General Chat

Absolutely, Ian! :-))

I haven't read the whole thread so far, so I don't know if he's been mentioned already, but there's a young magician called Darren (or Derren?) Browne, who claims he can do similar things by way of illusions. He's brilliant, and very clever.
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I'm going to be out for the rest of the day possibly, so see you all later.
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Derren Brown is my hero.

He is absolutely excellent at what he does. I would venture to suggest he is probably the best performer of this kind that has ever existed.

Yet many of his 'tricks' are as old as the hills and easy to do - the PIN number one is as easy as pie - when you know the secret!

The prediction ones are as well - the ones where he has a prediction in an envelope...very simple to pull off, but spectacular. As is the 'draw a picture and sela it in this envelope - I will tell you what it is'. I do that one as a start to every one of my acts.....and it is soooooo easy when you know how!

:-)

Yes I agree, it is.

But would you condone someone selling Professor Hyrams Snake Oil to Cure all Illnesses..........? Or 'Take these magic slimming pills and you will lose weight no matter how many bags of fish and chips you eat'......? Deception is deception.

As long as they make it clear that it is for entertainment, I applaud it, good on them and more power to their elbow. To the ones that say they are REALLY communicating with the dead, I say they should be tied up in sacks and jumped up and down on several times a day.

Hi Joybell.

It's actually good fun doing that - I can send you - or anyone else who wants it - the basic methods for doing it and you will amaze and amuse your friends and colleagues. Or you can download loads of books about how to do it from:

http://www.ebookee.com

just do a search on cold reading.

lol - religion, eh.

And organised religion to boot - well, read 'The God Delusion' by Professor Richard Dawkins - he puts the case far better than I can ever hope to!

Suffice for me to say that if someone wants to believe in God, fine - go for it. Vicars dont charge huge sums of money to talk to dead relatives :-)

And yes, if someone tells me they can communicate with spirits - I most certainly do want proof. I can't see a problem with that to be honest. It is they who are making the claim - all I say is show me the evidence. They can't. There isn't any.

My point exactly.

And why should you believe a vicar or a priest rather than a an imam or a holy man from the temple of Dennis the Unicorn?

What makes one mans god more real or important than anothers....?

And therein lies the conflict. The christian god is good and kind and merciful, but if you dont believe in him you will go to hell....for all eternity....there are always punishments for non believers. Oh, and please give us some money while you're at it :-)

And as for spirits .... is the best I can hope for to be hanging around for eternity, maybe getting to be a spirit guide if I'm lucky but more likely to pop back in 200 years time to tell my great great great nephew that he needs to get the ratchet sprocket fixed on his neural disfrangelator.....?

You're right about some people needing to believe especially ones who are grieving or troubled Carrie. And they're exactly the ones who can be taken advantage of very easily.

Beat me to it, Sally.

And yes, I agree, some people do have a need to believe. But I personally think it is marally appaling for anyone to deceive a person who is in that vulnerable state of needing to believe. For money.

I have known people become addicted to psychics - all their money goes on feeding this 'need to believe'. They keep visiting different ones, ringing the 0901 phone numbers, going to stage shows, desperate to find the one that will tell them what they want to hear.

Instead of being told to go and see a bereavement counselor or their own GP even.

My contempt for those who prey on these people is immense.

Eldrick, just at the moment I couldn't sustain a discission on this subject, no matter how well informed people are on the matter. Please,please, nobody take me the wrong way, it is just how I feel today.
I was once 'hypnotised' for medical purposes, and can honestly say, I was never put 'under' not did it work.
Julia in Derbyshire

Yes, I agree Carrie, that lots of people - even go so far as to say MOST people - at some time or another need to believe in a higher being, or an afterlife, or whatever. I know I have felt that need before.

But that is a natural process - it becomes unnatural for it to be prolonged by charlatans who are only interested in money. If they were genuinely interested in the welfare of their fellow creatures, they wouldnt be performing it on stage - they would be doing it in private for free.

How many readings will a stage medium go through in a 2 hour show....after they have plugged their books, dvd's, positive thought cards and all the other merchandise...?

20? Depends on the medium.

Why not do them in private for free....? Or for a nominal fee to cover expenses? Why not get a proper job and dispense their wisdom at weekends for free if it is such a god sent gift...?

The answer is pretty obvious, is it not....?