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Dude
SFN Die Hard

USA
6891 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  07:17:48   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Dude a Private Message
quote:
For $100 an hour, Jacobs will "check in" with a pet to see how it's feeling, what it's thinking about, and help it work through any special behavioral issues it might be dealing with — all over the phone.


Nice! Seriously, the people who pay for that almost deserve to be ripped off.....

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson

"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin

Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard

3192 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  09:01:02   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send BigPapaSmurf a Private Message
I knew you guys were gonna say that!

some relavent links
Truth about psi-cops
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/police-psychics.html
psychic swindlers
http://www.csicop.org/sb/2000-12/graveyard.html
gypsy psi-scum
http://www.csicop.org/sb/9903/i-files.html
A book on the matter
http://www.csicop.org/q/book/0879758805

"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History

"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini
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Siberia
SFN Addict

Brazil
2322 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  09:21:59   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Siberia's Homepage  Send Siberia an AOL message  Send Siberia a Yahoo! Message Send Siberia a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by marysol2103

I'm sure everyone has seen the signs for “$5 Psychic Readings” in their town or while traveling elsewhere.


Of course they can. They can see large amounts of cash gravitating into their bank accounts and away from the credulous.

There's an Edgar Allan Poe short story I found immensely intriguing on that subject, The Murders in the Rue Morgue.http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/morguec.htm

"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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R.Wreck
SFN Regular

USA
1191 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  16:06:27   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send R.Wreck a Private Message
quote:
One hundred bucks and neither you nor your varmit even get to see the chick. Again, I fear for the future of my species. It is far too gullible to survive.


Here's one of our local hiucksters, and "animal communicator":


http://www.carolschultz.com/main.htm

Nice work if you can get it:

quote:
I do the majority (90%) of my consultations via phone. The sessions (for one animal) are usually 40 minutes, and the fee is $50 (I can take credit card info at the beginning of the session, or you can send a check in advance). If we go over 40 minutes, it's $5 for each additional 5 minutes.

For multiple animals, you may have more questions for some, less for others. I simply set a rate of $75 for the first hour, and $20 for each additional 15 minutes. I usually suggest working with the oldest animal in the household first, or the one who has been there the longest (out of respect).

In-person sessions are also at a rate of $75 for the first hour (minimum), and $20 for each additional 15 minutes. There is also a travel fee of $40 per hour (based on time to and from my home in Plainfield). The information telepathically received from the animals is the same regardless of whether it's via phone or in-person.


What a scam! She was profiled in the local paper (with not a hint of skepticism), telling the reporter that her cats, who are home all day alone, missed her, and other such tripe that anyone knowing the animal's history and circumstances (which the victim provides before the session) could reel off. I e-mailed her asking if she would like to participate in a controlled test to be documented in the paper. Shockingly, she never replied. Probably too busy laughing her ass off on the way to the bank.

You're dead nuts right on Filthy, the gullibility level is damn near off scale high.





The foundation of morality is to . . . give up pretending to believe that for which there is no evidence, and repeating unintelligible propositions about things beyond the possibliities of knowledge.
T. H. Huxley

The Cattle Prod of Enlightened Compassion
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  18:36:01   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
Oddly enough, most if not all of the animal psychics seem to be women. I wonder if their customers are pretty much women also.

Just an observation, ladies, don't hit me; I'm a disabled vet! :cring:

I've heard on the rehabilators grapevine that one of these operators has a shop in Raleigh. Perhaps I'll grab and subdue my house 'possum, and take him in for an in-person reading. It would be worth seventy-five skins to watch the panic ensuing when I dump the snarling, hissing, little wretch out of the bag.

Or perhaps 'Jigglypuff', the big African puff adder (bitis arietans).....


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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Siberia
SFN Addict

Brazil
2322 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  18:46:21   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Siberia's Homepage  Send Siberia an AOL message  Send Siberia a Yahoo! Message Send Siberia a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by filthy

Oddly enough, most if not all of the animal psychics seem to be women. I wonder if their customers are pretty much women also.

Just an observation, ladies, don't hit me; I'm a disabled vet! :cring:

I've heard on the rehabilators grapevine that one of these operators has a shop in Raleigh. Perhaps I'll grab and subdue my house 'possum, and take him in for an in-person reading. It would be worth seventy-five skins to watch the panic ensuing when I dump the snarling, hissing, little wretch out of the bag.

Or perhaps 'Jigglypuff', the big African puff adder (bitis arietans).....





Don't forget to take pictures!

"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  18:53:57   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message
Here's another good article I've found: How Psychic Sleuths Waste Police Resources

I wonder if marysol2103 is ever going to post back and thank us for all the research we've been doing on her behalf?



