Derren Brown: Archive
| Message ID: 02262 | [ Previous ] [ Next ] [ Up Thread ] |
From: Rob Dobson
Date: Thu Jan 9, 2003 2:43pm
Subject: Re: [Derren Brown] do John Edward and Collin Fry use cold reading???
Completely agree. I'm not even sure if the fact it
makes people feel better excuses it. If you've got
untreatable cancer, and a doctor says you haven't on
the grounds it makes you feel better, is that
excusable?
Incidentally, although it's probably been mentioned
before, 'The full facts book on cold reading' is THE
book on the subject, only available from
www.ian-rowland.com. There are 2 complete transcripts
of cold readings that Ian did, along with discussions
with the subject later. Top stuff.
--- wayneryder wrote:
<HR>
<html><body>
<tt>
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 <a
href="http://www.randi.org/">http://www.randi.org/</a>
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
>
>
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send
an email to:
> [e-mail address removed]
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject
to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
removed]
</tt>
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2>
<tr bgcolor=#FFFFCC>
<td align=center><font size="-1"
color=#003399><b></b></font></td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor=#FFFFFF>
<td align=center width=470><!--
http://eur.rd.yahoo.com/M=125884.1859648.3361824.1784667/D=ukclubs/S=1710035291:\
HM/A=950192/R=0/?http://uk.yahoo.com
-->
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"
src="http://uk.adserver.yahoo.com/a?f=1710035291:HM&p=ukclubs&l=HM&c=f&site-coun\
try=uk&t=1042116860">
</script></td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<tt>
</tt>
<tt>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the <a
href="http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms.html">Yahoo!
Terms of Service</a>.</tt>
</br>
</body></html>
__________________________________________________
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com
| Replies | Author | Yahoo! ID | Date | Size |
| 2281: Re: do John Edward and Collin Fry use cold reading??? | singhstealth | singhstealth | Thu 09/01/2003 | 15 KB |
