Quote:
Originally Posted by Allegiance
In other words, those that believe are most likely tricking themselves into believing the absurd.
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Penn & Teller, famous for their career as magicians or illusionists, are very impatient with "Mediums."
It is their view that Mediums are frauds who manipulate their audiences' emotions and vulnerabilities. This outrages them, and has led them to make several disclosures regarding how the fraud is perpetuated.
One of these disclosures was made on a Showtime special, whose title I cannot write on this message board due to the filter for gross language.
NOTE also that Penn uses a lot of gross expletives in the video. If you find this offensive, you might want to skip the video. However, Penn explains that he does this partly for legal purposes. He says that if he calls a Medium a "liar" he will probably end up in court, so instead he calls the Medium an obscene name, which we are given to understand means that the Medium is a liar.
The video contains some tape of one case where "pre-show" contact is made between the Medium and her small audience in which critical information is obtained that will be used in the show. In another, after making a series of wrong guesses, the Medium totally reverses course.
If you watch this tape you will understand the basic techniques of "cold readings" as well as "hot readings."
In one case a man who is reduced to tears during the "contact" with his mother, begins suspecting he has been deceived as he drives home from the meeting.
Watching this video is worth your time.
Penn & Teller Bull****! - (1-01) - Talking to the Dead on Vimeo