Psychic Kids – Paranormal TV Shows Get Even Worse…
June 8th, 2008
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Or.. “How to turn a relatively social/mental health issue into an enormous one in kids.”
Apparently there’s a new show coming out on the A&E television network. It’s been promoted relatively heavily so it seems that they’re hoping for something big with it. The show is called “Psychic Kids: Paranormal Children,” and it appears to be every bit as bad as the title implies. The show apparently follows and “investigates” various paranormal claims with kids who are said to be “sensitive” or have a “gift” for sensing various non-existent entities. The concept seems to be both pseudoscience “studying” of these claims combined with the idea of helping psychic kids cultivate this gift for sensing the paranormal.
The show seems to be an offshoot of another A&E TV show “Paranormal State,” and it involves several of the same parties as “Paranormal State.” This includes Chip Coffey, the resident self-proclaimed psychic on the series. In the new show, (at least based on the promos and show description thus far) it seems as if he is playing the role of a sort of elder psychic, helping the kids to understand and develop their powers, kind of like an Obi-Wan character. Judging from the episodes of Paranormal State I’ve seen, this show is probably not going to include much skepticism or even pseudo-skepticism. On Paranormal State, it’s generally believed from the state that there is a haunting and no other explanation is ever considered. The existence of psychics and ghostly phenomena is stated as if fact.
The bigger issue here, aside from the obvious fact that this kind of television is just crap or that it is fiction mascaraing as documentary is the issue of using children. Children of course have vivid imaginations and are very impressionable, especially from those who they trust as elders or teachers. [in the case of this show, the children are reportedly of age 10 to 17] As such, there’s a great responsibility to provide guidance to kids and allow them to think for themselves and understand reality. The fact that any parent would put their kids on a TV show like this brings up concerns to begin with, and the pressure to perform and be “psychic” is not going to help either.
The fact is that if a kid thinks they can hear voices or sense things, it could easily just be their pretending, a ploy for attention or a coping mechanism. As children develop socially and emotionally, it’s not uncommon for them to go through phases or use coping mechanisms or their imagination as an escape or to try to find an identity. If a child continues to believe this kind of thing over the long term and into their teens, then it might very well be time to consider having them see a professional mental health care provider. One thing is for certain though, sticking them in front of a camera and having mom and dad sign a contract for their “psychic” powers to be investigated is not going to help. The show actually does have a psychologist consulting the children – although she seems to be just as much a complete wacky, stating that she has works with “The spiritual experiences of children.”
Not only does this show take a big steamy dump in the minds of viewers, but it’s exploiting children and enforcing fantasies to a dangerous level!
If you want to get a taste of this show you can see a bunch of video clips here. Warning: Do not watch these video clips without a bag, bucket or other such item nearby as they may induce the urge to vomit.
God, I really feel bad for this kid. I can’t even imagine what her parents have told her. Nor can I imagine how anyone could exploit or reinforce these ideas at such an age!
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 8th, 2008 at 5:34 pm and is filed under Bad Science, Paranormal, media. 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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June 8th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Well as bad as this is I really don’t see much difference between this and standard religious instruction. It is just as much child abuse to fill a kids head with nonsense about a deity that will stand in judgment of them and hand out a punishment that will last forever, or that somehow the bad things you do can be forgiven by some man in a robe reading a few lines of prose (in an important sounding language you do not understand), as it is to make them think they are psychic.
At the bottom of both idiocies is that children are being taught to accept the existence of something intangible in the absence of proof.
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June 8th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I don’t know about that. I can see how this is worse in some ways. I mean you are basically making the children the center of attention to an unhealthy amount. It’s not like they are just being told to believe something but they’re being encouraged to be delusional and make things up and then given approval for it.
They’re also made more in charge of things and separated from others and I can’t think of any way this parallels religion except maybe someone like the Dalhi Lama (sp?) who was taken as a child and told he was the holiest thing in the world, and of course completely confusing him and making him feel isolated.
I think the way the children are treated and encouraged can be dangerous.
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June 8th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Evan J S said:
It wouldn’t be hard to find examples of religious practices that will do greater long-term damage that this nonsense – that is not to say that this is harmless; it is, and it is outright child abuse.
