" Well, duh.....he was information fishing because he didn't know anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 This kind of hucksterism has been going on for over a hundred and fifty years, at least here in the USA, and in a fashion, still is.Where there are gullible people, unscrupulous other people will be there to exploit them and take their money. As Shakespeare said it, "...Fill thy pockets with money." See, for example, A Magician Among The Spirits by Harry Houdini. Yes, that's right, the very same Houdini the famous escapologist. When he started out in magic, he did a bit of psychic stuff (along with some cardsharping) to raise the wind, and knew quite a bit of knavery was done. He later exposed many charlatans for what they were. The book (you'll probably have to find a reprint of it) tells how information was obtained and later used to dramatic effect. Casey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Hey Wert.. I **KNEW** you gonna post that ebbile LYING post about physicz and them mind reedin' folks.. I REEEELIE DID! Now pay me 24.95 for first 5 minutes and 9.95 for every one after an I kin shows ya HOW tWO! Why does a palm reader need to advertise? kL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusdafa Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I wanna see those frauds come to Samoa and start dishing out some "feeler" names. "Semisi Sole, your distant relative John Wayne from 6 generations ago wants to tell you something" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onyx Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 These psychics can go read my lips and try to predict the future there. Zilch, nada, zip, a zero, O nothing! It is nothing but a form of sophistry. If you try to predict the future you will get nothing unless you write a punning, portmanteaued and sprinkled with a great amount of vaguity novel. Only then you will get close to predicting the distant future. Psychics are frauds who prey on the tiny defenceless masses so they should be strongly discouraged and disbelieved. Psychics did give us this wonderful word "sibyl" in my opinion, though. So that's a plus out of these spineless moneystealers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabula Rasa Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 All these famous psychics piss me off too, but I've another reason to be pissed. I've had a few experiences with clairvoyance, sometimes I've just known things, but I sure as hell didn't try to make money off of people. I think there might be something like Psi abilitity since it's been said we only use ten percent of our brains , but all this talking to the dead crap annoys the shit out of me. I really wish there were some good hard science books on psychic phenomena instead of all these bullshit books Sylvia Browne and John Edwards put out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I think there might be something like Psi abilitity since it's been said we only use ten percent of our brains ,... A slight nit...the 10% thing is a myth. See Snopes. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 This kind of hucksterism has been going on for over a hundred and fifty years, at least here in the USA, and in a fashion, still is. More like thousands of years, if you ask me. In addition to the plain old hucksters performing the exact same deceptions found today, there are also ancient Greek descriptions of an oracle called the Oracle of the Dead located on the Acheron, a river thought to connect to the underworld. Either this specific site is thought to have been found, now, and/or there are some other sites where similar practices apparently occurred in other locations, too. What is attested in reports about this oracle and can be found on the site(s) themselves are that a series of underground chambers and/or caves provided for people what they were made to think was their own personal trip to the underworld to speak with chthonic Gods and spirits themselves. It's likely that this was accomplished by drugging the "tourist" without his/her knowledge during the preparatory rites required by the oracle. They were then instructed to crouch down in a pit and stick their legs down a hole in the earth, through which they were then apparently pulled down "to the underworld" by hands below. You can imagine what kind of performances may have occurred for them underground, or perhaps much wasn't even needed because of the drugs used. In any case, the drugs were of such a kind that many who made this "journey" were never "quite right" again afterwards, and a good number of them apparently died at varying lengths of time after they made their trip; sometimes the date of their impending death was actually predicted as a part of the oracular hoax (the ancients had a much more precise knowledge of the action of the plant poisons they used than people do now). Despite the dangers and ill fortune of some who made this trip, this and similar oracles were still sought as they were the only ones where a seeker him or herself would see visions and "speak with Gods" directly, rather than relying on another person to intercede for the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I think there might be something like Psi abilitity since it's been said we only use ten percent of our brains ,... A slight nit...the 10% thing is a myth. See Snopes. mwc We could try it... I'll need a volunteer, a hammer drill, and a teaspoon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIM Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 There was a southpark episode where john edwards won the "douchbag of the year" award... That was really great! Edwards just looks and acts like a street conman, would not be suprising to see him with a crate on the street doing the "shell game". Would look normal to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 "there are also ancient Greek descriptions of an oracle called the Oracle of the Dead located on the Acheron, a river thought to connect to the underworld." If anyone has ever been to Nebraska, that river mentioned above is the Platte River that runs through hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhia Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 My mom claims to be one, using the dowsing crystals, tarot cards, doesn't do palms as much. She let's people from the Vietnamese culture pay her for her services - because supposedly none of them will make a decision without consulting her. She tries to do it to me, ALL the time, claims that each of her children is a different card, and I'm the Jack of Clubs (don't have a fucking clue what the symbolism is). The problem is, she keeps making these claims about the Jack and what is going to happen to me, and NONE of it ever happens, but for some reason, people keep coming to her, and my siblings actually BELIEVE her!!! I swear, if she tells me that I'm pregnant ONE MORE FUCKING TIME, I'm gonna wish *I* could burst into flames. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 We could try it... I'll need a volunteer, a hammer drill, and a teaspoon... I knew you were going to say that. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I swear, if she tells me that I'm pregnant ONE MORE FUCKING TIME, I'm gonna wish *I* could burst into flames. That wouldn't be good for the baby... mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 You got to at least admire the acting ability. Sylvia Browne can talk for hours and never say a damn thing. Deepak Chopra can write a book and never say a damn thing. I agree that there may be a quantum connectedness that we don't completely understand, but these guy are making millions saying nothing, and that takes talent (and some stupid consumers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 We could try it... I'll need a volunteer, a hammer drill, and a teaspoon... I knew you were going to say that. mwc Yes, but that's because I a sick mutha, not your psychic talent... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 "there are also ancient Greek descriptions of an oracle called the Oracle of the Dead located on the Acheron, a river thought to connect to the underworld." If anyone has ever been to Nebraska, that river mentioned above is the Platte River that runs through hell. The A666 is an interesting drive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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