P.S. Filthy, you actually keep a live opossum? I always figured "house 'possum" was an euphemism for your children or grandkids, like rugrats or something.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
Edited by - H. Humbert on 09/21/2004 19:59:18
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Dude
SFN Die Hard

USA
6891 Posts

Posted - 09/21/2004 :  22:08:00   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Dude a Private Message
quote:
I always figured "house 'possum" was an euphemism for your children or grandkids, like rugrats or something.


now that's funny!

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson

"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin

Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 09/22/2004 :  02:54:58   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by H. Humbert

Here's another good article I've found: How Psychic Sleuths Waste Police Resources

I wonder if marysol2103 is ever going to post back and thank us for all the research we've been doing on her behalf?



P.S. Filthy, you actually keep a live opossum? I always figured "house 'possum" was an euphemism for your children or grandkids, like rugrats or something.


I do indeed have a house 'possum. He's not a pet and the only time I ever touch him is when I have to fish him out of the garbage. Apart from the first few days in residence, he's never been confined. He was a juvenile when a neighbor rescued him from a dog some seven years ago and brought him to me. After I released him -- he wasn't seriously hurt -- he found the cat door (I refuse to be a butler to some, stupid cat) and began coming in to steal the cat's food. Thinking it was kinda neat, I set out a bowl for him as well, and he's been a semi-resident ever since. On my end, it's paid off as there is no better mouser (can't rely on the damned cat for that, either). Of course, all my cupboards and so forth are 'possum proofed.

His waste has never been a problem as he leaves it outside.

But as neat as he is, he is still a wild animal and will bite. And as much as I'd love to take him to the grifter's place, I would never do it to him. But maybe the puffy..... Naw. That one bites, too.

Like many rehabilitators, I live in an atmosphere of fangs.


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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chaloobi
SFN Regular

1620 Posts

Posted - 09/22/2004 :  05:45:34   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send chaloobi a Yahoo! Message Send chaloobi a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by marysol2103

I'm sure everyone has seen the signs for “$5 Psychic Readings” in their town or while traveling elsewhere. What I wanted to discuss here were your thoughts on using psychics for more than just personal entertainment, more specifically in police and detective work.

There's been documented cases in the past where police haven't been able to solve a crime, at which point they turn to a psychic for help. What I find the most interesting is when the psychics they hire actually solve the case.

What are your thoughts on this? What about using psychics to help solve some of the current investigations (such as the Peterson or Hacking trials?)

I'm not an expert myself on the topic, but I've been learning a bit more from a new show on Court TV called Psychic Detectives. It's on Wednesday's at 9:30pm in case you want to watch it too.

~ Marysol



I don't believe for a second there's ever been a legitimate psychic.

-Chaloobi

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Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13477 Posts

Posted - 09/22/2004 :  08:32:57   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message
quote:
I don't believe for a second there's ever been a legitimate psychic.


I knew you were going to say that....

Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard

3192 Posts

Posted - 09/22/2004 :  09:29:17   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send BigPapaSmurf a Private Message
But that only makes you an average cold reader.

I am going to use my awesome powers of common sense and predict the following.
1) Most of the replys to this will be anti-psychic.
2) A major earthquake will happen

"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History

"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26022 Posts

Posted - 09/22/2004 :  18:06:28   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message
I predict that in the near future, BigPapaSmurf will have written at least 106 posts here.

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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Dude
SFN Die Hard

USA
6891 Posts

Posted - 09/22/2004 :  22:33:25   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Dude a Private Message
I predict that somebody will be offended by me including a rude quote from Zappa in my sig....

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson

"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin

Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard

USA
3834 Posts

Posted - 09/23/2004 :  01:48:31   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send beskeptigal a Private Message
I agree with Michael Shermer's rationale as to why some psychic events are true coincidences. But you all are not being good skeptics here just denying the possibility outright of unexplained phenomena having an as yet unexplained mechanism of action.

So I ask, discounting fraud, how many coincidental events would have to occur together to surpass the threshold of mere coincidence? In other words, thinking of Joe and the phone rings and it's Joe...easily dismissed as coincidence.

But two of the well documented psychic stories were re-run on the program tonight. There is the lady that found the guy 2 years after he drove his pickup into the quarry lake. I wish I had seen what her description of the incident was before she pointed to the quarry and they found the car. Supposedly she described him going over the steep cliff and into water. But now all we have is the reinforced description after the fact. They did find the guy with her help.

This one still has big possibilities for coincidence since anyone looking at a map might have picked a quarry for a car to drive off into.

The other one is a bit harder to explain. It's the lady I mentioned that found the murdered nurse. That lady had to drive all the way up a canyon road, to a precise spot, where white shoes were the thing that she and her daughter saw that was the body. They didn't drive up several canyons, only the right one. They didn't stop and look in multiple places. She wasn't selling her services. It was so uncanny the police held her for a day or so in jail as an accomplice. Later when the killers were caught, there wasn't any connection to the woman with the vision.

Shermer would still call this a coincidence.

So what do you think? Is there a test for when such a random event exceeds coincidence?
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