The whole point I am making here is that teaching a child to believe in something that is not there is wrong. ESP is not part of the historical Western culture, so it is easy to see that this is fraudulent and wrong. But just because we have lived immersed in the trappings of the Judeo-Christian mythology, and thus are used to its symbolism doesn’t mean it isn’t just as bad.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:37 am
I don’t know. I don’t like to push off bad behavior by just saying that there is something worse. What is really bad about this as I see it is that it not only is abusing and toying with the minds of kids, but it’s being done in such an exploiting way that puts them on TV like that and pressures them with attention and money (I’m sure there’s money for the families).
I guess it’s kinda both ways. I mean I don’t think that all families with religion would be this bad, but I’m sure the more religious ones are. It’s just so exploitive.
If you can go after this or religion in general, I think this is the better thing to call foul on because you have a fighting chance of getting enough agreement to do something but if you take on christians all at once, it won’t work and you’ll loose. Maybe start here. I don’t know.
These vidoes did bother me though.
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June 9th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Sorry I still don’t see much of a difference between this and kids that claim to have stigmata or to have seen the Virgin Mary. This sort of delusion is the product of a mind that has been taught to believe in things without proof, how that manifests itself after that is not really that important.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
DV82XL said:
Yeah that’s true. That kinda goes beyond most people who have religion to the really wacked out people who claim that their kids have a vision or something and then reenforce it and stuff. It would be just as wrong to make a television show about “children visited by jesus” or something.
I think you might be able to make a parallel. Mainstream religion where people go to church and tell their kids to say grace versus people who encourage their kids to say they have stigmata or are visited by the Virgin Mary. This is comparable to newage people who have their kids reading horoscopes and using homeopathy versus those who encourage their kids to say that they have magical powers.
The whole spectrum might be unhealthy, but I think if you go far enough with it then you get to where it’s acutely harmful in a very real sense and it starts to take over the kids life and identity.
That’s bad. Putting it on TV is even worse.
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June 10th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Yeah, every time I hear of a show like this it makes me want to vomit. This stuff which claims to be fact and documentary but is totally biased is complete bull and insulting because there are some people who take the word of something like this as reality. Of course you shouldn’t believe everything you hear on TV, but some people have trouble telling the facts from fiction.
The child exploitation thing is just another layer of bull here.
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June 10th, 2008 at 10:26 am
That’s a dude? Definately weird looking. I would have thought that was a butch older woman, if not lesbian then maybe just super progressive former hippy or something. I think you spelled his name wrong, it’s “Chip Coffey” on his webpage which is just as weird a name anyway.
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June 11th, 2008 at 2:49 am
And another show I have no plays on watching! The fact that people do though.. i guess it takes all kinds. If it serves any purpose then i guess if you see people talking about watching this somewhere then you can tell they’re an idiot right away, which might be worth something.
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June 12th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Coffee? Dude if you cannot get the name right how accurate is this review??
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June 12th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I fixed the little type-o. Sorry about that. I find typeos in the New York Times on occasion. How can we trust how accurate they are?
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June 29th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I do not want to start problems, but I was like to disagree with everything you have written about here. I am an 18 year old college student, and I have been talking to spirits since I was 10 years old. Just because children have gifts do not mean they are lying or just looking for attention. Everybody is born with a gift and you make the choice on if you like to deny it and close your mind off or if you like to embrace it. I grew up in a household which chose to embrace these gifts and teach me how to control and use them. I am a perfectly healthy, smart teenage girl. I do not have emotional or psychological issues and have no problems living in a so called “normal” world that adults like you try to make everybody fit into. Nothing is normal and adults like you that have a hard time realizing that just because these children are different does not make them insane. I believe you are just a close minded adult who are trying to push your values and views onto the world when you have no right to be doing so. I like my gift and my ability to use it.
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June 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
The issue of mental illness is a complex one. In general one of the requirements for the diagnosis is that the sufferer’s life needs be negatively impacted. Insanity is a legal term that is altogether different.
Now one of the phenomena presented in schizophrenia is auditory hallucinations. This is well documented. Sick people can be driven to all sorts of negative behavior by arguing with their ‘voices’ and often damage themselves badly before getting help. They, the recovered (or at least controlled ones) are the ones that have reported on their symptoms, not outsiders making observations.
Now given the above, what am I to think? You tell me you hear voices and talk back to them. What makes this any different than schizophrenia other than the fact that you seem to get along with your ’spirits’? Am I to believe that all the folks complaining of voices are in touch with disembodied intelligences, or am I to believe that you are just a schizophrenic that that is not bothered by his symptoms?
