Do psychics really have powers, or are they just con artists?

Question

Sometimes they remind me of used car salesmen.

Answer 1

I vote for con artists.  I always ask myself, if they can read the future, why don't they win the lottery, or why arent they working on wall street running one of the great businesses there?

Answer 2

i believe a few are correct and many are not.

as a tarot card reader, it's strange to see myself typing this but:

i don't really understand why anyone would want a prophecy/etc from a psychic. the future's coming whether you like it or not... and frankly, being surprised is a lot more fun than being bored by knowing what's going to happen. =) i say people shouldn't waste their time worrying about the future if they're going to find out about it eventually.

Answer 3

Everyone has powers (read normal human abilities that science has thus far failed to adequately explain).

Just like you have the ability to learn to play the piano but not a guarantee that you will be the next Mozart. Some people have more developed psychic abilities than others and some have more talent than others.

For, example in the Ganzfeld experiments students at Juliard scored about 75% where normally this experiment has accuarcy of 33% and chance is 25% (link below). These were not psychics but music and theatre students.

This result suggest the possibility that creativity plays a role in psi phenomena.

The Remote Viewers that were trained by the US Army and CIA also had excellent success rates.(link below).

All that said many (perhaps even most) are con artists and some do appear to believe in their ability but fail when tested (even by scientist that accept the abilities).

If you feel that someone is trying to pull one over on you I would trust that gut feeling.

Psi

Answer 4

I think a lot of them have powers...but they are limited powers.

Answer 5

they must be con artists but others tell the future literally based on sooth (type "sooth" in wikipedia to know the meaning) others tea leaves, others pivots, others your palms, etc.

Answer 6

I believe psychics have powers. I do not believe everyone that claims to be psychic actually are though. I did some research for a paper I wrote and discovered how little of our brain we actually use...10%. Who knows what other wonders exist. The brain is an amazing thing.Most people that claim psychic ability use probing questions to get the subject to answer personal questions without ever realizing it has occured. There are generic statements like I see an unresolved issue with someone "close" to you. Now that is such a general statement that it could mean anything to anyone. It does excite the subject  and they begin to interpret it according to what is going on in their life.

Answer 7

Some are a little of both out of the crowd.

Answer 8

The only real psychic experience I had made me feel very powerless. I con you not. Of course, I don't have a "psychic hot line" which I'm making money off of.

Psychic phenomena occur. I don't think they are for sale.

Answer 9

I feel some of them really do have the gift.  Unfortunately most of them are BSers!!

Answer 10

Some do.  For example, Edgar Cayce was able to go into a sleep state and access the Acashic records to be able to suggest cures for numerous illness, despite the fact he had no medical training.  Look up info about him at www.edgarcayce.org.

Of course, there are also numerous con artists.  And having unusual powers of perception is also no guarantee of honesty.   So, you have to be careful.

Answer 11

They are ALL con artists!  John Edwards has been found out, just as everyone else.  People only believe what they want.

Remember Miss Cleo from the 1990s? She went to jail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Cleo

Here is something about John Edwards:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qghye8J1318&f...

No one has the ability to do that, it is against nature.

Answer 12

If there are any true psychics.They are either unable or unwilling to show us.They're good at boasting and making unsubstantiated claims.Not so good at demonstrating their claimed powers.

   In my opinion some are honest but delusional.The well known psychics/mediums,they are con artists no,doubt.Rule of thumb,if they come to you electronically.Keep your wallet securely in your pocket.

Answer 13

Isn't being able to mislead people a psychic power?

Everyone has powers, it's just a matter of whether we choose to use them for good or ill, or not at all.

Answer 14

cons

Answer 15

I think that some people have an ability to "see" something, or perhaps feel it.  Not everyone though.  My Grandmother and mother had a couple of harrowing premonitions which unfotunately came true.    My mom always had these "strange feelings" about something "not being right".   The result was me not going to a certain party or outing.  Poor woman was bombarded with the typical "you're ruining my life" remark which only a teenager will make.   I finally learned to shut up after the parties were busted or something went wrong.  I trust her instincts now.

My husband was brought up in a suburb area of Athens.  Quite a close knit community with almost no foreigners around.  His circle of friends consisted of school mates, all Greek.  His only contact with foreign girls was on the islands during summer vacation.   When he told his mother that we had decided to get engaged she didn't seem at all surprised, even though she had only seen me a couple of times at some of his parties.  When he asked her why, she said the neighborhood "coffee teller" told her her son would marry a blond, tall foreign girl.  That was some 2 years before we had met.  My mother in-law is a wonderful and very honest person so I believe she wasn't making it up.

Have to admit it was strange.

Answer 16

I think there are some people who are truly born with this gift, like Sylvia Browne. But most people that claim to be psychic are really out to make a buck. It's a hustle.

Answer 17

Hello Tray

They have neither.

