Bad Psychics- Sylvia Browne

Originally posted by R-evolve
there should be a license needed to be a psychic you either pass vigorous tests proving you have the ability or you dont make money from peoples grief. They appall me and if they believe they are genuine then fine apply for a license.

If you're interested, there was a webiste called badpsychics.com where one of the journalists there applied for a phone psychic job. She obviously has no psychic ability but somehow passed a rigourous test beating out 100 or so other people and somehow got the phone psychic job...

Will try and find the link for it

Anyone who thinks they have psychic powers is either a fraud or stupid.

I'm fairly skeptical of much of what she says as well. I did enjoy her book "Life on the Other Side" however. Just to play the devil's advocate consider this one:

Sylvia Says- To a woman that her boyfriend died from drowning on the Montel show

Because he was a firefighter she may have gotten the sence that water or suffication was present, and then wrongfully made the conclusion that it was drowning when it may have been due to smoke inhalation or lungs collapsing sort of thing.

Also with that one missing boy that she said had "died" but they found alive after all of those years...maybe she got the feeling that he had died, as in his personality and soul had been literally crushed while having to endure what he did living with that preditor...and then she made the mistake of thinking that his physical body had died...I mean it's all really rather subjective anyway.

I think some of the studies on ESP (refrence: The Conscious Universe by Dean Radin Ph.D.) show that there is still a huge "miss" rate, but in some studies there is a significant difference beyond just chance. In otherwords if it's a 50/50 thing like a coin toss, but reliably it is demonstrated that subjects are getting the correct outcome say 53% of the time, this still means that they are wrong a hell of a lot (statisticians call this type I and type II errors), but right just enough beyond "due to chance" to say they are actually onto something.

I am suggesting that perhaps, this is what is going on with Sylvia. I also think that of course they do some "fishing" (I forgot the term someone on here called it, where they find someone who lost a steve or a stan....) but I mean they would have to start somewhere....

I wonder if much of it really is just intuition and similar to remote viewing? I think we all can do it to a degree, the science has already demonstrated that, but she and others sure have made some wild claims.

Good thread. Very interesting.



[edit on 18-5-2008 by skyshow]

There's a so-called Female evangelist herein Danbury, Ct. that ran crosswise of Jim Randi. She tried to infer on a TV show that he was a pedophile because he had young college aged kids working for him to discover frauds. I think he still does. Well he told her on national TV that if she kept it up he'd sue her and own her church. Well she didn't say anything more on that show but on her local radio show on Sundays she managed to defame him to her flock. She used to have 5000 people show up at her "Church" now she's lucky to have 50 show up. He's not someone to fool with.
I have seen this psudo-psychic on TV also. She is one scary piece of work. She must be a joy to live with!!!

Zindo

Originally posted by OzWeatherman

Originally posted by R-evolve
there should be a license needed to be a psychic you either pass vigorous tests proving you have the ability or you dont make money from peoples grief. They appall me and if they believe they are genuine then fine apply for a license.

If you're interested, there was a webiste called badpsychics.com where one of the journalists there applied for a phone psychic job. She obviously has no psychic ability but somehow passed a rigourous test beating out 100 or so other people and somehow got the phone psychic job...

Will try and find the link for it

ive been on badpsychics.com they do a good job i signed the petition about a need for psychics to pass a test they had on the site.

I must admit I have no respect for this women. How she can continue I don't know but what even amazes me more is people don't put a stop to her.

As I see it when it is time for her Soul to move along it isn't going to a very comfortable place.

Remember what you do here on Earth (now) sends your Soul in the direction of it's next Soul assignment.

We have Laws here in the UK to protect the innocent from people like her, and i think it is about to changed a little to make the psychic provide 100% prove of their claims, When Derek Achora was caught cheating on live TV i though he was gonna be arrested, but he weaved his way out of it, and got a new show off it.

He is one creepy man, i used to think he was ok, but then he got possessed by people still alive and that was it, i know there are genuine psychic 's out there and most of them wouldn't touch a penny of anyones money for this kind of thing, the stress is unbelievable,

She isn't a psychic, she isn't even great at cold reading. I've seen her on tv using the standard barnam statements, taking the odd wild leap (and often failing). The sad fact is that no one has ever proven any true psychic ability, there is a prize i think offered by the Randi foundation for anyone who can prove they are psychic under stringent conditions.

The psychic will say something along the lines of "Well i wouldn't misuse my gift to get money", well why don't they give the money to charity? That way they'd prove they're gift and lots of people would benefit. Oh but wait, most of these people are rich so obviously the money is important to them.

Have you ever seen where someone asks a direct question? They stock response is "Oh it doesn't work like that sorry". Well if you're psychic then surely it should work.

If anyone wants to see a true master of cold reading and other techniques i suggest you check out Derren Brown. He is in his words a "psychological illusionist", he is not psychic (his words) and just uses an absolute ton of techniques (just like psychics). His results are far more accurate and more entertaining. He makes these common psychics look like amatuers and more importantly exposes what they're doing.

reply to post by Alexi Humi


Shot Gunning is very common. It's the ability to read peoples reactions (on traumatic things it's simple) that makes or break the 'reader'.

