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GazzBut
Refraction

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Strange experience on the tube
#14310429 - 04/18/11 04:09 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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This weekend I was catching the tube to get to the train station on my way to meet my brother to go and watch football. I was sitting waiting for the tube to leave when a woman sat down next to me. She made some comment about not thinking she was going to make it, I wasn't really sure who she was directing it at so carried on reading. A couple of minutes later she turned and asked me where I was going and we started chatting. This in itself can be regarded as a strange experience because random conversations on the tube are rarer than an intelligent politician. During the conversation she asked me what I did for a living so once I had told her I inquired as to her line of work, She told me she was a psychic. I probably gave a semi-patronising reflex smile and asked a few questions out of politeness. As we were chatting she asked me if I had lost a father figure in my life, which I had as I lost my dad when I was 18 but as Im 37 the chances of this being correct are fairly high so I was not really impressed. Then she carried on to ask me if I wore my father's watch or he had given me a watch. This was a bit more interesting as shortly before he died my father had indeed given me a gold watch for my 18th birthday and I have kept it ever since. Then she said he was called John or Bill. He was called John, a pretty common name but she did get it first time. After that she said he was stood with an old woman and asked who it might be. I said I wasn't sure, maybe his mother? At this point she told me the woman looked really old and she physically leant forward in her seat pulling her shoulders up and hunching over, This did take me by surprise as my gran had suffered from osteoporosis and as a result had to wear a back support and had curvature of the spine. She then mentioned a connection to Scotland but this didnt mean anything to me, although later when telling my mother the story she told me my Gran actually had a lot of family from Scotland. Shortly after that I got off the tube. Definitely the strangest 20 minute tube ride I have had in my time in London.
Not really sure what to make of it. Cold reading may explain this but straight after I watched a video where Derren Brown explained cold reading to Richard Dawkins and none of his explanations for the techniques used really seemed to account for everything this woman had told me.
So what do we think? genuine psychic or con artist who does it for fun not money to random people on the tube? I couldn't say with any certainty but Im glad to have bumped into her, she seemed like a really nice woman and she definitely brightened my day.
This isn't the first time I have bumped into random people who have said things to me which seemed like they were reading my mind but I have never meet anyone who claimed they were talking to the dead.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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OrgoneConclusion
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14310452 - 04/18/11 04:23 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Why John or Bill? If she is getting the information from your father, does he think his name might be Bill? Would a spirit guide also guess? If she is reading your mind, are you confused about your father's name? Of course not. Obviously the answer is to double the chances of a hit. ALso if your father had a different name with a J or B such as James or Bob, then she would also go with that.
As to her lead in about a father figure, well the answer to that is obvious as you already pointed out.
A watch is a quite ordinary gift among family. If you were wearing it so as to be visible, the age of it (non-digital, wear, etc) might also provide clues.
Connection to Scotland is so vague as to be meaningless, and seeing as how you live relatively close by in the same fairly small island...
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mikehauncho


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Post deleted by mikehaunchoReason for deletion: LE
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johnm214


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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14310530 - 04/18/11 05:55 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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It sounds quite interesting as a story, but confirmation bias inherently trends our recollection to the interesting aspects of the encounter, rather than the mundane. When there isn't a methodology that ensures the collection of all accurate data, the recollection tends to misinterpret what happened and to skew the results.
For example: I imagine she indeed did say, ask, much more than these few things, correct? Can you remember what else she said that she was incorrect about?
Additionally: as you suggest, several of the things she suggested where not particularly difficult to guess. I'm guessing you volunteered after her correct guess at your father's death that he died when you were a teenager, 18? If you mentioned this, then it would make sense to guess that he might have died when his mother was still alive: women tend to live slightly longer than men, and if he died when you were 18, his mother might only have been 70 or less at his time of death. The stereotypical older woman indeed suffers osteoporosis and artheritis, and back problems are the most obvious signs of these.
Sounds like a very interesting encounter, but certainly nothing convincing.
(and honestly, how many people riding the Tube don't have someone from Scotland in their family?)
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Simms
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: mikehauncho]
#14310544 - 04/18/11 06:06 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
mikehauncho said: Cold reading, without a doubt
^And this is a guess.
Guesses can never be without a doubt. To know for certain, you would have to know what this woman is thinking and even beyond that, as she may translate her actions into false belief.
Your comment is absolutely worthless.
"I say that woman was a macarony sauce, without a doubt."
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Quote:
Why John or Bill? If she is getting the information from your father, does he think his name might be Bill?
I agree but I didnt get a chance to quiz her as I had to get off. Maybe she would say that its not like having a normal conversation with somebody to explain the ambiguity? If there is any truth to it it then surely it would have to be a totally different mode of perception and not like having a simple phone call where the transmission is perfectly clear. Perhaps it would be closer to listening to a slightly detuned radio sliding between a couple of different frequencies?
Quote:
A watch is a quite ordinary gift among family. If you were wearing it so as to be visible, the age of it (non-digital, wear, etc) might also provide clues.
Also true but I can think of many other items that family members give to each other. I dont wear the watch, havent done for years.
Quote:
Connection to Scotland is so vague as to be meaningless, and seeing as how you live relatively close by in the same fairly small island...
If she had said Wales, which is closer, it wouldnt have meant anything but Scotland did in fact have some relevance.
Im not saying I totally disagree with you but I dont think you have said enough to prove she wasnt in fact doing just what she said she was doing. I remain unconvinced either way but open to both explanations.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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Noteworthy
Sophyphile


