Post by Mr. Jon Donnis on Dec 26, 2010 23:32:13 GMT
Charmaine Wilson - The One: The Search for Australia's Most Gifted Psychic
"Charmaine is 43 year-old down-to-earth medium with a healthy sense of competition matched only by her compassion. Known for her accuracy she is highly regarded by the psychic community as one of the best in the country."
Well thats how they describe her on The One's official website. Well I decided to take a look at one of her readings on the show, and see if we should also regard her as being one of the best in the country, unfortunately what I witnessed was bog standard cold reading.
Infact I wonder how she even made it through the preliminary rounds to get on this show.
Key:
CH = Charmaine Wilson
W = Person receiving reading
JD = Me!
General Transcript:
CH: Give me a couple of seconds to get over the nerves and warm up a bit.
JD: Notice how she is already making excuses and she hasn't even started yet!
CH: Your father is in spirit and he is coming through here
JD: Well the woman being read is clear over 60, if not over 70, the chances of her father being alive are incredibly slim, so this is a pretty sure fire way of starting the reading.
CH: Now the first thing I get is that you're the youngest in the family, thats what he is telling me, is that correct.
W: Yes thats correct
JD: So we start off with a hit, first thing we need to take into account here is that this has been edited, so we don't know what was said before this point. So we must take this on face value, however even then we are dealing with very short odds.
CH: Now he is also telling me that someone in your family lost a child, someone miscarried, would you understand that.
W: Yes (And nods)
JD: This is a classic piece of cold reading, miscarriage is unfortunately commonplace, and a woman of her age is almost guarenteed to either have had a miscarriage in her life, or know someone who has. Ask yourself why this womans father would bring this up in a message? Why isn't he being specific?
CH: Is there a Barbara in your family?
W: No
CH: Barbara or Bob?
W: Yes I have a Bob
CH: Who is Bob please?
W: My Brother
CH: Your brother yes
JD: Hang on a second, what happened to the miscarried child? Why bring that up at all? I will tell you why, it is a simple guarenteed hit to make the psychic look more impressive.
Notice how Barbara turns into Bob, are you telling me now that spirit can't tell the difference?
Anyway notice how Charmaine asks the woman who Bob is, and then Charmaine confirms what she has just been told, this is 100% cold reading.
Why didn't Charmaine say "Do you have a Brother called Bob?" instead we get this ridiculous guessing game that started off with a woman called Barbara, yet when the woman tells Charmaine her Brother is called Bob, Charmaine acts as if she knew already!
CH: I'm certainly getting the name Mary here
W: Yes
CH: And who would mary be?
JD: What about Bob? is he dead? Alive? does his father have a message for him? Why would anyone fall for this pathetic guessing game, that doesn't give you any specifics whatsoever, nor does it offer any real comfort.
And again notice how Charmaine is asking the question Who would Mary be? Why is she asking for? Doesn't Charmaine know? Afterall she brought up the name, one of the most common names in history I should mention
W: My sister she died
CH: She is passed ok
JD: Yes the woman just told you Charmaine!! Why do you keep repeating back answers to questions YOU asked, as if you knew all along?
CH: I get a lovely image you with her, I feel a lot of closeness here
JD: And that is psychic how? Of course the woman is likely to be close to her sister, she is hardly gonna turn around and say "No i hated my dead sister"
So to recap, Charmaine asks a question, woman replies, Charmaine then repeats answer back to woman, and then acts as if she knew all along. How is this a demonstration of psychic ability exactly?
CH: And you have 3 children now?
W: No i have 2 now
CH: Have you lost 1 as well?
W: Yes
JD: Notice the original question, "You have 3 children now?" If the woman answers yes, this is classed as a hit. But the word "now" leaves wriggle room. We already know that someone had a miscarriage, so the woman can answer 2 children, and Charmaine can claim the dead child is the 3rd one she meant. Or if there is only 1 child, then she can claim another was lost. It is all about covering the bases, and giving yoruself room to wriggle out.
CH: (In the form of a question) There is a dancing sign coming in here? Did she like to dance? Or is there something to do with dance with her?
W: No she was a gymnast
JD: Charmaine is asking questions again, not stating facts. The woman reveals that she WAS a gymnast. This inadvertantly reveals that the person she is taking about is dead.
CH: A gymnist? Yeah I will get that the same way
JD: Charmaine claims this as a hit, despite the fact she can not tell the difference between a gymnast and someone who likes to dance, the are many types of gymnastics, and only the floor exercises could be considered similar to dancing.
