Mindful Reading

I am of the opinion that all psychics are frauds. Some of them seem to believe their own bull but that doesn't mean it's not bull. It just means they believe it.

Over the years, I've encountered a range of believers. I had (very briefly…for about three weeks) a girl friend who not only believed in psychics but she believed in all psychics. Anyone who called themselves that could sense the future, chat with dead relatives, etc. If they had a home in a bad neighborhood with a neon sign out front that said PSYCHIC and gave a phone number, they were surely infallible. I don't believe every person out there who calls themselves a plumber can actually fix my toilet but she believed in every self-proclaimed psychic. I used to ask her, "If they're so good, why do they have to give you their phone number? Shouldn't they just know when you're coming by for a reading?"

I've also encountered people who say, "I don't believe in psychics," and then there's a pause and they cautiously add, "Although my Aunt Helen sometimes knew things she couldn't have known about…" I can't debunk the Aunt Helens from afar but I do think there's always an explanation — usually either coincidence or a case of the onlooker wanting so badly to believe that they mentally rearrange the evidence.

Anyway, here's a news report on how one family of alleged psychics is pleading guilty to cheating their clients out of some $25 million. Wish we saw more of this.