Sad to say, but you know kids (like my excuse? LOL!) when I was younger we'd guess females panty colors.

Step one: assess the girl. Is she a known trapser, or thought to be an untouchable? It really matters.

Step two: check her outfit. Amazingly enough, some girls even coordinate undergarment color (hell, my socks hardly match).

Step three: Find her favorite color (outfit may give you the hint)

Step four: if possible, cheat. Observe the mark. See if she bends over and the underwear rides up, or if she wears high hip thongs, etc.

CHEAT? But, how?? Ever see a medium and have to fill out an info card? Think about it. A fraud statistically has you there. Name, Address, possible DOB, maybe work info (Day Time Number), and seedy ones will get payment info to do background and credit checks. With the right leads, it's amazing what I could tell you about you.

I was right on the underwear about 80% of the time. Some of it is luck, boiling it down to an educated guess that you have no proof of. Sometimes I'm a shade off (Red, instead of Pink... "Ah, I though you were a little less innocent today"). (The easiest one is the No Underwear Girl. An observant guy, or one who has slept with alot of girls thus making it a science, can spot these from across a subway car).

Next time you talk to some one, try it. I call it 'fishing', but shot gunning is appropriate because of the amounts of info you throw at them.

Let them talk, they'll tell you alot. Pay attention to what they say, things that allude to things. Then you piece things together. It's like being a detective, really.

As long as you stay general, and the target knows the answer, you can find it. This leads you credibility when you tell them things they have no way of knowing (and you always add insurance by saying 'If you continue like this, this will happen. You can change things.' because once they change something you can claim they have changed the outcome of things from the previous time they asked).

Originally posted by ImaginaryReality1984
The psychic will say something along the lines of "Well i wouldn't misuse my gift to get money", well why don't they give the money to charity? That way they'd prove they're gift and lots of people would benefit. Oh but wait, most of these people are rich so obviously the money is important to them.

Exactly, hence the $700 per hour fee she was trying to get that family to pay for more information (and wrong information in fact) on their missing son

Its just heartless

To all those 3rd antichrist people....look no further than Sylvia Brown

reply to post by RedDragon


I object to that remark, actually.

I myself, while not claiming any abilities, have first hand accounts.

I was 12, living in Tennesse with my mother and step-father. School was out an my mother got a phone call. Always curious, I asked who it was. She told me the name of her friend and I turned cold. I saw a scene in my mind, a burning house. I asked my mom why the lady was on the phone when her house was on fire.

My mother had things like this when she was younger so, just in case, she asked. The lady stopped talking and walked around to check the kitchen. No fire. They talked, and got off the phone.

About an hour later my mom was called by the lady again. She was calling from the hospital to let my mom know she was okay... and that there had been a fire. The dryer in the basement had caught fire, and the alarm hadn't sounded because the battery was dead. The situation could have been very bad, as she said she was going to take a nap until her husband got home. She just couldn't shake the feeling from what mom had asked about the fire. She finally went downstairs to put some laundy in the wash and smelled smoke as soon as she opened the door.

There are more I've had like this. A particular invisible friend (yeah, I know, if it wasn't from when I was a kid this might sound certifiable) gave me lots of information that I shouldn't know. At 8 I was at a Museum at a Dinosaur exhibit. Now, I admit, I loved Dinosaurs and had read alot about them... BUT I WAS 8. It's not like I devoured college papers on them. I can't even remember the exact situation now, though my mother has told me the story many times. Apparenlty we were shown a skeleton of an old Dino, and as the guide was about to go to the next one I stopped the group. I stated he was wrong, it wasn't the dinosaur he was talking about. He persisted, finally showing the sign. It agreed with the guide. I was such a pain about it that the curator came to stop the scene. When told about the issue, he brought in his own Dino guy that had set everything up and was in charge. After looking things over he saw the mistake. Two similiar dino's were on exhibit (maybe a Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus, something like that... T Rex verses Allosaurus, something) and the Plaques had mistakenly been placed in the wrong displays (so actually there were two wrong, we hadn't got to the next one yet). These weren't complete skeletons, either (that would have been an awesome exhibit!) so apparently with only a small amount of bones to look at I had found the error. They did all kinds of tests to see my knowledge, and I did fairly well for an 8 year old, Senior level is how they explained it (like HS Senior) and said I should think about studying more to get a career like them. When they asked what I had read to notice such a thing I told them... "Binki told me". Yep, Binki. That was my most prominent invisible friend.

I can't remember alot of my child hood. Bad father figures and alot of tests for ADD and other stuff. Case studies, PhD's wondering how I know things, how I do things. Also, at this time, I knew German (nothing weird here, lived in Germany) and could do complex maths in my head (varying level of Algebra and such, I could just see numbers and sequences... sort of A Beautiful Mind-ish). Last Semester in College I failed German (hoped it would 'come back to me' if I took the class, the Tennesse Education System told my mom to make me quiet speaking German or no one would understand my accent) and I've never completed higher than Business Math and Record Keeping or 098 Pre-Algebra.

