Derren Brown: Archive
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From: wayneryder
Date: Thu Jan 9, 2003 12:54pm
Subject: Re: [Derren Brown] do John Edward and Collin Fry use cold reading???
I'll go further on this. James Randi's site mentions some journalists
not being allowed to record a John Edwards session, rather they had
footage provided for them. There was a 'green room' with microphones
hanging from the ceiling. There was also a mysterious coach that
dropped off some guests who then didn't sit together. Edwards before
editing gets 40-50% hits AT BEST. What you see is a very favourable
version of the night's session.
There's more available (and it won't contain my misquotes or
misrememberings) on http://www.randi.org/
Have a snoop around the site.
There was also something I read once which debunked one of the
Dorises we had in circulation a while back (might've been Stokes,
might not).
Apparently she had a number of people in her entourage (it's a
business, after all) who helped her compile information on potential
subjects by location. People who go to psychics REALLY want to be
reassured and contacted by their deceased friends & family. They
write desperate reams of stuff to the psychic saying how much they
miss John or Pam or whoever, and how they keep an item or picture to
remind them and so on.
So, a comprehensive database was constructed. When she was due to
visit a town, the most likely people to turn up (and they do) were
put to the top of the pile and studied before the show.
Using this cache of information, she could then zero in on her
targets, who wouldn't be able to remember exactly what they'd told
her in their mail, and would be amazed at her astounding powers.
Their reaction to the apparent bullseyes would amaze the rest of the
audience, and the rest is mass hysteria.
I once asked a friend, a devout Christian, what he thought of
psychics. He considered this a moment and said, "There are an awful
lot of charlatans around." On speaking to the dead, he was less
committal. How could he answer without either saying 'they're lying'
or 'dead's dead'?
There's a Chinese proverb-type-thing that asks if you'd wake the
family to tell them the house was on fire and they were all going to
die.
If people are made happy by going to a psychic show, good luck to
them. Some may even suspect there's no truth in it, but still they'll
go.
If it helps them, that's a good thing and that's what counts.
The problem with outing these people is that their hands are really
on the chicken switch. Dare to confront them, and you might incur the
wrath of the whole audience, who are naturally biased in the
psychic's favour. And who would admit to being a fake and misleading
so many people in such a callous way?
If I ever see John Edwards say something like, "I'm getting a Maureen
here, wants to speak to Jim. Jim, the $50 you lost was in some
trousers she washed and the money was ruined and she never dared tell
you. The remains of the money are propping up the dresser." -then I
MIGHT think differently. But only if the ruined wad of notes turned
out to be there after all.
Till then, I don't believe a single one of them.
Apologies to anyone of a sensitive religious nature, but as my friend
couldn't say, but I can: They're lying, dead's dead.
--- In a previous message Ben Green wrote:
> Ok, to get onto a tv show in the UK or the States you apply to the
tv station or production company who post you the tickets. I think
it is fair to assume that 99% of the people who do ask for tickets
are recently bereaved and also are believers. Once you have a name
and address how hard is it to find out who in their family has died?
Death certificates, obituaries, newspaper articles. Add some nice
cold reading, some funky editing and voila..........instant
psychic!!!!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: singhstealth
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 8:40 PM
> Subject: [Derren Brown] do John Edward and Collin Fry use cold
reading???
>
>
> Now, for those of you who dont know, John Edward and Collin Fry
are
> self proclaimed psychics and appear on Uk Living pretty much
> everyday. Esentially they claim they can speak to dead people.
>
> I am absolutely staggered by how accurate these guys get, so much
so
> that I think they are for real or they are bloody good actors.
> Some of u may say that the very people they read are actors-no
way-
> one only has to look at there reactions and 'post reading
analyisis'
> to understand that they are real people coming to meet there dead
> relatives or friends.
>
> In cold reading, you need to look at body language and facial
> expressions almost constantly to create answers that satisfy the
> sitter. These guys are always looking at the floor or plain
walls,
> apparently so they can get the 'images' they recieve clearer. The
> footage could have been edited, true.
>
> Also if you watch there shows, when they are 'in contact with the
> dead' they remark on unbelievably specific information. Cold
readers
> and skeptics would put this down to a lucky wild stab which cold
> readers use to boost there appearence as being more autentic. But
> cold readers use this rarely and there success is quite poor-but
they
> make an excuse like "think about it later" or "watch out for it"
thus
> turning there incorrect guesses into a hit. Incidentally John
Edward
> and Collin Fry do use these type of statements but when they
> say "think about it later"-the people they tell this to end up
> remembering the information that was claimed and describing it in
> the 'post reading analyis'. It is posible that the production
team
> for there programmes include investigators, people who go on the
net
> or whatever to look up information on the people for the next
show-
> and perhaps now and then find lots of different info...but the
things
> that these psychics come out with is just far too specific to
find on
> any website or in any family tree. So they use mic's then-doubt
it,
> after being accused of cheating by certain skeptics, John Edward
was
> forced to allow people to investigate the set used for the
programme-
> after looking and trying-the skeptical claims of the use of
> stratigically placed microphones went out the window.
>
> John Edward speaks very fast and comes out with a lot of
information
> and cold readers beieve this to be a very effective techinque-if
you
> throw loads of information at the sitter, u increase the chance
of
> getting something right, and when they acknoledge and nod there
head
> they may be only acknoledging one piece of information out of
many
> more. I think this is the beggest skeptical claim John Edward has
> had...but what about Collin Fry? he definately does'nt speak fast
at
> all, his pace seems to stay alomst constant throughout the show.
> Either there is no way he is using this technique or he uses it
very
> covertely.
>
> Its a close call in my opinion. If they are cold readers they're
VERY
> good. Im always changing my mind but at the moment I beileve them.
>
> Collin Fry's show is called '6ixth sense with Colin Fry' and
comes on
> uk living pretty much everyday at some point as does John
Edward's
> which is called 'Crossing Over with John Edward'. There is also
> another 'psychic' called James Van Praag, I cant remember what
his
> show is called but you may want to see it because he is the most
> contravercial out of the lot.
>
> sorry about the probably many spelling/punctuation errors, im
lazy
> and was pants at English GCSE, although I did get a C-I reckon
papers
> got switched for that one-no way was I on a C! I got a C in
german as
> well, the only one in my class to pass it-good tip, use alta
vista's
> translater for ALL the coursework-thats how I passed. Im only
really
> good at mathsy type things (B in maths and science)-and the only
one
> I failed was music, got a D-would have been an F had the teacher
not
> done all my coursework. Damn, what prankster!
>
> Peace out
>
>
>
>
>
>
| Replies | Author | Yahoo! ID | Date | Size |
| 2262: Re: do John Edward and Collin Fry use cold reading??? | Rob Dobson | northerncomfortuk | Thu 09/01/2003 | 13 KB |
| 2281: Re: do John Edward and Collin Fry use cold reading??? | singhstealth | singhstealth | Thu 09/01/2003 | 15 KB |
