View Full Version : Psychic Detectives
RocketManJames
06-12-2005, 12:34 AM
I watch a lot of CourtTV. My favorite show is Forensic Files, and often after it is a show called Psychic Detectives. What do you all think about them? I don't know how much of it is fluff for TV and how much is real. But, if many of the stories are accurately portrayed, I must say it really makes me wonder.
-RMJ
Benal
06-12-2005, 12:36 AM
Some detectives seek their help on cold cases, so there must be something to it...
Skipbidder
06-12-2005, 12:58 AM
You do well to add the bit about "if the stories are accurately portrayed".
It's fun for a lot of people to believe in psychic phenomenon.
It's profitable for some unethical people to prey on the gullible.
You can read Joe Nickell talking about psychic detectives at:
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/police-psychics.html
Someone able to demonstrate a psychic ability under controlled conditions would win the James Randi Education Foundation $1 million dollar prize. Nobody has ever come close.
Alobar
06-12-2005, 01:11 AM
[ QUOTE ]
I watch a lot of CourtTV. My favorite show is Forensic Files, and often after it is a show called Psychic Detectives. What do you all think about them? I don't know how much of it is fluff for TV and how much is real. But, if many of the stories are accurately portrayed, I must say it really makes me wonder.
-RMJ
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go pic up a copy of "skeptic" or "skeptical inquirer" at your local newstand. Theres is usually at least one article about these hacks.
Dazarath
06-12-2005, 02:10 AM
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Someone able to demonstrate a psychic ability under controlled conditions would win the James Randi Education Foundation $1 million dollar prize. Nobody has ever come close.
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If I had a psychic ability, instead of letting the whole world know and winning a measley million dollars, I'd be cleaning up some vegas pros at the 1k/2k tables. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif
Skipbidder
06-12-2005, 02:20 AM
Depends on what your psychic ability is, of course! Danny Nyugen is probably doing better using his psychic ability to foresee running 7s.
Most of the garden-variety psychics are making a lot less than a 7 figures and would see a big increase in their fees if they passed the test.
RocketManJames
06-12-2005, 02:27 AM
I am a skeptic by nature. So, yes, of course I'm skeptical, and why I asked for others' opinions on them and their abilities.
But, here's something I thought about. What if they weren't truly psychic in the usual sense, but they simply had an edge. What if typical random guessing would yield say 1 in 1000 chance that a body would correctly be found near "pine trees AND near a dirt road that led upwards AND that road was near a creek." So, if random guessing yields a 1 in 1000 hit rate, but say a psychic were able to get you 1 in 250. Is that a possibility? And, I'm just trying to play devil's advocate (sorta).
-RMJ
Dazarath
06-12-2005, 03:13 AM
Again, if I could just increase my edge, I'd be at some poker tables cleaning up some other players. Though, with only a slight edge, I'd have to settle for mid-stakes and not high-stakes. /images/graemlins/mad.gif
Alobar
06-12-2005, 03:20 AM
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I am a skeptic by nature. So, yes, of course I'm skeptical, and why I asked for others' opinions on them and their abilities.
But, here's something I thought about. What if they weren't truly psychic in the usual sense, but they simply had an edge. What if typical random guessing would yield say 1 in 1000 chance that a body would correctly be found near "pine trees AND near a dirt road that led upwards AND that road was near a creek." So, if random guessing yields a 1 in 1000 hit rate, but say a psychic were able to get you 1 in 250. Is that a possibility? And, I'm just trying to play devil's advocate (sorta).
-RMJ
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no. Like I said, go pickup a copy of either of those magazines I mentioned, they argue this stuff all the time in there. Its good reading.
RocketManJames
06-12-2005, 03:29 AM
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no. Like I said, go pickup a copy of either of those magazines I mentioned, they argue this stuff all the time in there. Its good reading.
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Ok, I will. I have never seen these publications before, but then again, I never did look for them. I'll take a look.
-RMJ
Alobar
06-12-2005, 03:33 AM
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no. Like I said, go pickup a copy of either of those magazines I mentioned, they argue this stuff all the time in there. Its good reading.
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Ok, I will. I have never seen these publications before, but then again, I never did look for them. I'll take a look.
-RMJ
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http://www.csicop.org/si/
http://www.skeptic.com/
Skipbidder
06-12-2005, 03:38 AM
[ QUOTE ]
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no. Like I said, go pickup a copy of either of those magazines I mentioned, they argue this stuff all the time in there. Its good reading.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, I will. I have never seen these publications before, but then again, I never did look for them. I'll take a look.
-RMJ
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Gary Posner definitely has an article in the current "Skeptic" (Vol. 11, Number 3, 2005), about Noreen Renier--"A Psychic Detective on Court TV".
The News and Comment section of the current "Skeptical Inquirer" (Volume 29, No 2, March/April 2005--looks like I'm due for another magazine soon) has a bit called "Psychic Detectives Fail in the Real World but Succeed on TV".
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