At any rate the bigger issue here is the exploitation of children by adults for the purpose of entertainment. Even if you believe that this is a special gift, should it not be treated with some respect by the adults responsible for these kids?
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June 29th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
It’s possible to be disillusions or to have illusions or feelings which are not real and at the same time not be insane. The human mind is a complex entity and very prone to the power of suggestion especially when it is reinforced. It happens to the best of us. An example of this is the placebo effect which is well known to cause some very dramatic illusions of feelings or health effects, even measurable physiological changes in individuals who are entirely rational and mentally healthy.
It could also be a mild form of schizophrenia which is not bothersome, as DV82XL has stated. Children can have some very powerful imaginations and in the formative years if this is re enforced by adults as being real I can see how it could really cause some issues with developing socially and having a good sense of reality.
I’d consider speaking with a professional. That’s not to say that this is an acute mental illness, but it could be.
I’m not qualified to diagnose that kind of thing and certainly I would not expect anyone to on something like an internet forum or blog comment string. It’s worth evaluation though.
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June 29th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I’m afraid I agree with the young college student. “Psychic” abilities are very real. Clairvoyant and Clair audio behavior is factual not a form of mental illness. I guess you would believe that all prophets from the Judeo-Christian belief then…are mentally ill? after all Moses heard voices…did he not? What about the Virgin Mary? is that what you’re telling me? In which case the so called “Good Book” that so many people rely on is a bunch of BS and should be tossed into the trash. Just because your science books cannot ‘explain’ away certain mental behaviors does not mean it’s correct to classify them all as a functioning mental cases! Yes, I will agree that exploiting children for gain is not the right thing to do and parents do have an obligation to take care of their children. BUT chastising parents for not getting so called help for what you believe is their mentally questionable children is a lot of crap also.
All people are born with certain abilities, you see it every day in children…people like yourself…often chalk it up to an active imagination, and yes some are, but there are instances these children are seeing and hearing things that once a person reaches adulthood no longer can (those adults that can…usually referred to as psychics, are just those who didn’t allow the constrains of so called “normal” behavior deny them their abilities). I’m quite sure you’re the same type of mind that believes once your dead you’re dead and no belief in an after life or recincarnation. Sad isn’t it?!
Maybe people should be less narrow minded and more open to concepts that are beyond their control.
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June 29th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
MTD said:
What you believe or don’t believe is of little consequence; what you can prove, on the other hand has some value. You simply asserting the existence of these phenomena is not evidence of anything but your own gullibility.
Disillusions and hallucinations however HAVE been well documented and proper explanations that are constant with the current body of what is known of human biology exist. the question becomes: why then should I believe you, or anyone else that claims psychic abilities?
As to the religious nonsense you alluded too, yes many of us DO think it all is a bunch of BS and should be tossed into the trash. You are coming to the wrong place if you think invoking Judeo-Christian beliefs is going to be seen as a sound argument.
Maybe you should put your feet back on the ground and realize that imagination is no substitute for the truth.
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June 29th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
My feet are firmly planted on the ground.
Just because you can’t believe in what you can’t see doesn’t make it any less real. I don’t subscribe to the “if you can’t prove it with science mentality” is all. People who live solely on their belief in Science and nothing else add little to the moral state of this world. I do not follow the Judeo Christian beliefs but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in a higher power or more accurately a universal consciousness. And it’s that Universal consciousness that I believe psychics tap in to.
It’s your very science that says when a butterfly flaps its tiny wings in one part of the world it affects weather in another, although it’s not something I can physically see happening…but none the less it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
You have a problem with the unexplained and trying to fit science into it to make it have an answer. Science cannot explain everything and that’s just the way life is!
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June 29th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
MTD said:
No, you are a deluded idiot. When ever somebody uses phrases like ‘your science’ and ’science cannot explain everything’ and confounds being able to see something with being able to prove it, it’s a good indication that intelligent discourse is impossible.
I will not engage you further.
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June 29th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
MTD said:
If that is the case then we need to throw away all we know about neurology and come up with some entirely different explanations for how the mind works and explanations for how consciousnesses could be intangable and still explain why Phinius Gauge had a major personality change. The entire body of our understanding points to the conclusion of “No ghost in this machine.”
