# Mock psychics
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 23, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202 "2005-08-23T00:50:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/1 "2005-08-23T00:50:58Z")
On the local radio station today they had one of those self-proclaimed psychics who would communicate with dead relatives and friends. He was taking a lot of call-ins and telling people things like “Grandma says you can stop looking for her lost item”,“Dad want’s you to follow through with that idea you had”,“Grandpa says he always loved you” etc. etc. The same kind of stuff you hear on that John Edwards show. The callers of course were all amazed by what he knew. Crying and awe followed.
While I believe this to be bunk, like most people, and is general observations made by the guy and suggestive questioning to lead the caller into an agreeable manner my question is this:
Has anyone ever taken the time to learn how to be a good ‘mock’ psychic using these methods, used the methods to convince someone they were pshychic and talking to the dead, only to reveal later that it was all a simple trick?
I would have loved for that pshychic guy to have taken those 10 calls this morning and convinced those people he was receiving messages from the dead, only to at the end of his segment reveal that it was all a trick and go through each call telling how he led each caller down a specific path.
Do you know anyone that has done this?
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### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/2 "2005-08-23T01:05:40Z")
> [@Hampshire](#):
>
> Do you know anyone that has done this?
Almost all of them have done this, including [Randi](http://www.randi.org/library/coldreading/index.html).
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### Author:  [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/3 "2005-08-23T13:18:23Z")
Except that the OP asked for **good** mock psychics, and Randi’s attempts at cold reading have not been done particularly skillfully.
[http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/keen/randi.htm#pre](http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/keen/randi.htm#pre)
If you want to see a good magician that actually did it well, check out Derren Brown’s mock seance.
> **[Derren Brown: Séance (TV Special 2004) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413946/)**
>
> Derren Brown: Séance: Directed by Stefan Stuckert. With Derren Brown. The master of illusion hosts a one-off special which assembles 12 members of the public to re-create a traditional séance.
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### Author:  [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/4 "2005-08-23T17:21:13Z")
Exactly - Derren Brown is an excellent example of someone who states flatout that he has no psychic ability, but is able to convince people that he is. The man is amazing, and highly entertaining to watch. He had a show called “Messiah” in which he approached four or five “professional” psychics, with the intention of convincing them - the psychics themselves - that he was the real deal. One was a remote reading case, another a healing-by-hands affair, as well as a John Edwards style reading, etc. In every case, he was able to convince the people that he was genuinely gifted with psychic abilities.
And in one case, he was able to “convert” die hard atheists into believers. (There was a disclaimer at the end of the segment that said everyone was “restored” to their original beliefs.)
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### Author:  [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/5 "2005-08-23T19:16:25Z")
Quibble:
John Edward **s** was the Democratic candidate for Vice President in last year’s election, among other things. AFAIK, he never did psychic readings or anything like that.
John Edward is a supposed psychic and medium.
Carry on.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/6 "2005-08-23T19:51:53Z")
“I’ll take _Fun Ways To Pass The Time_ for $200, Alex.”
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### Author:  [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/7 "2005-08-23T20:29:45Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#):
>
> Quibble:
>
> John Edward is a supposed psychic and medium.
>
> Carry on.
But while only a _supposed_ psychic and medium, he is _definitely_ [the biggest douche in the universe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Biggest_Douche_in_the_Universe). 🙂
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/8 "2005-08-23T20:33:48Z")
> [@SNenc](#):
>
Beat me by _that much!_
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### Author:  [@Zog\_10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zog_10)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/9 "2005-08-23T20:39:46Z")
For some reason my brain keeps seeing the title of this thread as “Mock _Physics_” - and I keep reading it to see why people are making up their own laws of motion.
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/10 "2005-08-23T22:03:22Z")
> [@Zog\_10](#):
>
> For some reason my brain keeps seeing the title of this thread as “Mock _Physics_” - and I keep reading it to see why people are making up their own laws of motion.
/signed
I had to reread the title after hitting the preview…
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### Author:  [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/11 "2005-08-23T22:25:32Z")
Hey, can I be a mock physicist? The idea of making up my own laws of motion really appeal to me. 😉
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mock-psychics/318202/12 "2005-08-23T22:47:39Z")
The Dope’s own **Ianzin** is a mentalist. He’s written an SDSAB collumn, and a book.