Been away for a week. Thought these kind of threads had kind of finished for ever.

Guess some things never change.

Nothing. Except you're assuming that they 1) know about that site or 2) would bother doing a web search for something that doesn't interest them because they have the explicit desire to rip people off.

No, a good (as in "effective") FAKE psychic NEVER responds to challenges.

Dmkraig

I think what kinesis was pointing out is that anyone "can" have access to those publications. I thought the same thing when I read visionquest's comment about "having no access".

Tony

Cheers Tony

Please note that there is not ONE explicit response. If someone says, "XYZ" and the criticism is "Nope," as the criticism is here, it shows a total failure to do anything in a last-ditch attempt to support one's person fundamentalist religious beliefs.

A religious fundamentalist might say, "I don't care how much evidence you have to support your position, I know what is true!" This is exactly what happened here with the "argument" of "I stand by what I said," refuting not one word of what I posted.

:You say you don't have time for "endless investigations." This, again, is typical of a person who has not argument. You want to commit the error of generalizing from the specific. Your logic is, "if I prove X, Y, and Z are fake, then since they are examples of something, that something must also be fake.

Similarly, if three people perform "Twisting the Aces" using gaffed cards, obviously the only way to do the trick is with gaffed card. Well, tell that to Vernon!

This moving to the general from the specific without justification is typical of fundamentalist religionists. If something shows that one event in the Bible may have actually occurred, then the entire Bible must be true!

Sorry. As much as you want that to be true, it's not.

There is no need for your MacGuffin of "endless investigation." One only needs to explore one phenomenon until it is proven to be real or not. It's called "The scientific method." Does that prove anything else? Nope. Do you want it to prove anything else, such as a generalized support or denunciation? That's what fundamentalist religionists do. And that appears to be what you want.

You wrote, " How much investigation should one do into ghosts...." which assumes that ALL ghosts are the same. You might also ask "How much investigation should one do into cancer" because, after all, IT HAS THE SAME NAME! Therefore, all cancers are the same. The treatment for prostate cancer should be the same as for leukemia, and if it isn't then it's all a fraud!

Other tricks of the debunkers/pseudo-skeptics
1) Demand evidence without saying what you'll accept as evidence
2) Ignore arguments that don't fit into your dogmatic model of the universe
3) Use generalizations instead of specifics
4) Move the goalposts

But perhaps most importantly, the refusal to answer one simple question: Who the heck are you? Why should ANYONE waste their time proving anything to you since you've already made up your mind anyway? And if I spent my time proving to you that yes, indeed, ghosts (or some other paranormal phenomena) exist, what will you do? Will you say publicly admit you were 100% wrong and spend one hour a day going to every website, newspaper, magazine, and other form of communication telling people that you were a dogmatic fool and that, indeed, some paranormal property is real? Of course not. Virtually every pseudo-skeptic thinks that the world spins around them and they DESERVE to have others prove something to them even though they don't care about it at all.

Oh, you just don't want people to get ripped off? How about spending one hour a day helping out a charity? You'll be doing a lot more to help the world than trying to have someone waste their time trying to disprove your limiting beliefs.

Actually even a good genuine shut-eye psychic would never respond to challenges. In fact I have seen them become quite aggressive and irritable when it happens. I do agree, however, that no psychic will go looking for magic sites with books on cold reading when they have literally hundreds of books available online and in bookshops which tell them how to do it without trickery of any kind.

I stated previously that I did not think Sally Morgan would be daft enough to use an earpiece a la Peter Popoff. Alas, I am now convinced otherwise after seeing a video clip. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Doris Stokes, Sylvia Browne and the rest of that ungodly bunch would never show such a lack of astuteness. I am quite surprised at the stupidity of that kind of thing.

Here is the videoclip in question. Interestingly enough I have been interviewed by Joe Duffy myself. I remember him being very aggressive and sceptical indeed. It was on Friday 13th. I remember him bringing a ladder into the studio and deliberately walking under it to show his defiance of superstition. And it was a radio show! The viewers couldn't even see him walking under the ladder but he insisted on doing it anyway!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQF-NR6h8M

I love Mr. Vision Quest's input here! He reflects what I've observed over the last 10 years. What He Said!! If you would ask the best Psychics about the books we all have been exposed to, they'd say... WHAT?

They'd say... WHAT?
Who's the Psychic here? How did you know I had them on my book shelf!!

Bit of fun Slim to ease us gently into Monday evening, this side of the pond.......

Visionquest-

I already PMed you here BEFORE you stated that you can't get in touch with me. (Also, note that I don't use my website to book shows. My bookings are strictly referrals and agent sourced.)

Good thoughts,

Bob

About ready to mix a Rum and diet with my Alchemical Perscription myself.

Bob. I have faith in your psychic ability. Please confirm your great talent by sending me a private e-mail. Use your gut feeling to find me. I never look at private messages on the magic Café. I am superstitious that way. I shall give you a clue. I live in Edinburgh and can be contacted at scottishsoldier@gmail.com

Please use your vision and answer Bob Cassidy as soon as he emails you. If you don't, he will fill up your inbox looking for a reply! Some people get very superstitious when their inbox is full!

Just found this on my laptop tucked away in an old corner....COSMIC !!!

THE TRUE DISBELIEVERS:
Mars Effect Drives Skeptics to Irrationality
Richard Kammann

Thank you for the apology that you also posted, although there was really no need. From the rather terse nature of your reply, it would seem I have inadvertently annoyed you in some way. I am sorry if that's the case. I was genuinely curious as to whether you had any data to back up what seemed like a very strong assertion. I wondered if your '85%' figure was a meaningful statistic, actually derived from some good data, or mere conjecture on your part - albeit conjecture based on plenty of experience. That's all. It seems clear from your reply that no, you don't have any actual data to back up your assertion, and this is what I thought was worth clarifying. Thank you for taking the time to do so.

Ian. You have not annoyed me. I am afraid you have misjudged me. Perhaps you need to read a good book on cold reading to develop your skill in these matters.
As for "data" I hardly need any. After all, I am psychic and know these things.

Visionquest-

Well if you can't be bothered to read your private messages, I can't help you. I sent you a PM. Read it or not as you wish. I don't send emails to people I don't know.

You know me because I sign my name to my posts.

Bob

I am pleased to hear it! Peace.

Through the misty fog of my third-eye...i am seeing a small scotsman who used to write horoscopes for an irish newspaper...after he gave it up, he told the editor to just use the old ones and mix them around a little...

does that make sense to you, visionquest?

I was picking up the same impressions (see my post a little earlier about a Canadian flag and the initials ML). Verily our gift is strong my friend.

will the demon be caste out once again I wonder...