Psychics and so on…

Do you visit a psychic? Are you aware that you’re wasting your money?

As a trained NLP Master Practitioner and hypnotist and all the other things one associates with this industry, I can tell you that you are NOT communicating with the dead, and the person opposite you is reading you – COLD reading you.

I know you won’t believe me, and I know your filters will sift out the words I’m using with which you disagree, so listen to Derren Brown tell you how it is.

He goes on to mention the Barnum Effect. Here is a quick example:

  1. You have a great need for other people to like and admire you.
  2. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.
  3. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage.
  4. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them.
  5. Your sexual adjustment has presented problems for you.
  6. Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside.
  7. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing.
  8. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations.
  9. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others’ statements without satisfactory proof.
  10. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others.
  11. At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved.
  12. Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic.
  13. Security is one of your major goals in life.

Obviously written, isn’t it? But people fall for it.

The Point?

Well, the point is: you WANT TO believe, and people play on that. SO they ask loaded questions, such as:

“You haven’t been drinking a lot of water recently, have you?”

To which you can reply either yes or no and it feels like a hit.

Check out James Randi. He helps the world by challenging these people and removing them from our public arena.

Another pseudoscientific nonsense is acupuncture. Here is an article about it.