DPH: Good for you! Someone who investigates an issue and forms an opinion is one thing…even if that opinion is contradictory to other’s.
I can’t comment on Sylvia’s choices… She’s the psychic, not me. 
[quote]Renn wrote:
Miserere wrote:
Us Pisces don’t believe in Astrology.
I beg to differ–my pisces is big on astrology…and he’s thrilled that I’m a cancer. If you’re into astrology you’ll know why.[/quote]
For a male pisces, a female scorpio is best.
I’m doing fine with my aquarius, though 
Astrology is the mad daughter of a wise mother.
[quote]Elkhntr1 wrote:
Hey, if it was good enough for Nancy Reagan to help her Ronnie with policy during the cold war… it’s good enough for me to have an open mind about it. :)[/quote]
An open mind is good.
A mind so open that the brain falls out is not.
[quote]pookie wrote:
Elkhntr1 wrote:
Hey, if it was good enough for Nancy Reagan to help her Ronnie with policy during the cold war… it’s good enough for me to have an open mind about it.
An open mind is good.
A mind so open that the brain falls out is not.[/quote]
I don’t think they have all fallen out yet, but I am working on it. You’re such the smarty pants.
[quote]DPH wrote:
critical thinking courses were part of my major in college (I majored in philosophy at the University of Washington)…so yes (in my opinion) I have educated myself and decided that there is NO evidence to cause me to believe in any aspect of it.
Sylvia Brown is more than welcome to pick up a million dollar pay check anytime she is willing…unless of coures she’s a fraud…
have a great day![/quote]
FYI, regarding Sylvia Browne: it’s been 206 weeks since she agreed to take the JREF million dollar challenge on Larry King Live on September 3, 2001. I watched that show. I also watched as she accused Randi of being a bitter curmudgeon, openly pitied him for being an atheist, and offered a veiled threat to reveal details about a previous legal incident in which Randi was involved. These hardly seem like the tactics of a person confident in her “powers”.
She would go on to claim that there “was no money” and that Randi refused to put the money in escrow, which I’m quite certain was untrue. Regardless, he has since done that, and even mailed her and Larry King confirmation that the money was available. From his web site:
“The JREF is a ‘tax exempt’ organization, so they are required by law to have a level of financial transparency. That means that the public can request things like an annual report and copies of JREF’s 990 (the tax return non-profits file). Go to http://atgdata.fdncenter.org/990search/search.php to look up JREF’s 990. Contained within these types of documents is enough information to verify that the organization does indeed have special assets in a reserved account to cover the prize, should it ever be won. The contract between the claimant and JREF is binding enough that the JREF must pay the prize if someone wins it.”
Go here for a good summary of the ordeal: Commentary, March 5, 2004 — Newsweek & Schwartz, Kawa's Back, The SAS, Geller's Keen Perception, Treatment By Prayer, A Sad Tale, A Lawyer Proclaims, Hot Air Car?, Edward Challenged in Australia, Sylvia Browne Is A Liar, Touched in the Head, and Training ANN...
[quote]Elkhntr1 wrote:
pookie wrote:
Elkhntr1 wrote:
A mind so open that the brain falls out is not.
I don’t think they have all fallen out yet, but I am working on it. [/quote]
Keep up the good work, Elk! 
[quote]ChrisPowers wrote:
DPH wrote:
critical thinking courses were part of my major in college (I majored in philosophy at the University of Washington)…so yes (in my opinion) I have educated myself and decided that there is NO evidence to cause me to believe in any aspect of it.
Sylvia Brown is more than welcome to pick up a million dollar pay check anytime she is willing…unless of coures she’s a fraud…
have a great day!
FYI, regarding Sylvia Browne: it’s been 206 weeks since she agreed to take the JREF million dollar challenge on Larry King Live on September 3, 2001. I watched that show. I also watched as she accused Randi of being a bitter curmudgeon, openly pitied him for being an atheist, and offered a veiled threat to reveal details about a previous legal incident in which Randi was involved. These hardly seem like the tactics of a person confident in her “powers”.
She would go on to claim that there “was no money” and that Randi refused to put the money in escrow, which I’m quite certain was untrue. Regardless, he has since done that, and even mailed her and Larry King confirmation that the money was available. From his web site:
“The JREF is a ‘tax exempt’ organization, so they are required by law to have a level of financial transparency. That means that the public can request things like an annual report and copies of JREF’s 990 (the tax return non-profits file). Go to http://atgdata.fdncenter.org/990search/search.php to look up JREF’s 990. Contained within these types of documents is enough information to verify that the organization does indeed have special assets in a reserved account to cover the prize, should it ever be won. The contract between the claimant and JREF is binding enough that the JREF must pay the prize if someone wins it.”
Go here for a good summary of the ordeal: Commentary, March 5, 2004 — Newsweek & Schwartz, Kawa's Back, The SAS, Geller's Keen Perception, Treatment By Prayer, A Sad Tale, A Lawyer Proclaims, Hot Air Car?, Edward Challenged in Australia, Sylvia Browne Is A Liar, Touched in the Head, and Training ANN...
interesting article…thanks!
