Paranormal Court: Another Show Pushes the Limits of Stupid
March 28th, 2010
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Sure, the network might be called “The Learning Channel,” but don’t expect to learn anything from this new show. If “John and Kate Plus Eight” was not stupid enough for you, the channel now has a new show that’s sure to rot even more braincells. The show “Paranormal Court” is described as “Two parties come together and agree to be bound by the ruling enlisted from the other side.”
The idea behind it is basically that family members having a dispute, which involves a deceased person, consult a psychic to talk to that dead person about how to deal with the situation. Of course, it’s not terribly unusual for disputes and disagreements to come up over things like estate matters or how to best serve the wishes of a deceased person. So why not consult a psychic? Well, if you’re going to try to resolve a dispute, you probably want a mediator who is actually honest and has some integrity. Psychics, on the other hand, are professional liars. Even worse, the ones in this series don’t seem to even be that good at it.
Seriously, I can do better at cold reading than this!
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at 10:56 pm and is filed under Bad Science, Culture, Not Even Wrong, Paranormal, religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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March 29th, 2010 at 12:58 am
That just beggars the imagination. TLC started out with some good shows in the beginning, but they have been rushing to the bottom of late, so fast it is embarrassing. I don’t even bother scanning that station anymore the odd time I’m channel-surfing, it’s just not worth it.
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March 29th, 2010 at 1:00 am
When it comes to resolving family disputes, the dead members of my family (great aunts, uncles, grandparents) were usually the worst ones to go to for any mediation. I don’t think I’d want to summon them to be the judge even if I believed this stuff. The lying SOB is such a bad actor. Geez, though, you’ve got to be stone cold all the way through to pull this **** on a greiving family with a straight face.
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March 29th, 2010 at 7:02 am
You were not watching very closely, or you choose to ignore the exchange and jumped straight to your preconceived opinion. You did not see the show, that is obvious. You must have had the TV in on mute while you ‘watched’.
Because the evidence was there. The participants confirmed it. You don’t have to believe it. World keeps on spinning with or without your permission. Participants experienced real healing. That is paramount. How can that be such a threat to you that you go on the attack of the entire premise?
My only wish is that when I search for Paranormal Court, I get to Paranormal Court, not your Depleted Cranium.
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March 29th, 2010 at 10:10 am
LOL.
The above comment was epic lulz.
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March 29th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Own Mind said:
This statement is at least well-formed enough to warrant a reply. The issue with all of these things, be it ‘alternative’ medicine, or prayer, or any other form of mysticism, is that while it may be true that in some instances it may be shown to produce a superficial improvement of whatever problem being addressed, they are not effecting any real solution. More importantly, outside the narrow case of psychosomatic delusions, they simply do not work. The danger in allowing these practices is that those with real physical (or in this case legal) issues may turn to these methods for relief and not get the help they need.
Is it a threat? You’re damned right it is. We are neck deep in all sorts of problems that are going to require hard choices and the only way we will make the right ones is by taking a reasoned look at them. Believing in an answer is just not going to cut it anymore, the answer has to be dead right. Faith in anything, at this point is dangerous, what we need is cold hard logic, based on cold, hard facts, and sticking nonsense like this on a television station with the reach of TLC, is not programming designed to encourage rational thinking.
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March 29th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Own Mind said:
I did not see the whole thing. I watched about ten minutes of it on tv and saw the web video clips. I also read the show description. I had more than my fill with that.
I had eaten so I didn’t want to watch so much as to lose my lunch.
Own Mind said:
I know the entire premise is wrong because I recognize cold reading, I know how it works and I’m more than aware of how convincing it can be when done properly and with a subject who wants to believe.
The techniques are simple and some of the classics are in the above clip. For example, choosing a number and asking if it has significance. Alternately, it can be a letter or a month or something.
He chose 29. He read her face and saw it was significant and asked what his death date was. He could have died on the 29th of any month, or he could have died on 2/9. Or, he could have died on the 30th and he’d say that the 29th was the last full day he spent with them. Or, he could have been born on the 29th or 2/9. Or, if they can think of nothing, he’d just say “Okay, well keep thinking about that, because something about that number is significant.”
You also see how he can phrase a statement as a question “Your grandmothers on both sides have died?” At her age chances are they have, and if not, it’s pretty unlikely that both are alive. If one were, she’d say something like “Just my father’s mother. My mother’s mother is still alive” and because he phrased it as a question he could say “Oh, okay, that’s why I only can hear one voice.” That turns a failure into a success.
He also reads her pretty well. She gets very emotional at the mention of her grandmother, so he knows they were close.
It’s very transparent once you’ve seen these tricks a few times. Believe me, I know this whole routine very well, and I’ve been involved with organizations that have actively investigated every instance of this stuff we can find.
If this were real, he could easily win one million dollars.
Own Mind said:
Oh cool. Glad to hear I have a high search ranking
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June 19th, 2011 at 6:59 am
Great post, Realy looking forward to reading more of your posts.
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