Psychics Are Scam Artists: Diskeptics vs. Believers – The Truth About Psychics
January 5, 2011 | Filled under Life, Learning, Psychic, Readings & Analysis |
The name I used for people who identified themselves as scientific skeptics instead of openly skeptical, was diskeptic because they were often disrespectful. I haven’t run into any diskeptics since I wrote this back in 2008. Maybe times are changing! 😉
Originally wrote: January 16, 2008
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The following are typical diskeptic (scientific skeptic and not just skeptical) comments and my rebuttal.
Diskeptic: A psychic shouldn’t charge until predictions have come true.
Believer: Predictions are not the only reason to go to a psychic.
Believer: What are the chances that someone is going to come back years later to pay the psychic or even remember that the psychic made the prediction that came true?
Believer: Freewill or Godwill can affect a prediction. A prediction is based on the past and present conditions to divine the future. It may or may not come true, and sometimes that’s a great thing! Consider weather and sports forecasters.
Diskeptic: Psychic ability or tool use is not a science.
Believer: The information possessed is coming from ancient wisdom and heightened conscious ability. If we are to consider the dictionary definition of “science†(the study of the natural world, a branch of knowledge using objectivity and involving observation and experimentation, etc.) to be true, then psychic ability and tools such as tarot, astrology, and numerology is a science that was honed by the ancient Peoples of the world.
Diskeptic: Psychics are scam artists.
Believer: There’s not much credibility in that statement since a lot of de-bunkers are magicians who are scamming and tricking people while telling you they are doing it! (see James Randi)
Diskeptic: Prove to us that what you do works.
Believer: Proving to others is a shadow activity. It’s better to receive validation internally. If you want proof, get a reading or learn how to do what we do. From there, you have a better place to stand when making unfounded criticism.
Diskeptic: I don’t believe in psychic powers.
Believer: Neither do I. We all have power that many have taken away from them. Power is a self possessing ability that everyone has.
Diskeptic: I don’t believe psychics are gifted.
Believer: I believe psychics have a gift but then so does everyone else that does something well or different from the majority. In other words, everyone has a gift.
Diskeptic: Psychics are scam artists.
Believer: While there are people out there who scam others, it can happen in every profession. What’s important here is to be self-responsible and put these people out of business. Be more skeptical and discerning and understand what your needs and desires are. If it’s too good to be true and you don’t need to work for your desire, than it’s probably a scam.
Diskeptic: Believe includes the word “lieâ€.
Believer: This is an etymology issue. Up until the 17th century, “Beleeve†was the common spelling. This basically meant to be in like, love, or desire. The Scientific Revolution understandably set out to de-bunk anything that couldn’t be proven by a certain set of criteria. I imagine the word “beleeve” got devolved to “believe” to support reforms.
Diskeptic: If they were truly psychic they shouldn’t charge for what they do..
Believer: What psychics do is energetically demanding. Also if they were doing something else for money, they may not have the time, energy, or ability to read for others on a professional basis anyway. And it’s senseless to me to tell someone to work at something they may be less capable of doing just because you say they shouldn’t charge for their so called “giftâ€. That means a lot of people shouldn’t charge for the fine services they offer. *senseless*
Diskeptic: Psychics use cold reading.
Believer: So do normal people. Using cold reading is looking at someone and making judgments about that person. When a psychic makes these judgments it’s often much more clearly defined than an average person would make which is one reason psychic readings are so fascinating. For example: Face reading is a form of cold reading that tells a lot about the person that much of the population is not consciously aware of nor would they be able to professionally talk to someone about their findings either. Also professional psychics do not use cold reading as their sole form of divination or insights. I like to do my readings by phone only as I don’t want to be distracted by facial expressions and body language that is plain as the day to me.
Diskeptic: Psychics use general statements that apply to everyone.
Believer: General statements apply to most everyone because most everyone experiences the same common experience. However, if you are a professional psychic you are going to say some very specific things related to the past, present (and not just the past), or knowable future that only applies to the person you are reading for. Also general paper horoscopes are not specific to an individual but rather a group of people. It’s a horoscope for a sun sign but not an individual so it may or may not apply. Also, some psychics need clearly defined questions because there is a lot of information that can be read. Having a foundation question (that doesn’t include ANY or a lot of background information) helps steer a response that is more meaningful. When I read I get symbols and pictures and words that need to be converted into something the seeker will understand. I’m not a super human. Knowing if a question is surrounding work, love, etc. puts things into context. This ain’t Hollywood darlin’!
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