Why do people go and see psychics? What is the point in them? Do people really think they are genuine?

Question

What I mean is, they 'proove' that they are genuine by telling you about your past, which is a waste of time because you already know about your own past.

Then they tell you about what's going to happen in your future. Why do you need to know that when you're going to find out sooner or later anyway?

Do people honestly believe what they are saying? I've seen several psychics out of curiousity and because I've been convinced to go by other friends. So far I have found them to be a load of rubbish. Can anyone convince me otherwise??

Answer 1

Some people really believe in psychics. I personally believe that they are just seeking answers to questions that they cannot answer for themselves. Lets face it, if people were out there that could tell the future and there was any basis for fact in it, the governments would have them hard at work.
Do I believe, not at all.can be freaky stuff though. many want to believe.

Answer 2

People often feel the need to know what's coming. Many "psychics" are just good armchair psychologists; they know how to "read" people and get information from them without the person in question knowing that they give it. People today are often basically lonely and frightened of the future; a listening ear that seems sympathetic is welcome and they will tell all, unaware that they may be in the hands of a con artist.
Some "psychics" may be convinced themselves that they have a gift; however at least where I live, it's all about money. They keep people coming back and back and back, and the prices get higher and higher as the client gets addicted to the "help" they get. Phone psychics are the ones that really get to me; the longer they keep the person on the phone, the more $3 a minute units they pile up on those wonderful "special" numbers.
Some people believe what they want or need to believe; however having seen a hidden camera report in which no less than 4 well-known "psychics" were offered a photgraph of a person who was supposedly dead and had hidden or "lost" a will or inheritance, not one of them was able to say, "Hey, this photo is of a living person." The photo was actually of the janitor of the television studio.
The point of most of these people is to make money from the sad, lonely and unwary who need something or someone to believe in.

Answer 3

They are a load of rubbish. Go with your own solid common sense about this.

It's absolutely remarkable how many people are impressed when a "psychic" predicts the _past_. If I said to you "I predicted Hurricane Katrina and the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and that there'd be a new twist to the JonBenet Ramsey case this year", would you be impressed? Despite the fact that _those things already occurred_?

Wouldn't you think to ask me for a specific prediction about the future? Do you know what you get when you point that out to psychic believers? MORE DAMNED STORIES ABOUT PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE PAST. They'll tell you "Once I went to a psychic who predicted X, and X actually happened!". Well, big deal - give us a specific prediction _about the future_. And they can't do it, and they get frustrated that you keep asking for one.

Why are predictions about the past worthless? Well, besides the obvious , there's this: Suppose I made 500 specific predictions about things that have not yet happened. Suppose then I wait an appropriate amount of time, then look them over, and pick out the ones that have come true. Suppose I got 10 of them, and wave those 10 around as evidence of my "psychic power".

If you're not thinking "Big frickin' deal", you oughta be.

What counts is having _one_ specific prediction about _something that hasn't happened yet_, and having that one prediction come true. Then if it does, doing it again. But in each case there has to be just one prediction tested, and it has to be revealed _beforehand_.

Anyone can look good if they're allowed to throw out their mistakes. Imagine if baseball players worked like psychics - "Hey, I'm batting a perfect 1.000: I got 20 hits this year!" (and don't ask me how many times I came to bat).

Now, what about the psychics themselves? Many are certainly frauds, but I'll bet that the neighborhood psychic that you go to see honestly believes that she has some special power. Those psychics are just people who are particularly out-of-touch with themselves. Their "power" is really their ability to be unaware of their own lack of power, to ignore their own failings.

We often say (as did a respondent above) that psychics are just "good armchair psychologists". That may have something to do with it, but relatively little compared with the importance of being as non-self-reflective as possible. The most important characteristic for a (non-fraudulent) psychic is a lack of self-awareness. If she's not burdened with self-awareness, she can be a successful psychic no matter how wildly wrong her performance, and she doesn't need to be a good psychologist. Again, it's not as though her clientele is going to disappear if she doesn't get things right.

Answer 4

Some people like to believe as it give them hope or faith that something is waiting for them, that they have a purpose maybe.
I was very sceptical and am still sceptical of some hoax psychics.

I went to a medium, who is in touch with the dead. She did make me think it was possible, but then it could just be a fantastic sense that she has of people. Things that she said at the time didn't connect, it was only afterwards that I said "oh that's what she must have meant by ....". She did warm me about a figure in my life, which at the time didn't mean anything, but now when I look back at the things she told me they all fit together. It is up to the individual person to believe or not. It may mean something personal to them. The psychics you have seen may be fakes and so you are well within your rights to be annoyed by them, but don't rule it out altogether. I think there are genuinee people out there who have a gift but these genuin people probably do not exploit their gift and so we will never know the truth.

Answer 5

Why do people go? A need for control and comfort. All of us have a need to feel like we have some sense of control in our lives. Having "knowledge of what is to come" allows that for some. Feeling like they know a rough time is ahead, allows preparation to get ready for it. Being told something good is going to happen, offers hope and something to look forward to. If they're seeing a medium about a deceased person, they're seeking comfort and a sense of closure to that loss.

And psychic junkies do believe what they are told.

I don't go to psychics. I've only had one reading in my life and that was out of curiosity. (And, to be honest, what I was told has yet to happen or be verified.) However, I do think we all have intuitive senses that offer this kind of information. Most of us just aren't good at tuning into them. There are some who have learned to pay more attention to those messages.

As far as convincing you.... Experience is the only real way to decide. Either you've had personal experiences that lead you to believe in the possibilities or not. Just don't think a fake carnival fortune teller or believe everyone that has an ad in the yellow pages is suppose to offer the proof you're looking for. There are fakes and frauds out there.

Answer 6

They're just part of the food chain...they see an opening in people's defences & get in there trying to swindle their money out of them by using people's insecurities & their need to know how life or certain situations will pan out...It's not really fair but it's a funny world we live in & in a way some people dont care if they are lied to or not...once they can use this "lie" to strengthen their hope...

Answer 7

Ive been to a few who have been utter rip-off merchants and crap t'boot.

I always recommend a person go to their local spiritualist church and ask to make an appointment with a medium. If you are lucky to know someone who is a medium then you will know that they receive messages from time to time and pass on the message as they have received it. But if you are actively seeking one out then the spiritualist church will be able to give you contact with someone who is reputable, and not doing it for money. Most mediums give their time and skill free through their church.

Answer 8

Beware of the red car when you go out later xxx

Answer 9

i can't convince you as i think the same as you .i think people just go to a pshchics cause they want to spend on something (worthwhile
what bullshit!!

Answer 10

No one can convince you otherwise dear.
You are a non-believer
You are too sceptic