Derren Brown Investigates

Derren Brown Investigates (Mon, 10pm, C4) looks intriguing as it takes a demystification approach to the Liverpudlian medium Joe Power.
I must confess to liking Mr Brown as he appears to "say it like it is" obviously based on his personal opinion! I also admire his work, being a lover of magic and although I realise his magic are mere "tricks" I wonder childlike at the performances. You see I believe that to lose the wonderment of a child's approach is to lose the meaning of life!
Anyway to the programme: I realise that some of the general public scorn any aspect of "psychic" work and I believe their opinion is based on the present topical, cultural, political and of course financial situation. How better to make a living perhaps than to offer the public some sort of solace when apparently all else appears lost?
I do watch as many programmes of this genre as I can, partially to research how psychics perform and mainly to seek any information that would explain & perhaps underpin my personal psychic experiences
So there in lies a dilemma; I comprehend what "debunkers" are attempting to accomplish & confess to agreeing with some, BUT I cannot deny my personal life-long experiences & therefore long for "truth"- hey who am I kidding? I doubt whether psychic phenomena can be proven particularly on film & even if it could would any producer be interested enough to make a programme based on this?
I really sympathise with a lot of psychics that are filmed because I personally believe that to perform psychically on film is extremely difficult and nearly impossible to repeat again & again! Why? because the pressure to perform degrades the psychic energy that is required to complete a psychic session. I balance my concern and sympathy for the psychic with the knowledge that they agree to be filmed & therefore need to deal with the consequences. Sounds harsh I know!
Not as harsh as the the Guardian's Pete Cashmore's critique on the show where quote "He's determined not to be upstaged by Brown and, indeed, gives a virtuoso performance of twattery that would actually beef his stage act up no end.

A medium he may be, but when it comes to being an arsehole he is a definite XXXL; he starts to goad Brown with jibes about his "psychic powers" almost as soon as he arrives and somehow manages even to direct Brown to the lavatory in a snide manner (try it at home, it's not easy)"
Anyway if you're interested watch the show - of course I'd love to hear your views on the psychic community!

Cold Reading

Hi

Interesting interview between Derren Brown, English magician, illusionist, mentalist, and Richard Dawkins, British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science author. ...

This interview discusses the means and "tricks of the trade" purported to be used by psychics performing "Cold Readings"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xswt8B8-UTM

Quote Mr Dawkins " are they all fakes or do some of them fool themselves as well"?

He is talking here about practising psychics

OUCH! That hurt!!

All joking aside I find both Mr brown and Mr Dawkins extremely interesting and entertaining

I understand their approach to the psychic platform plausible and scientifically acceptable

What I find astonishing is they appear to grossly generalise their subject matter allowing everything to fit into "neat boxes"

Perhaps that is how we all work psychologically when we believe in something that we cannot emphatically prove?

During the Derren Brown programme recently screened in the UK ( Derren Brown: How to be a Psychic Spy- see below for the link) I found one item particularly interesting
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/derren-brown/4od#2970804

A gentleman called "Batman" was interviewed. Completely blind, he could sense objects around him by using sound, allowing him to recognise objects such as buildings, cars etc. He was even able to ride a bike! By creating a clucking sound with his mouth he relied on the resonance and acoustics to shape the actual objects that were around him. This process is similar to bats. hence his title. In emitting high-pitched sounds and listening to resultant echoes, the process used in radar technology, bats are able to locate prey and nearby objects. This is the process known as echolocation, the ability they similarly share with dolphins and whales.

I suggest that psychic ability could be described like this. Perhaps a psychic is able to switch on an internal radar scanner, emit inaudible sounds, absorb the resultant echoes and understand the results?
JUST A THOUGHT!

What's your view on psychics. Comment here. I'd love to know