At 03:48 PM 4/2/01 -0500, you wrote:
>A heads-up on that well-known journal of human behavior, TV Guide (the one
>for the week starting this Saturday, April 7). It contains a brief, but
>insightful analysis by James Randi of John Edwards' "Crossing Over" program
>on the SciFi channel in which he claims to receive messages from dead people
>for those who are in the audience. It could be useful for anyone who covers
>skeptical approaches to the paranormal. I have always thought the only
>refutation of the show necessary was to note that it is on the Sci FI
>channel, the Fi standing for fiction.
I have watched one segment and various other snippets of John Edwards at work.
To me, he, like most other 'successful' psychics, is clearly a master of the
cold reading technique (for a quick set of guidelines on this technique, see
http://www.skeptics.com.au/journal/coldread.htm). He is a great fisherman!
However, I have been struck by the apparent genuineness of his interactions
with the audience and his overall approach, and tend to think that Edwards,
probably like many/some other psychics, truly _believes_ that he has paranormal
powers. Whether real or acted, 'genuineness' is, of course, a pre-requisite
for being a 'believable' psychic.
As someone who interprets the overall experimental parapsychological research
as showing evidence of a weak, but unstable psi effect, I often wonder about
the following. Flaws and other problems aside, one of the generally well
documented effects in parapsychology is the sheep/goat effect. Sheep
(believers of psi) tend to score higher on psi tasks than goats (skeptics).
Also, the 'favorable' social context of the situation is also thought to
facilitate psi. That is, according to some, psi is not likely to occur in a
room-full of skeptics. Now, I am well aware of the 'skeptical' explanations
for the above two conditions. But, I wonder (I'm sure parapsychologists have
wondered too) whether in the process of normal information exchange between
psychic and client, both of whom will tend to be strong believers in psi, and
under those favorable conditions, some psi-mediated information is also being
exchanged.
One other point. For the laboratory parapsychologist who does not dabble in
the afterlife, any psi manifestation in a John Edwards situation can be more
easily explained as stemming from communication between the living and not
necessarily from any disembodied spirit. Of course, for the true skeptic,
there is no psi involved; that is, psi does not exist. ;-)
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Miguel Roig, Ph.D. Voice: (718) 390-4513
Assoc. Prof. of Psychology Fax: (718) 442-3612
Dept. of Psychology [EMAIL PROTECTED]
St. John's University [EMAIL PROTECTED]
300 Howard Avenue http://area51.stjohns.edu/~roig ;
Staten Island, NY 10301
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