Furthermore we have to throw away our entire understanding of biology, despite the fact that it has gotten us far and explained much it must all be wrong. The entire concept that life is a series of chemical reactions, generally simple on their own but combining into a complex biochemical system is entirely incomputable with the idea that life is in fact some kind of “life force” or energy or that consciousness arises from more than meat in the scull. If we are to assume that life has a force or energy to it then all we understand about evolution and developmental biology is wrong.
Furthermore, we then must assume there is some other kind of force or effect in the universe which conflicts with the standard model. We must assume that this force is like no other and cannot be detected by electromagnetic effects, mechanical, ionization and so on. We thus must assume that no instrument or chemical reaction is influenced by it because that would mean that it were measurable directly, which it apparently is not.
Now that we have thrown physics and biology and chemistry out the window, we need to ask how we can experience this in a measurable way. Due to the many many times it has been attempted we are left with only conclusion: This effect must have a mechanism which prevents it from working when it is to be measured. This presents other problems since the measurement can be taken later or compiled from observations – Thus causality is out the window right there, as is the very concept of time.
First it is not “my” science. It is universal and it is designed by its very nature to be independent of the individual.
Secondly, please don’t take a big crap on chaos theory. Clearly you don’t know what you’re talking about but the “butterfly effect” is a hypothetical that illustrates how a very complex interdependent system will tend to change over time based on even the smallest “seed” of a change. This is the basis for a lot of really important stuff like psuedorandom number generators, statistical predictions of probability, modeling of complex systems and searching for general high level patterns in systems which are fundamentally chaotic on a low level.
Don’t underestimate science. Science is good when you value actually understanding things the way they are. Science has been well ironed out and it has tools to look at things that can’t be measured directly. We call this “Statistics.” It has methods of preventing erroneous data from getting into things called “controls” and we have ways of confirming things called “repeatability” and a course filter for catching most of the BS called “peer review.”
Hell, I’m on the side that has Small Pox relegated to history books, has seen men walk on the moon, sends millions of people hurling through the air at near supersonic speeds with an extremely high degree of safety and has managed to date the universe, determine the fundamental components of all matter, map the surface of other planets and alike.
Generally the more we go exploring and discovering with science the more the paranormal crowed looks wrong. We went to the moon and checked it out. Turns out it’s not made of cheese nor is it the seat of all knowledge, a sign from Allah, the goddess of the night or anything like that. It’s a ball of rock. We also checked out mars. Turns out it’s not the god of war. Also it turns out infectious disease is not cause by bad energy or sins anything like that. It’s caused by pathogens. Once we figured that out, we started working on fighting it. We’re doing a damn good job too.. better than any prayers, crystals or magical potions ever did.
I make no apologies.
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July 6th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Chip Coffey is amazing. He helps those kids. He is a teacher. One of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. Great, great work.
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July 6th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Carolyne said:
Since when did the word ‘help’ become a synonym for ‘exploit’?
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July 6th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Carolyne said:
A teacher? What the hell does he teach? How to turn a child’s imagination into genuine adult insanity? The show is on tomorrow and I’ll have to Tivo it, but unless it’s 180 degrees different than the promos and website I’m just wondering how disgusted I’m going to be.
To the credit of Mr. Coffey, I am willing to entertain the thought that he isn’t actually in this for any evil or selfish reason. He may be a genuine certified nutball to the point that he doesn’t think he is doing anything wrong or can’t tell the difference.
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July 7th, 2008 at 11:15 am
What I do believe is that some people thrive on denouncing anything that does not fit into their narrowly, conceptualized world view. I also notice, that while denouncing all defense using any criteria, skeptics usually will be empirical in their own statements rather than be “open” to anything they do not understand. Why watch the show if you are that sickened by it? Change your channel…I’m sure Mother Angelica is in rerun. Maybe all you hyper-arroused fanatics will find some real child abuse in the world without needing to shake every tree.
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July 7th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Get off your high horse sweetheart, and consider this: we understand the workings of the universe better that you will ever, and it is full of more wonder than you could begin to imagine. You and your class of nitwit are a luxury that our class can afford to keep. You depend on people like us to keep you fed, keep you well, clothed, move you around, and entertain you, BECAUSE YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF DOING THESE THINGS FOR YOURSELF.
How dare you presume to judge us for the way we think?
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July 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Littlegirl said:
As I stated. The “narrow” world that would have to be thrown out completely to presume this is true would range from biology to the standard model of the universe – all things which are very well established and have mountains of empirical proof and which have served us well.
