I would like to sollicit the help of other readers in a little experiment.
The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) does regular, scientific tests of psychics and regularly demonstrates that they have no particular powers beyond the normal human power to put a few clues together and to come up with reasonable predictions about the future. Now, while I am NOT a member of CSICOP or a spokesperson for them, I support their activities and I like to run my own research. For this reason, I am asking the readers for some input from their own experience.
Now, we all make predictions, every day. I predict that my air conitioner will come in handy sometime in the next few months. I predict that everyone reading this message will have a bowel movement sometime in the next 72 hours. I predict you will receive something pleasant (like a postcard from a friend) and something unpleasant (if only a bill) in the mail in the next few months.
One of the tricks psychics use in their fraud is to make ordinary predictions of things that are very likely to happen but that sound strange and unusual. A friend of mine (whom I regard as normall intelligent and well-educated) said that a psychic once predicted things she sould not possibly have known. As an example, he said she had predicted he would live in a city with green roofs. In fact, he lives in Ottawa, Canada, where the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court and many other public buildings have green copper roofs.
But then I got to thinking: Don’t most major cities in Canada and the USA have major landmark buildings with green copper roofs? The Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, for example? Then again, green is a very popular colour for asphalt shingles. As I look out my window right now I can see green asphalt shingles out of two sides of my condo.
So here is my question to readers. Where do you live, and how comon are green roofs, either on the famous landmark buildings in your home town, or else on roofs of orinary dwelings near where you live?
Thank you for that contribution and the picture jjimm. I imagine historic towns like Oxford may have an extra abundant supply of green roofs, but I suspect that just about every city in the world (or at leat the West) has a significant number of highly-visible greeen-roofed buildings. I am interested to hear what the others have to say. By the way, here is another one psychics use: You will be betrayed by someone close to you. Really? Since betrayal consists of abusing the trust, love and confidence of another to do them harm, how likely is it that you could be betrayed by someone who is NOT close to you? A stranger may mug me and steal my wallet, but nobody can say he betrayd me.
No need to apologize jjimm. I will accept info from any city, really, not just Canada and USA. The point I am making is that so-called psychics have ways of making “amazing predictions” that, when you really anaylze them, are about as amazing as my predicting that you will live in a city with buildings!
You might be interested to know that I have a sister who nakes a lot of money as a tea-leaf reader. She is somewhaqt of a local celebrity. I believe it is all hokum! Or as I often say, there is a potential customer for my sister’s services born every 60 seconds!
I don’t think I’ve seen, or rather noticed a green roof in Los Angeles. But it’s not something I think I would normally notice. And in fact, I think it’s extremely likely there are some.
So I’m going to start noticing for a few days and get back to you.
The house across the street has a green shingled roof, and the guy next door has a copper plate roof that he had restored last year, so it is not green anymore…geez this is giving me the “willies” I will go hide under my bed now.
Well, Black Train Song used to, but you’d have to check with him now.
Roanoke does not have a particularly notable number of green roofs, but then again, not too many Canadians move here, either. Hmm…immigration rates of U.S. localities by prominent roof color; sounds like a comparison just waiting for statistical analysis. Think I could get a grant for this?