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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14310734 - 04/18/11 07:41 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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i think johns question is pertinent: what else did she say? how many failures did she make?
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: johnm214]
#14310757 - 04/18/11 07:48 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
For example: I imagine she indeed did say, ask, much more than these few things, correct? Can you remember what else she said that she was incorrect about?
Well before we got around to how she made a living we had mainly chatted about the places she had travelled to and museums in London (She was en route to the British museum) We talked about technology a little and I gave her a bit of my Kurzweil techno future spiel Once she had said she was psychic but before she launched into her "reading" we talked about how selfishness and greed are the main problems in the world right now and how locked in and closed off alot of people seem. In terms of the "reading" she mentioned the name Ann in connection with my Gran which means nothing as far as I can tell but there's alot I dont know about that part of the family. She mentioned nieces and nephews of which I have 6 but she didnt give a number so that was vague. She also said I would be in the music business in some form in the next two years and however much I would like that to be true it seems unlikely but god damn I sure hope she was right about that!
Quote:
and honestly, how many people riding the Tube don't have someone from Scotland in their family?
The population of London is 7mil+ and Scotland is just over 5mil so I dont think it would be even close to 50% but Im no statistician.
The interesting thing for me was that although in isolation each "hit" can be explained away when you combine them altogether the odds of being that precise must begin to climb very high I would imagine. At the same time she didnt say anything that was definitely wrong.
Also alot of cold readers start with an audience and give it the old "oh I can sense a Jeremy coming through...does that mean anything to anyone" or if they do it professionally it could be quite easy to get some prior knowledge about their client once they had booked their appointment but this lady just sat down next to me on a random tube train!
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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Diploid
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14310827 - 04/18/11 08:12 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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she asked me what I did for a living
A psychic ASKED you what you did for a living. Anyone else see a problem with this? Hello?
-------------------- Republican Values: 1) You can't get married to your spouse who is the same sex as you. 2) You can't have an abortion no matter how much you don't want a child. 3) You can't have a certain plant in your possession or you'll get locked up with a rapist and a murderer. 4) We need a smaller, less-intrusive government.
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: mikehauncho]
#14310837 - 04/18/11 08:14 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Cold reading, without a doubt
Please explain your certitude. As I say I suspected this and I am familiar with the technique and aware that it works but like I mentioned, I watched Derren Brown give an explanation of various techniques straight after this happened but none of the ones he mentioned really explained away what this lady said.
Do you have much knowledge in this area? What techniques of cold reading would have had to have been employed here?
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: Diploid]
#14310852 - 04/18/11 08:19 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
A psychic ASKED you what you did for a living. Anyone else see a problem with this? Hello?
I dont think any psychic claims to have omnipotent knowledege at their finger tips do they? Maybe she talks to some people and picks up nothing? I dont know for sure but what is more pertinent is that you don't either.
I do love watching the so called skeptics in this forum. Such free thinkers but their responses are so easy to predict as they cling to their own cherished unproven beliefs with as much zeal as those they love to mock 
Once again, for the record I dont know what happened here. I remain open to all explanations.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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Noteworthy
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: Diploid]
#14311083 - 04/18/11 09:31 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Diploid said: she asked me what I did for a living
A psychic ASKED you what you did for a living. Anyone else see a problem with this? Hello?
even if psychics existed, don't you think theyd need some sort of information processing? I mean, im not defending the idea as true, I just think that if humans were psychic, they would necessarily need some sort of details to help get onto some 'wavelength' or else they would be overwhealmed by all the 'psychic information' everywhere
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story


