If you believe in Psychics
- Thread starter Swiggy
- Start date
That's a bit of a can of worms, really. The whole idea of psychics is a hot button issue in the magic industry. I'll answer as best I can from my perspective -
1) Not generally. If anything they fall under the category of mentalism. Generally speaking those who do psychic readings are not associated with the magic industry, and indeed will actively avoid association with magicians if at all possible. There are a few mentalists who still claim real powers but they are few and far between, and you're probably not going to hear about them on TV or magic forums.
2) There's nothing wrong with paid psychic readings. Sometimes they're just good fun, sometimes they provide a valuable service to someone who's going through a tough time. The "problem" most often cited in the magic industry when it comes to psychic readings is, in fact, predatory behavior. By that I mean people who use psychic readings to scam people out of as much money as possible. But that's a person who's preying on vulnerable people, not a problem with psychic readings in general - if it weren't "psychic readings" that person would have some other way to take advantage of people.
3) The best I can answer to this is that I've never seen evidence that convinces me of a "supernatural" ability. I don't think that what some psychics claim is outside the realm of possibility, though. What seems more likely to me is that some day we will have studied these phenomena enough that will understand what is actually going on, and then it'll stop being called psychic and instead be called science.
1) Not generally. If anything they fall under the category of mentalism. Generally speaking those who do psychic readings are not associated with the magic industry, and indeed will actively avoid association with magicians if at all possible. There are a few mentalists who still claim real powers but they are few and far between, and you're probably not going to hear about them on TV or magic forums.
2) There's nothing wrong with paid psychic readings. Sometimes they're just good fun, sometimes they provide a valuable service to someone who's going through a tough time. The "problem" most often cited in the magic industry when it comes to psychic readings is, in fact, predatory behavior. By that I mean people who use psychic readings to scam people out of as much money as possible. But that's a person who's preying on vulnerable people, not a problem with psychic readings in general - if it weren't "psychic readings" that person would have some other way to take advantage of people.
3) The best I can answer to this is that I've never seen evidence that convinces me of a "supernatural" ability. I don't think that what some psychics claim is outside the realm of possibility, though. What seems more likely to me is that some day we will have studied these phenomena enough that will understand what is actually going on, and then it'll stop being called psychic and instead be called science.
1. I agree with WitchDocIsIn. I've personally found if you get into Mentalism long enough you'll stumble into Cold Readings and once you go down that rabbit hole you'll discover the the stuff that borders on psychic readings.
2. The ethical line for this varies from person to person. For some it's completely ethical to give a reading as long as you're not claiming psychic ability. Some draw the line at taking private readings as those tend to be more concerning issues. Some just think readings of any kind as stepping over to the dark side. Some are completely fine giving psychic readings. I think it varies for everyone but again agreeing with above, preying on the vulnerable is the problem I hear cited most.
3. I believe in the supernatural. I believe in the unexplainable. I believe it's possible for someone to catch a glimpse of something or get a premonition not to go somewhere just before something terrible happens or the opposite just before something amazing happens. I don't believe in people that claim to harness this ability to use at will as long as you're paying them.
2. The ethical line for this varies from person to person. For some it's completely ethical to give a reading as long as you're not claiming psychic ability. Some draw the line at taking private readings as those tend to be more concerning issues. Some just think readings of any kind as stepping over to the dark side. Some are completely fine giving psychic readings. I think it varies for everyone but again agreeing with above, preying on the vulnerable is the problem I hear cited most.
3. I believe in the supernatural. I believe in the unexplainable. I believe it's possible for someone to catch a glimpse of something or get a premonition not to go somewhere just before something terrible happens or the opposite just before something amazing happens. I don't believe in people that claim to harness this ability to use at will as long as you're paying them.
