Are psychics just lucky guessers or do some actually know the answers?

Question

I have a few questions that I would like to know the answers to.Thanks!

Answer 1

I think that it depends how open minded you are.If you believe that it is possible then you would of course think they know the answers but if you don't then you would think they are lucky guessers.I think that psychics are rip offs because we all have this ability and yet we don't use it so why pay say $60 when you can learn this ability and have answers to your own questions and you don't pay a penny.I know skeptics would disagree with this but they aren't even worth the bother because know matter what you do you will not convince them.They will only believe in what they want to believe and when something happens that they can't explain then they say it's a trick or something to that effect.

Answer 2

Many are good at guessing, and some of them have inside information - like googling you or doing a background check.  And some of them are pretty bad at guessing - most of those psychic shows, like Crossing Over, are filmed for about 6 hours - of which 1/2 hour of the 'best stuff' ends up on the show.  

Don't waste your money on psychics.  You might as well throw it down a well - at least that way scam artists are less likely to get a hold of it.  If you want something to happen in your life, go out and make it happen.  The future isn't set - therefore no one can tell it to you.

Answer 3

Guessers, and some not even that lucky.  The better ones use what's called cold reading.  That means they pump you for information.  They also rely on you to fill in the blanks.  On top of this, they are as vague as possible.

Answer 4

They are very good at picking up on subtle clues like body language. Some are conscious frauds; some may genuinely imagine that they have paranormal gifts.

See Derren Brown "Tricks of the mind". Even better, if you can,see his show.

DON'T try to get info from a psychic.They will either just guess, or pick up on your hopes and fears and play them back to you, which could be dangerous if you pay attention to them, and if you're not going to pay attention why bother?

Answer 5

Am I the only voice for psychics (spiritually aware)?  Hmmm.

Okay here goes.  I try to be as impartial as possible coz that's the way I am.

When I first started reading, I was 12 years old.  At the time, all I wanted to know was how many things I got right about what I said to people.  It took me another 9 years before I plucked up the courage to actually charge because I ended up giving too many freebies, maybe 10 hours a week.

I was very nervous when I started to charge coz suddenly the spotlight was on me to be accurate... and all of a sudden, the ethical side of me kicked in... I could say anything when I wasn't charging, but once I started to, I had to be giving constructive and 'accurate' information and I stressed out so much about it that I stopped charging again and it wasn't another 5 years before I started again.  Some people do not have my conscience and will charge anyway, whether what they charge you for is rubbish or not...

But I will say something about my modus operandii... I tell my client to remain quiet until the end of my reading, to allow me to talk as I won't be asking them any questions.  If at the end of my 45 minute rave they have any unanswered questions, then I allow them to ask me questions, but at no time do I ask them questions as I don't want them going away saying that I went by what they answered to my questions etc etc.  I take pride in that.

Some readings end up being fairly general, admittedly (no offence but some people live very simple lives & usually the focus will be on how to get them motivated with life), but at times, some readings cover a lot of ground and in depth too, citing names of people, places etc. specific hobbies.

Here are a couple of examples just to give you an idea of how it works for me in particular.  I had a man sitting in front of me one day and I started to talk about elements in his hands (yes, I am a palmist too)... I started to hear the toot toot of trains, locomotives coz I heard the ch ch sound too.  I ignored it and it got louder in my head and then I saw in my mind's eye lots of toy trains passing by each other like the ones in the museum, so I stopped myself and told the man, "Before I go nuts, I have to tell you that there are trains running around in my head and making such a racket I can't think!"  I was sure the man was going to get up and leave thinking I was cuckoo, so I was ready to end the reading there.  Instead, the man started laughing. He said, "It drives my wife nuts too.  I have toy trains through my living room at home. I collect them."