Yes, I understand what is happening very well, actually. All these effects can be totally explained easily by basic psychology, human perception of the world, illusions, common misconceptions, cultural myths, misunderstandings of science etc etc.
These have been looked over top to bottom bottom to top and side to side. There was a time when mainstream science even spent a large amount of effort looking into it. This came to an end in around the 1920’s – 1930’s after years of searching and finding only trickery. Still there are some who continue to investigate it and yet as far as solid evidence: zip, zilch, nada.
The only reasonable conclusion is that it is false.
If you disagree I know someone who has one million dollars for you!
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July 7th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I think that what we “know”about the universe is FAR from locked down. Simple science…..But then you seem to be overentitled to have your opinions validated, and you are a short step from the other narrow minds who will do just that.
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July 7th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
You seem to have just enough information to sound legitimately informed, but then that narrow “worldview” seems to trip you up. You come off sounding pompous.
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July 7th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
And you come off sounding like an deluded uneducated ignoramus, primarily because that is exactly what you are.
“Those that no-not and think that they know are fools, avoid them”
-The Sage
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July 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
You must think you are quite the Sage to know so much about so many things as well as your own apparent psychic ability to know what others are thinking and knowing. And here I thought you didn’t believe in psychic ability, yet here you are…trying to do readings. I think you are a hypocrite and you still sound self righteous. Well Horatio, I see your universe still remains a mystery to you.
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July 7th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Littlegirl said:
I make no claim to be a psychic. I’m not aware of the thoughts, background or knowledge of anyone else because I can look into their mind or listen to their thoughts. Rather, I can infer them, quite reliably, from their actions and words.
This is also how self-proclaimed psychics tend to work – in that context it’s called “cold reading”
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July 7th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Littlegirl said:
My worldview is not narrow – it is constrained by reality, however. If you want to say I have “just enough information to sound legitimately informed” I should warn you not to make such assumptions. I’m very well aware of all this crap and I’ve been in the circles that debunk this for some time. I’ve seen demonstrations, I’ve researched it independently.
When you see “investigators” walking around with gauss meters, geiger counters, RF field meters and so on – I happen to be very familiar with all of those but the big difference is that I acutally know how they work and what they indicate. Yes, I own them and I repair, calibrate and sell them too.
If you want to talk about the “Million Dollar Challenge” and how it’s so flawed and set up I can personally refute that because I’ve seen how it is administered and the lengths given to acomidate others. The two persons who are almost entirely responsible for taking applications are on my buddy list and their numbers are in my cell phone – I know them very very well.
You can tell me that James Randi said “I always have an out,” but I can tell you that is out of context. Not only did I read the original quote, but the issue was mentioned to me by Mr. Randi himself… while eating breakfast. He had some fruit and toast.. I had two donuts.
I’m very well acquainted with the person who helped expose “Ghost Hunters” for numerous fradulent or untrue reports. I’m also acquainted with the person behind Stop Sylvia Browne.
I’ve read books on magic and illusion – on how it has been investigated and debunked. I’ve see the “evidence” claimed and I happen to know enough about audio tapes and photography to see right through it.
I’ve also seen plenty of the attempts to predict things psychically and I’ve seen them being put to the test and failing. I’m acutely aware of the facts which involve this.
Believe me. You do not want to go toe-to-toe with me on knowledge of the “paranormal” – I will put you to shame so badly you’ll go running home crying to your imaginary friends.
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July 8th, 2008 at 11:19 am
What is interesting is the license the two of you take in making assumptions about other people and the offense you take when others make assumptions about you. The bully does not like being bullied in the school yard. The vehemence with which you attack any curiosity is borderline fanatic. This is not uncommon in anyone who needs to be right a badly as the two of you. Neither one of you knows my interest. I couldn’t care less about what you do or do not know about so called paranormal activities, it is the amount of negativity you put into your attacks. And BTW neither one of you is hard to provoke, as fanatics are usually very easy.
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July 8th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Littlegirl said:
The question then becomes why do you bother to come here and comment? It’s not like a cursory scan of this site doesn’t show that we are skeptics.
Littlegirl said:
In fact you came in swinging at us from the start; why then are you offended when we hit back? You expected to make us converts? The fact is dear, you are one of those that thrives on assumed persecution, and you got exactly what you came for.