CH: There is also singing going on here, do you remember the old "The hills are alive with the sound of music?"
W: Yes (Confirming nod)
CH: Now that song Sound of music, does that have any relevence with you and your Daughter?
W: Yeah we used to erm dance to it
JD: Again more questions from Charmaine, the Sound of Music is one of the most famous films of all time, it is a guess that has a pretty good chance of coming off in some way. Again the fact that Charmaine is constantly asking questions should give the game away here. Why isn't she making statements of fact? Because if you do that and you are wrong there is no wriggle room.
CH: She knows about the book that you've got that you've written stuff in
JD: Again what was the point of bringing up the Sound of Music if you are not gonna elaborate, its just random vague questions that have no meaning whatsoever.
Now she mentions a book that this woman writes in, many people will write things to a dead relative as a way to deal with grief, as soon as the woman confirms this, Charmaine then elaborates, why doesn't she give details BEFORE asking the question? Classic cold reading techniques here.
CH: It's the ongoing letters and she understands that, and she reads that with you every single day, I'm gonna leave that with you for now.
W: After Jackie first died i went to 3 different psychics and none of them touched on my daughter at all as she did
JD: Ok so thats the end of the reading. The woman obviously believes that Charmaine contacted her daughter, but hang on a second, all Charmaine did was ask questions, lets look at them again.
Is there a Barbara in your family?
Barbara or Bob?
Who is Bob please?
And who would mary be?
And you have 3 children now?
Have you lost 1 as well?
Did she like to dance?
Is there something to do with dance with her?
Question after question after question.
We started off with Charmaine claiming to be with this womans father, yet we have no name.
We then get the guessing game that reveals he brother is called Bob, yet no more info there.
We find out the womans sister is called Mary, but again no more info.
And by the end of the reading the woman is convinced that Charmaine was in contact with her daughter, yet Charmaine didn't even give her the name of the dead child which we later find out is Jackie.
What kind of crap psychic asks so many questions, and then doesn't even give the name of the dead child the woman wants to know about most.
I hate to say this, but this is typical cold reading, and I know that Sceptic Richard Saunders would've spotted this as easily as I did, yet we get no onscreen feedback? Why? Because Richard Saunders got edited out, yep, not only was the reading edited in the first place, any sceptical comment is also removed.
If Charmaine is supposed to be one of Australia's top psychics, I would hate to see the drudge below her in the pecking order.
"Charmaine is 43 year-old down-to-earth medium with a healthy sense of competition matched only by her compassion. Known for her accuracy she is highly regarded by the psychic community as one of the best in the country."
Well thats how they describe her on The One's official website. Well I decided to take a look at one of her readings on the show, and see if we should also regard her as being one of the best in the country, unfortunately what I witnessed was bog standard cold reading.
Infact I wonder how she even made it through the preliminary rounds to get on this show.
Key:
CH = Charmaine Wilson
W = Person receiving reading
JD = Me!
General Transcript:
CH: Give me a couple of seconds to get over the nerves and warm up a bit.
JD: Notice how she is already making excuses and she hasn't even started yet!
CH: Your father is in spirit and he is coming through here
JD: Well the woman being read is clear over 60, if not over 70, the chances of her father being alive are incredibly slim, so this is a pretty sure fire way of starting the reading.
CH: Now the first thing I get is that you're the youngest in the family, thats what he is telling me, is that correct.
W: Yes thats correct
JD: So we start off with a hit, first thing we need to take into account here is that this has been edited, so we don't know what was said before this point. So we must take this on face value, however even then we are dealing with very short odds.
CH: Now he is also telling me that someone in your family lost a child, someone miscarried, would you understand that.
W: Yes (And nods)
JD: This is a classic piece of cold reading, miscarriage is unfortunately commonplace, and a woman of her age is almost guarenteed to either have had a miscarriage in her life, or know someone who has. Ask yourself why this womans father would bring this up in a message? Why isn't he being specific?
CH: Is there a Barbara in your family?
W: No
CH: Barbara or Bob?
W: Yes I have a Bob
CH: Who is Bob please?
W: My Brother
CH: Your brother yes
JD: Hang on a second, what happened to the miscarried child? Why bring that up at all? I will tell you why, it is a simple guarenteed hit to make the psychic look more impressive.
Notice how Barbara turns into Bob, are you telling me now that spirit can't tell the difference?
Anyway notice how Charmaine asks the woman who Bob is, and then Charmaine confirms what she has just been told, this is 100% cold reading.
