No ticket transfers for John Edwards seminars

[snopes]

Comment: Medium John Edward ("Crossing Over," WE TV) doesn't allow ticket
transfers (X bought tix but now can't go, so X offers his tix to his good
friend Y) to his reading seminars. Supposedly, IDs are checked at the
door to ensure that the name on the ticket (or on an attendee list)
belongs to the person at the door. Rumor has it that this is beacuse he
(his people) do research on those who have purchased tickets beforehand to
allow him to learn tidbits of personal information about a few attendees
at each "seminar," allowing him to seem more plausible. Is there any truth
to this? He seems so verifiable. Why is his seminar policy so
restrictive? Why would it matter otherwise?

I cant help but think that if this was true, then his shows would be a lot more convincing than they are. There would be less obvious cold reading for a start, less "searching" for a hit. I have no doubt that he will have assistants mingling with the audience before the show, chatting and picking up bits and pieces of useful infromation, but really there isnt any need for a detailed search on someones full name when you can get just as much reaction from saying "I'm seeing a male figure, an older man... Maybe a dad or a brother? No? Then someone who was LIKE a father or brother? Or maybe they thought of themselves as like family?".

Besides, people are strange. Tell them "Theres a male and a P or a T name involved..." and they jump to "Wow, I'm here about my father who just died! And my mothers name is Pheobe!". Tell them "You're here about your father who died on june 20th of a heart attack, you're worried about how your sister is taking it." and they will almost certainly realise that you have googled them and found their myspace page...

So while I think that Edwards uses a mixture of cold reading and hot reading, I dont think he goes as far as googling the audience members names in advance of the show. All he needs is to know the most common initials for US citizens, the most common causes of death (pain in the back, chest or head are good guesses because those symptoms fit a whole lot of illnesses), and the most common reasons people visit mediums (worry about how the loved one is doing in an afterlife, concern about the family that have been left behind, money problems etc).

It could be plausible, but not everyone can be found simply by a "google" search (or internet search). My sister's name appears nowhere on the net, and she has a unique spelling and name to boot.

But John Edwards is on par with all the other fake psychics. They do cold readings, rush through conversations so you dont get a word in edgewise and all he can get out of you is "um's" "yes's" "no's" and "I dont know's" . he throws out so many suggestions and words them in a way to pull out the information from you to "turn" it against you to elicit a response (and thereby making you think he is truly "reading" you).

http://www.randi.org is an excellent site for debunking these fake psychics. First and foremost of course the notorious Sylvia Browne

If they were all real in their "talents", they'd have no problem taking James Randi's offer of $1 million to prove their talents. To this date, no one has come forward to take his test.

[diddy]

Originally Posted by Wizywyg

To this date, no one has come forward to take his test.

Oh several people have come forward, they just never get anywhere beyond the preliminary stages. Their powers seem to vanish the minute Randi enters the room

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by diddy

Oh several people have come forward, they just never get anywhere beyond the preliminary stages. Their powers seem to vanish the minute Randi enters the room

Extremely minor nitpick: Randi doesn't usually participate in the tests.

[diddy]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

Extremely minor nitpick: Randi doesn't usually participate in the tests.

Mearly an expression Ganz...

[Buckle Up]

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: Medium John Edward ("Crossing Over," WE TV) doesn't allow ticket
transfers...Why would it matter otherwise?

It could possibly be because they want to be able to track audience members later if one of them shoots Edwards, or throws rotten eggs at him, or otherwise harrasses him. I'm sure security pats you down at the door, but they might like to have your name and vitals too in case they need them later. This is purely a theory pulled out of my hat.

[qualli]

Okay, I feel the eyerolls coming.

But here's yet another reason some truly gifted people don't take the Randi challenge. Often the most pwerful people have also come to the realization that if they abuse or attempt to abuse their power it can be taken away. There's also the pretty big chance of being disected like a science experiment, all the money in the world can't save you from that.

Honestly, if it became public that you could honestly do remote viewings your ass would be on a slab, or in some government facility before you could cash your check. If you boasted about your abilities and couldn't perform (due to divine intervention) you'd end up without the cash, without your gifts, in a padded cell. That's not much fun either.

That being said, the "psychics" and other side show miracle workers are all a bunch of faking douchebags.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by SiKboy

I cant help but think that if this was true, then his shows would be a lot more convincing than they are. There would be less obvious cold reading for a start, less "searching" for a hit.

If he's faking, why wouldn't he fake the "searching"?

[diddy]

Originally Posted by qualli

But here's yet another reason some truly gifted people don't take the Randi challenge. Often the most powerful people have also come to the realization that if they abuse or attempt to abuse their power it can be taken away. There's also the pretty big chance of being disected like a science experiment, all the money in the world can't save you from that.

Unless you believe the government regularly kidnaps and dissects humans without their consent - theirs no basis to believe this. Furthermore if they are worried about this they shouldnt be promoting it for their own profit.