I truly feel people can see things, know things, do things. I feel you are more.... aware... able... to do things when you are young. More receptive, I guess. Of course, I think I've seen 'ghosts' as well, so maybe I was just a psycho kid?

This woman is a charlatan. I remember, I saw her on Montel years ago and thought there was something quite negative about her. Why do people pay her $700 for a reading? Ridiculous.

reply to post by OzWeatherman


I used to be a big fan of Sylvia Browne's books,and I would tune in when she would guest on Montel Williams.And I know,even if a person has a genuine gift,they can't necessarily be right all the time.They are not "GOD",or infallible. But she's predicted some pretty big whoppers.

When she was on Coast to Coast.I was listening to that one.The Sago mine disaster,with the wrong report and she said she knew they would be found.Then when the report changed so did her prediction.I was like what in the world is going on with this lady.


The one about 11 year old Shawn Hornback was a huge one.Can you imagine if the parents had given up based on what she said?

Other ones on the Montel Show too that she got wrong and tried to cover up, even Montel tried to help her out because she put her foot in her mouth on national T.V. Like the boyfriend who was a firefighter killed in the 9/11 tradgedy,and the parents of the deceased child who were told she was shot ,when she dropped dead in her bedroom. While I was watching those shows I could'nt get over her arrogance in her predictions.....as if....she knows everthing and could'nt possibly be wrong in what she says.

True gift or not people should never fully rely on another for all the answers anyways.'Take what you want and leave the rest",as Ms. Browne would say.

Originally posted by truthfreedomjustice

The one about 11 year old Shawn Hornback was a huge one.Can you imagine if the parents had given up based on what she said?

Yeah, thats got to be the worst one

Apparently the parents and police were searching the area for a long period of time for the body of the kid based on that old hags predictions. It must have torn them up inside to have heard that their son is dead, and then she has the nerve to offer her services at a ridiculous price. If she had any common decency (and was actually authentic) she would have done it for free

Thankgod Montel is being cancelled.....now nobody will have to put up with her BS

The one that got me was when she said "Al Gore will be the next president, definitely.". How can people believe this moron.

Originally posted by spaznational
I heard Brown on CoastToCoast. What a dumb broad. She gets things so backassward and dead wrong and won't admit she is wrong. I can't believe they still ever have her C2C.

Has she even been on C2C since that mistake? I know C2C has replayed that bit and George has even said he doesn't understand why she won't admit to making a mistake. Since C2C is a call-in show, she is probably afraid to go on. No doubt most of the callers will be people asking her about more times she was proven wrong. Besides I am sure her appearances on C2C have passed the point of diminishing returns for her business.

I dont believe anything these "psychics" see. But i have to mention that my father had a reading with Sylvia years ago. He doesnt believe in this stuff at all, he did it as a goof. She was a friend of a friend of a friend. No money at all was involved.

He recorded the meeting and he said she was pretty correct with everything she said, he said it was errie, but again he doesnt believe this stuff.

Funny how every other week this woman seems to take over an entire Montel Williams show...The funny part is when she answers people's questions and they just look dumbfounded at what she tells them...She is also the leader of her own church...Can anyone smell fraud??? She's a false medium which is sad because there are some mediums out there that are true- this woman claims to be something she's not even close to, nor ever will be. And you can feel how evil she is just by the way she answers people...I'll never understand why Montel loves her so much. She continues to write book after book...It's all about $$$$$$$$$. If you ever google her- you'll see countless people tell of how they were scolded, verbally abused, and treated miserably by this wench of a woman. Truly a horrible woman. Sad that most people are too dumb to research her credentials...She doesn't even have reiki training or anything along those lines (not that that would make a difference) but you can just tell she came out of the blue with this scam in her mind. Way to go Sylvia.

I predict we'll be seeing this woman thrown in jail eventually for fraud. Thats one even Sylvia won't see coming. She deserves it.

She also charges upwards of $600 an hour I believe (maybe more)...which is just utterly ridiculous even if you have the money.

[edit on 5/18/2008 by PimpyMcgibbins]

One way to stop these charlatans is to NOT purchase their merchandise. She appears on Larry King often, most of the time to hype a new book. I guess they figure fame = $$$. Does not matter if she's really gifted or not. She's made the T.V. rounds for years and now thinks she's due. I wish their was an easy way to stop these people, but they feed on the weak and emotionally vulnerable. Most of the time these people offer their "services" to those who are grieving. And people are more likely to part with cash during these times. It's sick the way they take advantage of people.

Now, I'm NOT discounting that people genuinely have premonitions or deja vu feelings that turn out to be true. I believe that we have much to learn regarding human consciousness (and sub-consciousness) and how we are "linked" so to speak.

Originally posted by drock905
I dont believe anything these "psychics" see. But i have to mention that my father had a reading with Sylvia years ago. He doesnt believe in this stuff at all, he did it as a goof. She was a friend of a friend of a friend. No money at all was involved.

He recorded the meeting and he said she was pretty correct with everything she said, he said it was errie, but again he doesnt believe this stuff.

Yeah but there are several techniques that she can use, like shotgunning that you or I could learn how to do and get the same results