OK, so I hit it that time, do I do it all the time?  I've only voluntarily terminated one reading and refunded money at my insistence, but no-one has not paid me at the end of a reading and I give the terms satisfaction guaranteed or you DON'T pay me.  How many psychics do you know that offer that? So I cannot be dishing out rubbish if people are paying me that much (and I charge like a wounded bull by the way... just so you can stereotype me!lol)

Example number 2... how many of you travel?  How many of you travel far from home? The weirdest travel comment I made was to a woman when I said, "You will be going again to somewhere like Costa Rica and Canada for some reason..."  OK, very general right?  I mean we all travel from Australia to Costa Rica and Canada for fun???? Turns out she had just come back from those two places and was intending to go back to those two places specifically and was there specifically to ask me the answer to that question. (To me that is a dumb reason when she could have worked it out herself... have I got enough money to go back, yes? No? Book the ticket or commisserate, right?)

Look, I could go on to include how lives were saved because of things I had predicted, but that would be blowing my own trumpet and I have a big nose already....  Thing is, as studies have shown, it may be that each of us has this ability to pick up on behaviour and perhaps receive information and dont know how to place it or what to do with it... and there are clever/disreputable people who abuse the gullible... but I will be quick to admit... I know the information comes from within me... and to expand on what Deenie said... it comes from God, but I am no more a prophet or seer than the next person.  I am just braver because at the risk of sounding like a lunatic, I pass the information on, in whatever form it comes to me.

I don't know how it can be proven because in my case, as with so many other self-proclaimed clairvoyants or seers, the 'gift' is not available 100%.  But in this I only speak for myself.

THat doesn't make me a fraud.  I just hope it makes me human, not some alien group of delusional pompous assed know-it-alls.

Answer 6

It's very interesting that the rather vague question above elicited some rather specific and strong opinions, all based on the assumption of the professional psychic.

I don't go to psychics or do I Ching anymore because I find that the predictions confusing and stifling to my spontaneity.

Generally, I agree with Angomapple and have seen pyschics at work.  They're reading your energy, not your body.  Amazingly, my future sister in law met an amazing pyschic reader of tea leaves, in New Orleans.

She was told that she seems to have "made a friend" and the psychic wanted to know if a charm to "chase the friend away" would be needed.  She thinking it was her new beau whom she had met in London, said "No." adamantly.

Much later, this reading became understandable.  We figured out that, unbeknownst to her, she had picked up a spirit who had followed a house guest who had just visited a haunted a castle in Scotland.  The psychic reader had seen that the ghost was residing with her.  

Months later, when she needed to use the spare bedroom because of construction, she found that at 2:45 a.m. every night there would be a knock at the door which would continue until it was finally opened.  Then 45 minutes of medieval music would play on a stringed instrument on some kind.

Amazing but true.

Answer 7

Try this. If you want to know the answer to something..ask God...then pay attention when other people talk.(I don't mean psychics...I mean regular people .) (Don't tell them what you want to know...or that you're even looking for an answer.) Someone might give you the answer without even realizing it

Answer 8

Depends on how far you think lucky guesses can take you.

For example the Ganzfeld (link below) has a chance rate of 25% and on average the score with ordinary (non psychics) people is 33%. However, if you isolate the students at Juliard (creative but not psychic) the rates increase to 50% and 75%.

So, are you willing to call someone that guesses at a 75% hit rate psychic or throw statistics out the door like the skeptics and call that lucky guessing?

So, the answer is in what you believe.

According to science yes some people are statistically significant better than chance at guessing. Is that psychic?

Psi

Answer 9

I think that are many people who can see beyond the physical world.  

Unfortunately, there are many more who use their gift of being able to 'read' people to make money as a psychic.  These people are not psychic, they are just very adept at reading body language and other information given by their clients.

If you do go to a psychic, make them give you information.  Don't give them any--not even whether you are married or single or have siblings.  Don't even respond to their ideas.  They will either pick up something or they won't.  If they do have ideas that seem to go with your life, then YOU make the decision of whether or not they're valid.