As for having an open mind: the adage about not having a mind so open your brain falls out, has never been more applicable as it is in this case.
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July 8th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Do not assume I am offended….and, yes I did. And now that I have your attention…This is NOT about being a Skeptic or not. It is about the vitriol with which you demonstrate your skepticism. It is not necessary to a good dialogue, in fact, your anger only serves either character assasination or shutting people down. Then there is only room for your opinion, which I have to believe is the goal of this site. But don’t take this personally. Are you that afraid that your own brain will fall out? I am sure that it won’t.
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July 8th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Littlegirl said:
Well for one thing, I haven’t been provoked. You haven’t seen me provoked. You come in here and tell me that I make assumptions about others and that I only know enough to seem like I know it. However, you speak like you are the authority on what is real and not.
as far as me assuming that you don’t know much: fine prove me wrong. I’m inferring this based on your lack of understanding of things and the general probabilities demographically.
And yet you make a big deal and a big assumption yourself that I don’t know what I’m talking about and that I’m only knowledgable enough to sound like I understand this. You walk in here as if to tell me that I’m totally unaware of what is real and not and whether or not these things are based on facts or fiction etc etc etc.
Basically you’re saying I talk out my ass. Well that’s not the case.
The fact is that I actually have been a very active member of the empirical skepticism and science-promotion movement for some time and I’m very well educated on all these matters inside and out. So it seems you were not aware who you’re dealing with.
Now you tell me you don’t care what I know? It seems you’re in no position to educate me on psychics or the paranormal. However, if you are the authority on it, please tell me.. please let us all know.
Or you could just write off my information as something you “couldn’t care less about” without actually looking into it or following it up. That’s common: Dismiss what you don’t like because you don’t want to believe it. On the other hand, I’ve looked into claims of psychics, sensitives, ghosts and spooks and all that woo pretty well.
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July 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Write You off??? I think you are the expert in writing people off. I know nothing about paranormal anythings, but I sure know an inflated ego when I hear it And yes, you are provoked. You live to be provoked…it is how you know you are alive. Hurray for you looking into claims of spookey things and such. Big deal, so you get the big bad psychics off the street, and then? Trial by jury or just by You?
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July 9th, 2008 at 10:36 am
TROLL
Please don’t feed the troll
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July 9th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Troll? What troll? This is just someone not skilled enough to talk out their ass, it is just a pompous ass.
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July 9th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Littlegirl said:
I think it’s fine to write off ideas which are proven false or are just pain stupid and crazy. I actually think it should be encouraged not to buy into idiotic far-fetched hooey without any evidence.
There is no “trial by jury” in science because juries are about human judgment and science tries to avoid subjective human interpretation whenever possible and make things as direct, binary and factual as possible because that takes out the weakest link which is human subjectivity. The facts do not support any psychic claims and there are facts which offer alternative and reasonable explanations. You can call it a judgment call but it’s very one-sided. This is simply a reality issue.
Get the psychics off the street? I don’t want to prosecute them but I’d prefer people just learn enough to stop patronizing them. Yes, they do damage. As we see here, they exploit children and they take advantage of old ladies who desperately want to talk to their dead husband or whatever. They make money dishonestly, they increase ignorance and make people less aware of their world and they work against science. These are all things I’d like to see less of.
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August 8th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
The problem here is that there are people (skeptics of the paranormal) that pretend to be knowledgeable about science, when in fact they are not. TRUE scientists have long realized that science-itself is not a complete world-model. The quest for scientific understanding is important, but science can only prove what it has thus-far proven, and nothing more. REAL science is constantly evolving, and to dismiss something simply because science does not yet have a grasp on it is a ploy of a pseudo-intellectual with an agenda.
The two or three on this thread that are quick to conclude, without even having watched the program have just as deplorable of an agenda as any religious zealot group I know of. Pseudo-Skeptics are extremely detrimental to the world of TRUE science because they preach “evidence” while completely ignoring everything that comes in conflict with their a priori belief system… YES, their belief system. Science is increasingly diverging from it’s materialistic roots, but the pseudo-skeptics cling onto this BELIEF with white knuckles. They are usually angry people, quick to attack those that do not “fall in line” behind them and what they believe. THE ABSOLUTE NERVE AND HYPOCRISY of this group of zealots is EXACTLY what they preach against, yet they are a better example of it than almost any other group they aim their venom at.