Honestly, if it became public that you could honestly do remote viewings your ass would be on a slab, or in some government facility before you could cash your check. If you boasted about your abilities and couldn't perform (due to divine intervention) you'd end up without the cash, without your gifts, in a padded cell. That's not much fun either.

Then why promote them in the first place? Obviously they cant do it. But if their was any real reason to believe what you are claiming then why promote their talents as if they were real. People take the Randi Test all the time becasue in their deluded minds they have the power.

Its the Sylvia Brown's and James Edwards who publicly refuse to take the randi challenge because they know darn well that when they fail the test, they will be exposed as a fraud. Randi would do it.

There is a reason that Skeptics put up the challenge in the first place. They know that they have a very high probability of never giving it away. As James Randi said about his insurance against loosing the million dollars: "I'm right".

Originally Posted by qualli

Okay, I feel the eyerolls coming.

Wow, maybe *you* are psychic! (I never could resist an easy joke, its like my Kryptonite... )

But here's yet another reason some truly gifted people don't take the Randi challenge. Often the most pwerful people have also come to the realization that if they abuse or attempt to abuse their power it can be taken away. There's also the pretty big chance of being disected like a science experiment, all the money in the world can't save you from that.

How exactly would they come to this realisation? Wouldnt the only way to find this out to use their power for evil, at which point they would lose it? And if doing it for $1000000 is abusing their power, why do they charge believers prohibative rates for their "services"? Taking $1000000 from a foundation which can afford to lose it is abuse, taking $600 for a phonecall from an old lady who can ill afford it is a-okay?

Honestly, if it became public that you could honestly do remote viewings your ass would be on a slab, or in some government facility before you could cash your check. If you boasted about your abilities and couldn't perform (due to divine intervention) you'd end up without the cash, without your gifts, in a padded cell. That's not much fun either.

That being said, the "psychics" and other side show miracle workers are all a bunch of faking douchebags.

As the challenge is open to applicants around the world, this would have to be a vast international psychic kidnapping conspiracy. Plus with the publicity that would acrue to someone winning the challenge, it would be very hard to make the person disappear, especially if they are a celebrity mentalist* like john edwards, Sylvia Brown or Yuri Gellar.

I'm always amused when people think that the "government" is capable of these vast byzantine conspiracies. Generally these are the same governments who cant reliably cover up a blow job, fake reasonable looking WMDs in iraq or keep track of spending. And yet when aliens land or someone gains miraculous psychic powers they suddenly get supercompetant?

Extended Warrenties, rustproofing, and that theory: Three things I'm just not buying.

Originally Posted by Lainie

If he's faking, why wouldn't he fake the "searching"?

I'm not sure you got what I mean. I realise that sounds condesending, and I totally dont mean it like "My arguement went over your head", I'm just not sure what you mean by this. Thinking about it, that would imply theres a problem at my end right enough...

I'll explain what I meant: If John Edwards was getting *detailed* information about his audience members, then he wouldn't need to go through 5 minutes of "I see a P. Or it could be a B. Or a T. Its a mans name, an older man, maybe a father figure? Your brother was called thomas? Thats exactly what I'm getting. Its family. His chest was sore... No? His upper chest, towards his shoulder or neck... He had a brain embolism you say? Well, thats what I see, up above his chest (moves hand motions up from chest to neck to head)." and so on.

Sure, he'd fake some searching, no-one would buy it if he walked out and said "You, your brother was called thomas, he had a brain embolism and died aged 32. Your current mood is "Curious", and you have been listening to "Bohemian Rhapsody by queen", it would be obvious that he had just found your livejournal.

But why would he fake so many negative results? All the "P... No, B... No, T..." stuff? Make it look difficult, sure. But all the obvious searching? Even with the wonders of editing hes still obviously doing some cold reading.

I am in no way suggesting that he is a real psychic. The man is a despicable fraud, and similarly to all such vultures who prey on peoples grief I would cheerfully step over him if he was twitching in a gutter. I think we agree hes a fraud, I'm basically saying that he is an unsophisticated fraud. Why bother googling people when you can achieve results people will believe using the same methods of planted stooges passing on information and cold reading that people have been using for centuries?

But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe he does use detailed internet searches on people, but it seems like a bit of hassle.

*Heh, I like this term because although it can mean "psychic performer", it can also mean "magician whose schtick is to pretend psychic powers", and my friends all use it as a term for a lunatic, one who is "mental".

[qualli]

To be clear, I meant the normal paranormal joes. The little old ladies who don't market themselves.

And yes I do believe that if someone provided absolute proof that they were psychic, the government or the science community would be polishing their figuritive scalpels.

I have known a few gifted people who absoloutly refuse to talk about their gifts as way to make money. In fact it's psuedo-rule that money can't be used when exchanging goods or serivices. It's only recently that money has started to be looked at as a form or energy. (so, though I prepare herbal remedies, and give the occasional reading (I tend to use it more for personal introspection on the part of the sitter) I usually end up with things such as pretty stones, and other small gifts.)