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Pet Psychic
A pet psychic is a person who claims to communicate by psychic means with animals, either living or dead. The term psychic refers to the claimed ability to perceive information unavailable to the normal senses by what is claimed to be extrasensory perception. It is the opinion of scientific skeptics that people believe in such abilities due to cognitive biases and the use of various techniques by the practitioners, including intentional deception.Gracely, EJ. (1998Why Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary ProofQuackwatch.com Claims Pet psychics rely on different techniques when doing an animal "reading". These psychics allegedly communicate with animals and connect with an animal's spirit. Some claim that the readings are done by communicating with their electromagnetic energy, similar to reiki and/or therapeutic touch healing. Others claim the animal does not need to be alive or physically close to the psychic, as phone readings are sometimes done. In the early twentieth c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonya Fitzpatrick
Sonya Fitzpatrick is a British television and radio personality as well as a pet psychic. She hosted the now-defunct television show Animal Planet's ''The Pet Psychic''. Her weekly animal advice and call-in talk show, ''Animal Intuition'', is currently broadcast on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 102. Sonya Fitzpatrick, a former model, worked in all the major fashion capitals in Europe, appeared frequently on television and modeled for many noted designers. She resides in the Conroe Woods subdivision in the Conroe, Texas area, outside Houston. Having divorced her second husband in 2005, Fitzpatrick remains single. Sonya Fitzpatrick claims to have had telepathic abilities since childhood enabling her to communicate with reptiles, birds and animals of all kinds, "to help solve behavioral problems and physical ailments." She was featured in the HBO documentary ''To Love or Kill: Man Versus Animal,'' which explores the relationship between humans and animals. References Further r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience. Psychics encompass people in a variety of roles. Some are theatrical performers, such as stage magicians, who use various techniques, e.g. prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot reading, to produce the appearance of such abilities for entertainment purposes. A large industry and network exist whereby people advertised as psychics provide advice and counsel to clients. Some famous psychics include Edgar Cayce, Ingo Swann, Peter Hurkos, Janet Lee, Miss Cleo, John Edward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Topics Characterized As Pseudoscience
This is a list of topics that have been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers, either currently or in the past. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in the context of educating the public about questionable or potentially fraudulent or dangerous claims and practices, efforts to define the nature of science, or humorous parodies of poor scientific reasoning. Criticism of pseudoscience, generally by the scientific community or skeptical organizations, involves critiques of the logical, methodological, or rhetorical bases of the topic in question. Though some of the listed topics continue to be investigated scientifically, others were only subject to scientific research in the past and today are considered refuted, but resurrected in a pseudoscientific fashion. Other ideas presented here are entirely non-scientific, but have in one way or another impinged on scientific domains or practices. Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Houdini
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists, pursuing a persona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortune Telling Fraud
Fortune telling fraud, also called the bujo or egg curse scam, is a type of confidence trick, based on a claim of secret or occult information. The basic feature of the scam involves diagnosing the victim (the "mark") with some sort of secret problem that only the grifter can detect or diagnose, and then charging the mark for ineffectual treatments. The archetypical grifter working the scam is a fortune teller who announces that the mark is suffering from a curse that their magic can relieve, while threatening dire consequences if the curse is not lifted. Method In this scam, a fortune teller uses cold reading to detect that a client is genuinely troubled rather than merely seeking entertainment; or is a gambler complaining of bad luck. The fortune teller informs the mark that they are the victim of a curse, but that for a fee a spell can be cast to remove the curse. In Romani, this trick is called , originally meaning simply "bag", but now meaning "a swindle involving a la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flim-Flam!
''Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions'' is a 1980 book by magician and skeptic James Randi about paranormal, occult, and pseudoscience claims. The foreword is by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. Randi explores topics which he says that scientists and the media are too willing to promote without skepticism and proper expertise. Content Timothy Ferris wrote that ''Flim Flam!'' "will enlighten any reader who does not clearly understand that not one shard of evidence exists to prove that the Bermuda Triangle poses any special menace to ships and planes, that earth is being visited by alien spacecraft, that the unassisted power of the mind can read closed books, predict our future or induce levitation, or that the ' psychic surgeons' of the Philippines have relieved their patients of any burden more troublesome than their money." Randi levels criticism at the sloppy study designs and faulty controls of the investigations into remote viewing by Russell Targ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Nygaard
{{Infobox person , name = Bob Nygaard , image = File:Private Investigator Bob Nygaard.jpg , image_size = , caption = Nygaard in 2015 , birth_date = , birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S. , death_date = , death_place = , death_cause = , nationality = American , other_names = , known_for = Psychic fraud investigations , education = New York City Police Academy , alma_mater = Southern Methodist University , employer = , occupation = Police officer, Private investigator , website = Bob Nygaard is an American private investigator (PI) specializing in the investigation of confidence crimes, most notably psychic fraud. He has been instrumental in the arrest and conviction of numerous psychics, helping their victims obtain justice including financial restitution amounting to millions of dollars. He has consulted for ABC News and ''20/20'' as a specialist in psychic fraud. Nygaard previously was a member of the New York C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animism
Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in some cases words—as being animated, having agency and free will. Animism is used in anthropology of religion as a term for the belief system of many Indigenous peoples in contrast to the relatively more recent development of organized religions. Animism is a metaphysical belief which focuses on the supernatural universe: specifically, on the concept of the immaterial soul. Although each culture has its own mythologies and rituals, animism is said to describe the most common, foundational thread of indigenous peoples' "spiritual" or "supernatural" perspectives. The animistic perspective is so widely held and inherent to most indigenous peoples that they often do not even have a word in their languages that corresponds to "animism" (o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Loss
The loss of a pet or an animal to which one has become emotionally bonded oftentimes results in grief which can be comparable with the death of a human loved one, or even greater, depending on the individual. The death can be felt more intensely when the owner has decided to end the pet's life through Animal euthanasia, euthanasia. While there is strong evidence that animals can emotion in animals, feel such loss for other animals, this article focuses on human being, human feelings when an animal is lost, dies, or otherwise is departed. Effect of animal loss on humans There is no set amount of time for the grieving process to occur. However, mourning is much more intense for a pet upon whom the owner was emotionally dependent. Additionally, some pet owners may feel Disenfranchised grief, unable to express their grieving due to social customs and norms surrounding pets. If the pet owner internalizes the grief, the suffering increases. The Kübler-Ross model, stages of grief prop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh No, Ross And Carrie!
''Oh No, Ross and Carrie!'' was an investigative journalism podcast produced in Los Angeles and distributed by the Maximum Fun network. The hosts personally investigated claims about spirituality, fringe science, religion, and the paranormal, then discussed their findings on the show. The motto of the podcast was "We show up so you don't have to." History The hosts, Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy, met at a book club meeting at the Center for Inquiry (CFI) West, where they discovered they had a mutual love for ''The Simpsons'' television program. They were also both interested in religion and fringe science, so they decided to attend a meeting of the Kabbalah Centre in LA together and analyze the claims made there. That experience inspired them to start their own podcast centered around such investigations. The first episode, based on their experiences at the Kabbalah Centre, was released on 10 March 2011. The show was independently distributed until it became part of the Maxi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Radford
Benjamin Radford (born October 2, 1970) is an American writer, investigator, and skeptic. He has authored, coauthored or contributed to over twenty books and written over a thousand articles and columns on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, unexplained mysteries, the paranormal, critical thinking, mass hysteria, and media literacy. His book, ''Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment'', was published in the summer of 2014 and is a scientific investigation of famous legends and folklore in the state of New Mexico. In 2016 Radford published ''Bad Clowns'', a 2017 IPPY bronze award winner, and he is regarded as an expert on the bad clowns phenomenon. Radford has appeared on ''Good Morning America'', CNN, The History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Learning Channel, CBC, BBC, ABC News, ''The New York Times'', and many other outlets. Radford characterizes himself as one of the world's few science-based paranorma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rupert Sheldrake
Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 28 June 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has worked as a biochemist at Cambridge University, a Harvard scholar, a researcher at the Royal Society, and a plant physiologist for ICRISAT in India. Other work by Sheldrake encompasses paranormal subjects such as precognition, empirical research into telepathy, and the psychic staring effect. He has been described as a New Age author. Sheldrake's morphic resonance posits that "memory is inherent in nature" and that "natural systems ... inherit a collective memory from all previous things of their kind." Sheldrake proposes that it is also responsible for "telepathy-type interconnections between organisms." His advocacy of the idea offers idiosyncratic explanations of standard subjects in biology such as development, inheritance, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