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August 9th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Jeff said:
You are so full of baloney son, it’s coming out of your ears.
You have absolutely no idea how science works, none what so ever and your attempts to lecture us and accuse us of pretending to be knowledgeable about science is highly amusing. I have a degree in chemistry from McGill University one of the world’s leading institutions, and you are accusing me of pretending to be knowledgeable about science. What are your qualifications that you can make this statement?
You are right about one thing however, I do have a priori belief system; it is called the Scientific Method and that which does not fall into its schema is not by definition science. In that way of thinking I am not alone all real scientists think as I do.
REAL science recognizes its limits – Science only works with phenomena that can be independently verified by observations or empirical tests. This is a practical approach to the study of the natural world that has proven to be extremely conducive to the advancement of scientific knowledge. Since this approach does not rule out the existence of non-verifiable phenomena, any claims about the existence or non-existence of such phenomena are not scientific.
REAL science enriches our understanding of the universe – Science enhances our appreciation of ourselves and of the world around us. It does not attempt to supplant or displace other ways of knowing, such as philosophy, religion, or ethics. Knowledge gained through scientific investigation is transferable to other contexts, but science does not invalidate other modes of human inquiry.
REAL science approximates reality – Science is not an attempt to prove hypotheses, but rather an attempt to falsify them. The purpose of a scientifically derived model is to provide a conceptual framework that guides and directs future research. Although all foundational scientific models have been extensively tested, no scientific model should ever be viewed as absolute truth. All scientific models are tentative and subject to potential modification as new empirical evidence becomes available.
REAL science leads to new knowledge – Science is a systematic approach to developing physical, mathematical, and conceptual models for understanding the natural world. The best scientific models are those that have both explanatory and predictive power. In other words, scientific models should not only explain what is currently known, they should routinely generate new hypotheses for further research.
When, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness – Carl Sagan
Allez tremper dans la saloperie, Jeff
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August 9th, 2009 at 1:44 am
Jeff said:
It’s not a “world-model.” It’s a pursuit and a methodology by which we expand knowledge and understanding.
Jeff said:
What? “Can only prove what it has thus-far proven” That doesn’t make any sense. Science is continuously marching forward, discovering new things, refining our understanding and so on. Science proves new things all the time. It is now known, based on scientific observation and interpretation that there is a super-massive black hole in the center of our galaxy. This was not known 20 years ago.
Jeff said:
What the hell are you claiming is being clung to with white knuckles? There’s no proof or even solid evidence that there is anything to these claims. With something like this, which would imply forces and physiology beyond that which our well tested models and theory contain, and for which there have been numerous attempts at finding, it is entirely legitimate to presume it false and put the burden of proof on those who claim otherwise.
You just need to show something for this. You can even win one million dollars.
You have nothing. You have no shred of evidence. It’s not for lack of trying either. There have been serious research attempts to prove afterlife communications going all the way back to the mid to late 1800’s. It was taken seriously and well funded up to around the 1920’s. There was a small revival in the 1970’s. Even since then, there have been independent groups searching.
What do you have? Zip. Nada. Zilch.
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November 24th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Just a short note, for those of you who say this is child abuse, is wrong. Knowing children who experience the afterlife communications, and who are basically labelled as nuts or are eventually given medication for mental health, I think this show, proves that these children are normal, who was just given a gift from god. Having a child, wake up at night screaming that the same lady comes back to them, is hard to deal with, because at first you do not know how to handle it. This is not something new, this has been around for many many years. Children have been experiencing this for years. It is just now that they have a show, working with these kids on national television, that peoople want to make negative comments. Chip Coffey is doing a great job helping these children, who would otherwise go through life believing they are different. These children need help.
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November 24th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Dee said:
If young children say that they see ghosts or can experience paranormal phenomena, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re crazy. Children have vivid imaginations and like to pretend things and make up stories. I would get worried if they kept it up by age 12 or so, or if they started taking it very seriously.
The one thing that I think is child abuse (or borders on it) is when parents take these stories so seriously and hold onto them so long that they reenforce the child’s imagination beyond normal fun and games and start to make it hard for the child to understand reality versus fantasy. There’s a difference between pretending there is a tooth fairy and actually taking it seriously, especially if you keep doing it as the kid ages.
That is going to cause a world of mental problems, if anything does. It’s not normal or healthy.
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