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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14313785 - 04/18/11 08:44 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
GazzBut said:
Quote:
A psychic ASKED you what you did for a living. Anyone else see a problem with this? Hello?
I dont think any psychic claims to have omnipotent knowledege at their finger tips do they? Maybe she talks to some people and picks up nothing? I dont know for sure but what is more pertinent is that you don't either.
I do love watching the so called skeptics in this forum. Such free thinkers but their responses are so easy to predict as they cling to their own cherished unproven beliefs with as much zeal as those they love to mock 
Once again, for the record I dont know what happened here. I remain open to all explanations.
Did she ask for money? Did she ask to be added to your will? Or did she merely enter and exit your life and leave an impression on you?
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
Edited by LunarEclipse (04/18/11 08:47 PM)
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: LunarEclipse]
#14315359 - 04/19/11 01:31 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Did she ask for money? Did she ask to be added to your will? Or did she merely enter and exit your life and leave an impression on you?
No. No. Yes.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story


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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14315713 - 04/19/11 05:02 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
GazzBut said:
Quote:
Did she ask for money? Did she ask to be added to your will? Or did she merely enter and exit your life and leave an impression on you?
No. No. Yes.
Would it help you appreciate the magic more if you knew how it was done?
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: LunarEclipse]
#14316030 - 04/19/11 08:19 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Yes indeed. I like to know whats going on.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14321565 - 04/20/11 04:37 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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The strangest thing was that she said to me at random "You do know UFOs exist dont you?" To which I smiled noncomitally, but then on the return train journey on Sunday while taking pictues of a very peculiar sunset I inadvertently snapped a UFO in 6 different images...how weird is that huh?
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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OrgoneConclusion
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14321641 - 04/20/11 06:11 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Objects exists that people are unable to identify? Wow, how totally unamazing.
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Can you please do a post explaining what life is like without any sense of wonder and joy? I dont ever want to feel like that but im curious to find out what its like.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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MushroomTrip
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14321857 - 04/20/11 08:00 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
GazzBut said: Such free thinkers but their responses are so easy to predict
Dood, you must be a psychic yourself. Go have yourself tested.
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   All this time I've loved you And never known your face All this time I've missed you And searched this human race Here is true peace Here my heart knows calm Safe in your soul Bathed in your sighs
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OrgoneConclusion
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14322247 - 04/20/11 10:05 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
GazzBut said: Can you please do a post explaining what life is like without any sense of wonder and joy? I dont ever want to feel like that but im curious to find out what its like.
Going for the Non-Sequitur Award?
Why should I be amazed at people's ignorance when it is such a common occurrence as to be witnessed hundreds of times every single day?
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NetDiver
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: Noteworthy]
#14322422 - 04/20/11 10:47 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Noteworthy said: i think johns question is pertinent: what else did she say? how many failures did she make?
This still hasn't been answered.
EDIT: Yes it was. Soudns like cold reading to me though. Why would a psychic guess names completely unrelated to the people if they actually were getting supernatural knowledge?
Edited by NetDiver (04/20/11 10:57 AM)
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OrgoneConclusion
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: NetDiver]
#14322433 - 04/20/11 10:49 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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You are just trying to kill the mystery - you bastard!
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story


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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14324080 - 04/20/11 05:18 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
GazzBut said: Yes indeed. I like to know whats going on.
Then you are indeed ready for the next step. Watch this...
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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GazzBut
Refraction

Registered: 10/15/02
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Quote:
Why should I be amazed at people's ignorance when it is such a common occurrence as to be witnessed hundreds of times every single day?
It must be tough knowing you are right about absolutely everything, have it all worked out but are surrounded by idiots the whole time. How do you do it man? I take my metaphysical hat off and doff it humbly in your direction.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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OrgoneConclusion
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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: GazzBut]
#14326170 - 04/21/11 02:28 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Somehow I knew you would be unable/unwilling to answer a simple request - and instead would veer off into a strawman.
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GazzBut
Refraction

Registered: 10/15/02
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What request?
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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GazzBut
Refraction

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Re: Strange experience on the tube [Re: LunarEclipse]
#14326492 - 04/21/11 06:00 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thanks for the link...always hard to judge these sort of things but I will take a look.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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