We all have psychic abilities, present within us all.

Pam

Answer 18

Some are for real. I know some very gifted people. In my experience, it's the ones that remind you of used car salesmen that you should steer clear of. Those who are true have no need to try to "sell" their gifts.

Answer 19

If they are not con-artists, than they are all delusional.

Answer 20

I think you left out a 3rd option -- they actually really believe they have psychic powers, but they don't.

I think this represents the majority of "psychics". A little confirmation bias and a little power of suggestion can go an awful long way in deceiving yourself especially when there is strong belief involved.

Answer 21

They really do have powers. The power of deception, the power of self-delusion, etc. As far as actual psychic powers, nope. Not a one.

Answer 22

they bees grifters sonny

Answer 23

A lot are con artists. But some are real.

I once went to Magic Mountain, where they had a 'Fool the Guesser' booth. I figured there was a trick to it but thought I'd try it anyway. I had the guy guess my weight. Since I hadn't weighted myself recently, I was curious. So when my turn came, I wondered just what it would say, and I guessed a figure in my mind. The guy said the number I was thinking, which turned out to be wrong.

That got me curious, so I stood on the sidelines for about 10 minutes, guessing other peoples' weights and  ages. I got them all wrong, and he kept speaking my guesses. After getting so many wrong in a row, he closed the booth for awhile. Only then did I realize that I had been interfering with his livlihood, so I left him alone after that. But the experience was interesting.

Answer 24

When I was a kid I almost died I was about 11. After returning to my body I was sensitive to a lot of stuff. I was having deja vu and I knew when things were going to happen before they would . My parents took me to a psychiatrist or something cause they thought I was crazy and  I thought I was too. Then in later years all these people started having these out of body experiences and it kinda started to make sense.

I wrote all that to say, there are some people I know  are psychic, but I think there are far more con artists. I can not explain how I would know stuff I just did. I never would charge money for this kinda thing either.

  PS. Before my Grandmother died who was a very religious woman she started seeing relatives who had passed a long  time ago and my mother felt the end was near and it was. Go figure, cause I really do not understand this psychic business.

Answer 25

How can one truely be sain if they where to see the future and know no matter what they do they can not change it. That most people when told of the future only hear what they want to here of it and disreguard everything else. As for win a lottery as physic what would you do with it when all you see is how thing change for the worst and not the better. It is not money that makes the man but the man that makes the money.

If you where to see the future how could you have a relationship with another person when you know their faults before hand. You know what fight will end the relationship, as well as what to say to prolong the  relationship. The only thing that changes is the way the heart reacts to the relationship.

It not the world that is flawed but the people living in it. Wiether it be greet , lust or control most will never be satisfied with what they have.

Answer 26

i would have to say psychics are con artists.

Answer 27

If you want an honest answer I think that SOME could be for real. Personaly I have always dreamed of something or thought of something- even if its like a random song that nobody really listens to or something like that and then the next day someone is whistling it. At first I thought it was coincidence but more recently it has happened more and more. I cant prove it because I cant wright down everything i do and every thought i have to prove it was in my mind in the first place.

If you want an example, last night I randomly dreamed of a part of a song from the jungle book (yep wierd I know..). I hadnt heard the song for years so i had no real reason to, then today one of my friends was whistling it. I didnt say anything but this is happening more and more its really wierd.

I used to be very against the idea of all of this but i think this is too much to be a coinsidence as its happening like once a week at least with different really random things.

Btw i have absolutly no reason to con you do I? im not going to make any money and I dont usualy even tell anyone lol because of what i told you i think some people, even if it is a rare few could have things like me but stronger so they know more information. I cant prove it though so i dont expect you to belive me or anything. I swear im telling the truth thats all i can do :)

Answer 28

sorry but thet ARE NOT ALL con artists some people are just very narrow minded and cant imagine a person actually being physic. unfortunately not every one that does claim to be physic is and that is were people start to belive they are not real at all. im not saying im physic but i no that i must have something. i have had a few strange situations were ive been able to tell people that i dont even no  stuff about themselves and i am able to sense if somethings there. and i am not a con artist i tell nobody about myself in fear of that. so i think people should stop being so narrow minded.

Answer 29

Most of the people we know as psychics-the fortune teller a few blocks in the street, people like Sylvia Brown and maybe even Uri Geller, are fake.  They use their "abilities" to entertain.

There are real people who use real ESP abilities.  But you cannot find these people on TV.  Go to a spoon bending party or ESP research lab in a university and you might meet some.  Go to a forum or website for psychic "hobbyists" or people who are into things like astral travel, psychokinesis, and empathy, not contacting the dead or telling the future!  These people are actually very ordinary, because having psychic abilities is-actually an ordinary thing.

Answer 30

i would say a pretty even mix as with everything sadly

Answer 31

98% are cons.

Half of the rest are liers.

Draw your own conclusion.