The "cold reading" was "freaking
weird", according to (name omitted). Casey called one woman on stage, told her she
was beautiful, had beautiful eyes, then told her she was ugly because she needed to lose
weight.
With a second woman, Casey told her that her hair was too short, needed to grow her hair,
her group was crap and was holding her back and she needed to leave her group. Her
group was in the audience.
The third one was a business builder (sells lot's of Standing Order System tools), and he
did not tear this one down as much and the crowd became less and less excited as Casey
progressed through each person. He asked the crowd after each one, "So what did you
think of that, pretty good, huh?"Casey announced there will be  no more public "cold reading".
I guess he fraked too many people out. If anybody has a recording, please
contact me. scott.larsen@juno.com
Cold Reading
"In the course of a successful reading, the psychic may provide most of the words,
but it is the client that provides most of the meaning and all of the significance."
--Ian Rowland (2000: 60)
Cold reading refers to a set of techniques used by professional manipulators to get a
subject to behave in a certain way or to think that the cold reader has some sort of
special ability that allows him to "mysteriously" know things about the subject.
Cold reading goes beyond the usual tools of manipulation: suggestion and flattery. In cold
reading, salespersons,
hypnotists, advertising pros, faith healers, con men, and some therapists bank upon their
subject's inclination to find more meaning in a situation than there actually is. The
desire to make sense out of our experience has led us to many wonderful discoveries, but
it has also led some of us to many follies. The manipulator knows that his mark will be
inclined to try to make sense out of whatever he is told, no matter how farfetched or
improbable. He knows, too, that people are generally self-centered, that we tend to have
unrealistic views of ourselves and that we will generally accept claims about us that
reflect not how we are or even how we really think we are but how we wish we were or think
we should be. He also knows that for every several claims he makes about you which you
reject as being inaccurate, he will make one that meets with your approval; and he knows
that you will remember the hits he makes and forget the misses.
The selectivity of the human mind is always at work. We pick and choose what data we will
remember and what we will give significance to. In part, we do so because of what we
already believe or want to believe. In part, we do so in order to make sense out of what
we are experiencing. We are not manipulated simply because we are gullible or suggestible,
or just because the signs and symbols of the manipulator are vague or ambiguous. Even when
the signs are clear and we are skeptical, we can still be manipulated. In fact, it may
even be the case that particularly bright persons are more likely to be manipulated when
the language is clear and they are thinking logically. To make the connections that the
manipulator wants you to make, you must be thinking logically.
Not all cold readings are done by malicious manipulators. Some readings are done by
astrologers, graphologists, tarot readers, and psychics who genuinely believe they have
paranormal powers. They are as impressed by their correct predictions or
"insights" as are their clients. We should remember, however, that just as
scientists can be wrong in their
predictions, so pseudoscientists and quacks can sometimes be right in theirs.
There seem to be three common factors in these kinds of readings. One factor involves
fishing for details. The psychic says something at once vague and suggestive, e.g.,
"I'm getting a strong feeling about January here." If the subject responds,
positively or negatively, the psychic's next move is to play off the response. E.g., if
the subject says, "I was born in January" or my mother died in January"
then the psychic says something like "Yes, I can see that," anything to
reinforce the idea that the psychic was more precise that he or she really was. If the
subject responds negatively, e.g., "I
can't think of anything particularly special about January," the psychic might reply,
"Yes, I see that you've suppressed a memory about it. You don't want to be reminded
of it. Something painful in January. Yes, I feel it. It's in the lower back
[fishing]...oh, now it's in the heart [fishing]...umm, there seems to be a sharp pain in
the head [fishing]...or the neck [fishing]." If the subject gives no response, the
psychic can leave the area, having firmly implanted in everybody's mind that the psychic
really did 'see' something but the subject's suppression of the event hinders both the
psychic and the subject from realizing the specifics of it. If the subject gives a
positive response to any of the fishing expeditions,
the psychic follows up with more of "I see that very clearly, now. Yes, the feeling
in the heart is getting stronger."
Successful cold readings are sometimes a testament to the skills of the reader, but they
are always a testament to the ability of human beings to make sense out of the most
disparate of data. The skill of cold reading can be honed and turned into an art, as it is
by professionals who work as mediums, palm readers, astrologers, and the like. Many of
these
professionals may not even realize what they are doing and attribute their high rate of
client satisfaction to the truth of astrology or palmistry. They may come to believe in
the reality of the spirit world by becoming convinced that meaningful signals from beyond
sometimes rise above the noise of daily life and are detected by skilled mediums. Some of
these
professionals know what they are doing and they deceive the public, if not themselves.
Other professionals know what they are doing but they tell their clients or audiences
after their performances that they need no paranormal or supernatural powers to accomplish
their feats. |
