Tuesday, October 08, 2002

All you John Edwards fans out there. I know you're out there. I guess my main opposition to his quack seances is that people shouldn't take it more than mild and amusing entertainment. When asked recently by somebody close to me if I believed in it, I said no, mainly because of a 20/20 episode I saw years ago regarding "Cold Readings". "Cold Readings" have been employed by magicians, "pyschics" and con-men for years. It's part repeated guesswork (asking several questions and getting responses to build from) and use of age old human psychology.

In the specific 20/20 episode I saw, Bill Ritter uncovered James Van Praagh as a fraud. (who also has a "Six Sense I can see dead people" trite called BEYOND WITH JAMES VAN PRAAGH) I've linked two articles regarding the "hit percentage" both "mediums" have, Van Praagh with 20-30% accuracy of his information and John Edwards at 10-20%. Alot of the show that you see on TV is in actuality, butchered and cut much smaller than what is actually filmed.

Enough ranting, a few from the sceptics:

1.) Cold Reading Primer. Learn how to talk to dead people.
2.) The entire James Van Praagh story. See how he got busted for the con he's still using.
3.) Deconstructing The Dead: Cross Over One Last Time To Expose Medium John Edward. An in depth article about a sceptic who not only participated in a recording of "CROSSING OVER" but also tons of factual information comparing Edwards to Praagh.

Also of note, both ABC News and TIME Magazine have run pieces/articles debunking John Edwards. TIME has it up on it's site, but it has to be purchased because it's an older article.

As I have stated earlier, this is entertainment. In the "Crossing Over" link I have above, the final paragraph is a great summary:

The reason John Edward, James Van Praagh, and the other so-called mediums are unethical and dangerous is that they are not helping anyone in what they are doing. They are simply preying on the emotions of grieving people. As all loss, death, and grief counselors know, the best way to deal with death is to face it head on. Death is a part of life, and pretending that the dead are gathering in a television studio in New York to talk twaddle with a former ballroom-dance instructor is an insult to the intelligence and humanity of the living.
-Michael Shermer

posted by HZA | 2:24 PM | email | archive