# Psychics are phony, Mr. Police Officer, in case you didn't know. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 15, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779 "2006-04-15T13:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/101 "2017-11-22T06:43:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Next up - do highway traffic signs give good relationship advice? Can they play the bagpipes? What I really want to do is direct. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/102 "2017-11-22T15:51:37Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > If Ohioman is psychic, why didn’t he see in advance how poorly joining this discussion would go for him? Even with me trying to warn him off! ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/103 "2017-11-22T17:03:59Z")
Based on some replies to my post, I’d like to clarify that I don’t believe in psychics. I was trying to point out that there are much better ways for them to use their ‘gifts’ to improve not only others lives but their own. Plus, that comment on the NSA/CIA capturing those folks is right on also if such powers were real, which, once, again, I don’t believe is true. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/104 "2017-11-23T03:07:55Z")
Let me see proof. Then, I might be willing to reexamine my beliefs. In the meantime, Dude, you do not have psychic “abilities”. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/105 "2017-11-23T05:26:09Z")
I haven’t read the old shit, but **Ohio** , if you’re still reading this - in a possible sulk - is there any way you can return to have a mature discussion about Dionne Warwick’s old Psychic Network? I have a VHS “library” of about ten C-90 tapes of her show (with maybe the odd “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” episode mixed in:smack:) and was wondering if you have gleaned any spiritual fodder (within a legal framework, that is) from Her. I guess I’m too lazy to look up “witnessing” but I’ve seen it bandied about on this site, and so was also wondering if your psychic methods have anything to do with that, and if we could benefit from a mutually-shared witnessing into your spiritual fodder, pending further “reaching out” from you. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/106 "2017-11-23T15:01:11Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > What this article proved is that peer reviewed studies aren’t nearly as reliable as once believed. This means we must depend on testimonials like those of **Ohioman** , because, y’know, science was wrong before. If **Ohioman** does not return to this thread, it proves he was jailed for Knowing Too Much and thus psychic powers are real. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/107 "2017-11-23T18:34:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > This means we must depend on testimonials like those of **Ohioman** , because, y’know, science was wrong before. > > If **Ohioman** does not return to this thread, it proves he was jailed for Knowing Too Much and thus psychic powers are real. That was not my point. There is some science that says esp exists. Other sciece has failed to replicate their findings. The field is still being explored. The intelligent view of these phenomena is agnosticism because at this point no one knows. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/108 "2017-11-23T18:40:54Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > That was not my point. **There is some science that says esp exists.** Other sciece has failed to replicate their findings.The field is still being explored. The intelligent view of these phenomena is agnosticism because at this point no one knows. links? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/109 "2017-11-23T18:49:42Z")
_Pseudo_science, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/110 "2017-11-23T19:05:41Z")
So, did they ever find this guy? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/111 "2017-11-23T19:10:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Next up - do highway traffic signs give good relationship advice? Can they play the bagpipes? Gosh I liked that movie… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/112 "2017-11-23T21:27:35Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > There is some science that says esp exists. Show it to us. Show us this evidence. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/113 "2017-11-23T22:35:28Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Show it to us. Show us this evidence. Take off the foil hat. Those mind control waves are actually telepathy. ---
**Author:** ![Lickety\_Split\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lickety\_Split\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety_Split_1)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/114 "2017-11-23T23:37:22Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > A year ago, the Centre County, Pennsylvania District Attorney, Ray Gricar, inexplicably disappeared. The day after he disappeared they found his car, and then later his laptop washed up on the shores of the Susquehanna River, too damaged to give them any clues as to his whereabouts. The case is still open, and the trail is cold. Nobody has any idea what happened. > > So today, in order to try to break something loose, the local newspaper printed an update on the situation. There’s not much to tell, except for [this](http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1145092822204570.xml&coll=1&thispage=2): > > So much for “just the facts”. The fact is that psychics are phony. There has never, to my knowledge, been a psychic who has demonstrated that their “skills” are anything but parlor tricks, lucky guesses, and shots in the dark. Hell, if I made a million guesses in a year like Jeane Dixon I’d be close on one or two of them too, and everybody would be amazed at my “psychic insight”. > > She led the cops to a building. Wow, how amazing. And wow, she had never been there before. Oh, and she won’t reveal what it is. I can guess why. It’s because she got the description and address from the Internet. I’ve never been to France, but I can tell you what the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower look like. I can also tell you where they are. Does that make me a psychic? > > A police officer that consults a psychic is a moron. They are only right in the movies. This continued use of pseudo-scientific nonsense does nothing but continue to validate the loony brigade’s belief in the “supernatural”. And this particular loony is getting her own TV show. :rolleyes: > > Maybe she can ask Ms. Cleo how her TV show is going to do. No, wait, let me take a shot at it. Her TV show will be quite successful initially, then it will fade in the ratings and finally get cancelled. Remember when it happens that I called it first, using my incredible psychic abilities. Or, perhaps, it could be that that’s the way it always happens, and careful scientific analysis bears that out. > > Either way, Mr. Police Officer, stop dealing with con men and charlatans. It gets you nowhere and gives them all sorts of street cred that they don’t deserve. Nice editorial. It’s a shame you are wrong. LOL check this out. I have more for you too, when you finish this. Hope this helps! > **[Meet the psychic who uses gift to solve FBI cold cases](https://nypost.com/2016/08/01/meet-the-psychic-who-uses-gift-to-solve-fbi-cold-cases/)** > > Troy Griffin saw a dear friend get into a car accident six years ago. Trouble is, it hadn’t happened — yet. “I told my friend Diana, ‘I’m concerned about you driving home,’ ” Griffin, 51, tells me.… ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/115 "2017-11-23T23:43:49Z")
I’m picturing a bumper-sticker: Anybody who thinks they have psychic abilities is welcome to PM me with what they think it says. If no one does, I will reveal it later. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/116 "2017-11-24T00:22:28Z")
> [@Lickety\_Split](#): > > Nice editorial. It’s a shame you are wrong. LOL > > check this out. I have more for you too, when you finish this. Hope this helps! > > [Meet the psychic who uses gift to solve FBI cold cases](https://nypost.com/2016/08/01/meet-the-psychic-who-uses-gift-to-solve-fbi-cold-cases/) Wow! A cheesy article written by an unquestioning reporter and filled with uncited and unsupported assertions is certainly enough to convince me! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/117 "2017-11-24T00:34:22Z")
> [@Lickety\_Split](#): > > Nice editorial. It’s a shame you are wrong. LOL > > check this out. I have more for you too, when you finish this. Hope this helps! > > [Meet the psychic who uses gift to solve FBI cold cases](https://nypost.com/2016/08/01/meet-the-psychic-who-uses-gift-to-solve-fbi-cold-cases/) 1. This thread was from over a decade ago. Nothing has changed since then. It’s still fake. 2. LOL is not a word. 3. Your article is about a scammer scamming people. There is no verifiable evidence that psychic abilities exist except for claims from scammers and support from the suckers who believe them. 4. Post as many articles as you like. If they are not peer-reviewed scientific articles they are nothing more than scammers scamming. 5. Your guy is charging $90 an hour for his services. I’ll tell you anything you want to hear for that price. Happy Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/118 "2017-11-24T00:45:05Z")
I disagree with the Airman on one thing. I have no doubt that John Edward was consciously deceiving people for money. Certainly a great deal of ‘psychics’ are. But, some genuinely believe they have paranormal abilities and are motivated by a genuine desire to help. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/119 "2017-11-24T01:46:10Z")
> [@Lickety\_Split](#): > > …when you finish this. Done. No actually I haven’t quite started it yet. How much money have you blown so far on that scrote-bag’s services? And where did Ohio go - I hope he wasn’t a phony.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lickety\_Split\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lickety\_Split\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety_Split_1)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779/120 "2017-11-24T04:19:37Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Wow! A cheesy article written by an unquestioning reporter and filled with uncited and unsupported assertions is certainly enough to convince me! How about this, then, “doc?” Or do you deny all TEN of these examples? [https://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/10-most-mysterious-crimes-solved-by-psychics/](https://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/10-most-mysterious-crimes-solved-by-psychics/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychics-are-phony-mr-police-officer-in-case-you-didnt-know/352779.md?page=7)