Mystical Angels

Are psychics supposed to always be right or just most of the time?

Just asking. Notice how none of them have passed the psychic test for 1 million dollars. Also, I've seen old video footage of a gameshow with a similar theme, and while everyone on it believed they were psychic they always got the answer wrong. So what's the deal. Do the true psychics just not go on TV, or are psychics only right slightly more than average or what?

Public Comments

1. Physics are not supposed to be universally always true, to say they are is ignorant. The physics we follow and understand and adhere to are only a set of rules based on the idea that things work the way we understand or have percieved them to work. You CANNOT say something will always be true when you've only got the human species and their experiences limited to earth to use as your guide. Physics is only how we can understand how things we are aware of are percieved.
2. The thing these gameshow 'psychics' had in common is that they were all there to win money. GREED can block your senses. Psychics are not always right, but they should get it right more often than not or they are just guessing.
3. What a great question. I guess it depends on which type of psychic you are talking about a medium for instance that speaks with the dead should always be able to repeat what they hear but they could be misinformed spirits are not 100% truthful, some think it is fun to mislead us.
4. I'm not sure anyone is always right. As for psychics I have my doubts about "powers" or "abilities". I am of the opinion that some phenomena do occur, primarily on a small scale and only rarely on a large scale. I am not convinced that anyone could "master it" per se, or that it requires a special type of person to experience it. It's impossible to stop entrepreneurs from making a show out of things when there is money to be made. In the process of being sensationalized for maximum profits psychic phenomena have been portrayed in some very imaginative but highly unlikely ways. But there are some well-qualified people taking a scientific approach. They may not get as much publicity as the entertainment sector, but their work is certainly interesting.
5. Are stock brokers right all the time? Weathermen? How about your doctor? Yet we still trust these people. I don't think true psychics would go on a TV game show just like most real musicians never try out for American Idol. Controlled studies have shown people do have psychic abilities. The studies involve a large number of attempts and statistical methods are used to show the success rate is far too great to be attributed to chance. Look at it this way: If I was to correctly guess a coin toss 8 out of 10 times, you would say that was just luck. If I was to do it 800 out of 1000 times, it's not luck. Something else is going on.
6. Psychics that advertise their services for money better be "right" at least most of the time. And if they are vague enough and observant enough, they can convince the customer that they are, even when it's just cold reading. Psychics on TV though are often enhanced by editing before the show goes on the air, where their bad predictions are cut and their good ones are left in. But a psychic who is right only part of the time -- how is this different than guessing? Even I can do that. So far scientific studies have not demonstrated such psychic abilities.
7. The person you are talking about is James Randi, he has been looking for a genuine psychic all over the world for the past 60 years, he has never found ONE. Harry (the Great) Houdini did exactly the same thing before him, he never found a genuine ONE. There are others offering prizes to anyone who can demonstrate psychic powers. After collecting the million dollars from Randi, successful psychics might go to India and contact B. Premanand who will pay Rs. 100,000 "to any person or persons who will demonstrate any psychic, supernatural of paranormal ability of any kind under satisfactory observing conditions." Also, "Prabir Ghosh will pay Rs. 20,00,000* to anyone who claims to possess supernatural power of any kind and proves the same without resorting to any trick in the location specified by Prabir Ghosh." The Australian Skeptics offer $100,000 (Australian), $80,000 for the psychic and $20,000 for anyone "who nominates a person who successfully completes the Australian Skeptics Challenge." If you nominate yourself, and are successful, you get the whole hundred grand. The Association for Skeptical Inquiry (ASKE), a U.K. skeptic organization, offers £12,000 for proof of psychic powers. The Independent Investigations Group "offers a $50,000 prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event." The North Texas Skeptics offer $12,000 to any person who can demonstrate any psychic or paranormal power or ability under scientifically valid observing conditions. The Quebec Skeptics offer $10,000 to any astrologer who can demonstrate her craft according in a formal scientific experiment. The Tampa Bay Skeptics offer $1,000 to anyone able to demonstrate any paranormal phenomenon under mutually agreed-upon observing conditions. A group in New Zealand calling itself "Immortality" is offering a prize of $NZ2,000,000 to anyone "who can display an actual paranormal ability, under controlled conditions." One million goes to the successful applicant and one million to the charity of his or her choice. Finally, conjurer Chris Angel offered $1,000,000 of his own money to Uri Geller and Jim Callahan if they could psychically determine the contents of an envelope he held in his hand. The offer was in response to Callahan's claim that his performance of a trick on a TV show called "Phenomenon" was aided by spirit guide. The offer of cash prizes as an incentive to so-called psychics to prove their claims is not new. In 1922, Scientific American offered two $2,500 awards, one for the first person who could produce an authentic spirit photograph under test conditions and the other for the first medium to produce an authentic "visible psychic manifestation" (Christopher 1975: 180). Houdini, the foremost magician of the period, was a member of the investigating committee. Nobody won the prizes.
8. There are psychic and telepathic powers, they do exist. No psychic is right 100% of the time or even 80-90% of the time. A psychic can only tell you what a possible outcome may be based on the path you are currently on, but your free will can change any aspect at any time and something you do which may seem insignificant can change the outcome of things rather drastically. I have found that too many readers who do it for money get greedy and try to either put fear into someone to get them to call back or tell them what they want to hear so that they will get a return call. It is largely a racket, that is obvious to me. I have gone to the Spiritualist Church in my town and there they do readings as well as healing. I think I found more genuine ability there because it was not tailored to making a profit. Sylvia Browne goes on TV and she is quite often right.