Please, courses in critical thinking, LOL! Well if you don’t see the humor in that…Like you can teach someone to think, once you teach someone to think their thought are no longer their own.
I’ve had acess to real psychic’s before and they’re very private individuals that keep their gifts secret and open to only a few close people in their lives. Things they told me and my family about the past proved their gifts, they spoke in specifics and not in generalities. Rest assured it’s real but you anyone meeting a real one is maybe 1%
[quote]Gregus wrote:
Please, courses in critical thinking, LOL! Well if you don’t see the humor in that…Like you can teach someone to think, once you teach someone to think their thought are no longer their own.[/quote]
My psychic abilities tell me you’ve never taken a logic or ethics course.
[quote]Gregus wrote:
Rest assured it’s real but you anyone meeting a real one is maybe 1%[/quote]
Thank you for putting my mind at ease. Gregus says it real, and that’s all the proof I need.
[quote]Gregus wrote:
Things they told me and my family about the past proved their gifts, they spoke in specifics and not in generalities.
[/quote]
They predicted your past? It’s a miracle.
[quote]Gregus wrote:
Please, courses in critical thinking, LOL! Well if you don’t see the humor in that…Like you can teach someone to think, once you teach someone to think their thought are no longer their own.[/quote]
Quite the opposite. Until someone learns to think critically, their thoughts are not their own.
Gregus, you are very, very special. Very special.
[quote]Gregus wrote:
I’ve had acess to real psychic’s before and they’re very private individuals that keep their gifts secret and open to only a few close people in their lives. Things they told me and my family about the past proved their gifts, they spoke in specifics and not in generalities. Rest assured it’s real but you anyone meeting a real one is maybe 1%[/quote]
If you think 1% of psychics are real, what this means is that 1% of them are good enough to fool you.
And these ideas that “all psychics are private”, “all psychics are good”, “real psychics have no interest in winning a million dollars”, “real psychics refuse to be tested”, etc. are excuses. Are psychics not also human? Think about the power and temptation that psychic abilities would provide. I’m basically a good person, but to be honest, if I was psychic I’d use my abilities to amass a fortune, screw hundreds of beautiful women, and help people in need, pretty much in that order.
[quote]larryb wrote:
Until someone learns to think critically, their thoughts are not their own.
[/quote]
Agree! Unfortunately the term ‘critical thinking’ isn’t common in todays colleges let alone high schools. Critical thinking is a skill like any other that must be practiced to get good at. I think our friend is confusing ‘free thinking’ with ‘critical thinking’. I also agree that it is often hard to distinguish impartial from biased thouht with today’s trends of media saturation. The disticnction is that ‘critical thinking’ would allow a person to determine biased thought where as ‘free thinking’ is where original thought comes from that can sometimes be biased.
[quote]Gregus wrote:
Please, courses in critical thinking, LOL! Well if you don’t see the humor in that…Like you can teach someone to think, once you teach someone to think their thought are no longer their own.
[/quote]
You obviously don’t understand the difference between being taught HOW to think and being taught WHAT to think. One of the most important gifts a teacher can give his or her students is the ability to do more than just memorize material, although that does have its place. He or she can teach students to reason and think about the world around them; whether it be to think about politics, mathematics, art, or the shortest route to work in the morning.
Everyone can learn to think more critically and with greater precision, without sacrificing their individuality. To the extent that truths can be shown objectively, a truly rational person must concede some points, true, which might be overwhelming for some who wish to cling to certain notions.
But to repeat, everyone can learn to think better.
But hey, if you insist, I’ll list you as an exception to that rule. Everyone in the world can learn to think better. Except for Gregus. This is as good as he’s going to get.
I used to be skeptical… but then I had an astrological chart made. A true chart is based off your birth minute and the lattitude and longitude of your birthplace. I was astounded. The results were at least 95% in describing who I am. This was a report about a dozen pages long too.
Astrology just based on a “sign” means very little. However, if you ever have a true astrological chart made, you’ll probably be surprised.
Psychic abilities do exist. The unknown will always exist. Much of what is common knowledge today, was totally unknown or the “will of the gods” not that long ago. To claim there is no such thing as phychic abilities is to claim we fully understand all concepts of the mind/spirit.
[quote]4est wrote:
To claim there is no such thing as phychic abilities is to claim we fully understand all concepts of the mind/spirit.[/quote]
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. You are correct that much of what we once thought was the “will of the gods” is actually firmly rooted in science and understandable physical laws. You should apply that same logic to the belief in psychics or astrology.
To the extent we find there to be any merit in astrology, we will also find that it is imprecise. I am open to the idea that there may be some levels of perception to which only certain individuals have access. I do not, however, entertain the notion that configurations of distant stars influence our behavior or personality in any way.
Cold reading does a marvelous job.