(May 30, 2015 at 6:16 am)robvalue Wrote: Some people defend these con men by saying they really do believe they have powers to be psychic, to talk to the dead or whatever.
I don't think so, in general at least. If they did, they'd have no problem being part of a scientific study. If they really do believe it, they have lost their mind.
I don't understand the difference between this kind of bullshit and straight up fraud. You're selling a service you know you can't actually deliver, but you think you can convince people they are receiving anyway. The fact that mediums especially prey on the bereaved makes me absolutely sick.
It is a mix. Some are just frauds, plain and simple. Some seem to believe that they have some mysterious power, but that it is not completely reliable, so it can fail tests. Some probably believe some of their bullshit, while also adding some fraud to what they are doing, to make it more profitable.
I think it should all be illegal and regarded as fraud, unless and until someone can properly prove that they actually have the powers that they claim. In other words, until someone is able to win the million dollars from James Randi, it should just be illegal and people should be punished for fraud.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