Why didn't Charmaine say "Do you have a Brother called Bob?" instead we get this ridiculous guessing game that started off with a woman called Barbara, yet when the woman tells Charmaine her Brother is called Bob, Charmaine acts as if she knew already!
CH: I'm certainly getting the name Mary here
W: Yes
CH: And who would mary be?
JD: What about Bob? is he dead? Alive? does his father have a message for him? Why would anyone fall for this pathetic guessing game, that doesn't give you any specifics whatsoever, nor does it offer any real comfort.
And again notice how Charmaine is asking the question Who would Mary be? Why is she asking for? Doesn't Charmaine know? Afterall she brought up the name, one of the most common names in history I should mention
W: My sister she died
CH: She is passed ok
JD: Yes the woman just told you Charmaine!! Why do you keep repeating back answers to questions YOU asked, as if you knew all along?
CH: I get a lovely image you with her, I feel a lot of closeness here
JD: And that is psychic how? Of course the woman is likely to be close to her sister, she is hardly gonna turn around and say "No i hated my dead sister"
So to recap, Charmaine asks a question, woman replies, Charmaine then repeats answer back to woman, and then acts as if she knew all along. How is this a demonstration of psychic ability exactly?
CH: And you have 3 children now?
W: No i have 2 now
CH: Have you lost 1 as well?
W: Yes
JD: Notice the original question, "You have 3 children now?" If the woman answers yes, this is classed as a hit. But the word "now" leaves wriggle room. We already know that someone had a miscarriage, so the woman can answer 2 children, and Charmaine can claim the dead child is the 3rd one she meant. Or if there is only 1 child, then she can claim another was lost. It is all about covering the bases, and giving yoruself room to wriggle out.
CH: (In the form of a question) There is a dancing sign coming in here? Did she like to dance? Or is there something to do with dance with her?
W: No she was a gymnast
JD: Charmaine is asking questions again, not stating facts. The woman reveals that she WAS a gymnast. This inadvertantly reveals that the person she is taking about is dead.
CH: A gymnist? Yeah I will get that the same way
JD: Charmaine claims this as a hit, despite the fact she can not tell the difference between a gymnast and someone who likes to dance, the are many types of gymnastics, and only the floor exercises could be considered similar to dancing.
CH: There is also singing going on here, do you remember the old "The hills are alive with the sound of music?"
W: Yes (Confirming nod)
CH: Now that song Sound of music, does that have any relevence with you and your Daughter?
W: Yeah we used to erm dance to it
JD: Again more questions from Charmaine, the Sound of Music is one of the most famous films of all time, it is a guess that has a pretty good chance of coming off in some way. Again the fact that Charmaine is constantly asking questions should give the game away here. Why isn't she making statements of fact? Because if you do that and you are wrong there is no wriggle room.
CH: She knows about the book that you've got that you've written stuff in
JD: Again what was the point of bringing up the Sound of Music if you are not gonna elaborate, its just random vague questions that have no meaning whatsoever.
Now she mentions a book that this woman writes in, many people will write things to a dead relative as a way to deal with grief, as soon as the woman confirms this, Charmaine then elaborates, why doesn't she give details BEFORE asking the question? Classic cold reading techniques here.
CH: It's the ongoing letters and she understands that, and she reads that with you every single day, I'm gonna leave that with you for now.
W: After Jackie first died i went to 3 different psychics and none of them touched on my daughter at all as she did
JD: Ok so thats the end of the reading. The woman obviously believes that Charmaine contacted her daughter, but hang on a second, all Charmaine did was ask questions, lets look at them again.
Is there a Barbara in your family?
Barbara or Bob?
Who is Bob please?
And who would mary be?
And you have 3 children now?
Have you lost 1 as well?
Did she like to dance?
Is there something to do with dance with her?
Question after question after question.
We started off with Charmaine claiming to be with this womans father, yet we have no name.
We then get the guessing game that reveals he brother is called Bob, yet no more info there.
We find out the womans sister is called Mary, but again no more info.
And by the end of the reading the woman is convinced that Charmaine was in contact with her daughter, yet Charmaine didn't even give her the name of the dead child which we later find out is Jackie.
What kind of crap psychic asks so many questions, and then doesn't even give the name of the dead child the woman wants to know about most.
I hate to say this, but this is typical cold reading, and I know that Sceptic Richard Saunders would've spotted this as easily as I did, yet we get no onscreen feedback? Why? Because Richard Saunders got edited out, yep, not only was the reading edited in the first place, any sceptical comment is also removed.
If Charmaine is supposed to be one of Australia's top psychics, I would hate to see the drudge below her in the pecking order.