Thursday, August 31, 2006

The Big Sylvia Browne Thread

Well, Ryan's first post is still getting comments after over a year, thanks to a fair number of search engines. I'm not all particularly fond of the post itself, but I think it's forgivable, being pretty much Ryan's first trip into the blogosphere.

I typically try to play good cop to Ryan's bad cop. Or something like that.

Anyhoo: This is intended to be the big place where everyone can post their thoughts on the matter. Specifically, the matter is "Does Sylvia have psychic powers?"

General suggestions:

For the Sylvia supporters:
  • Please don't resort to doggerel. Most of those involve changing the subject, which is not a nice thing to do.
  • If you make a statement involving the Randi Challenge and Sylvia's reluctance to take it, make sure you've looked at the FAQ first, and, if necessary for the objection, that you have evidence.
  • Please, no personal anecdotes. Human perception is quite fallible, as are memories. If you recorded the anecdote, though, that would be more than acceptable.

For my fellow skeptics:
  • Please don't dismiss ideas on simple silliness. Point out logical fallacies and internal contradictions.
  • Watch your language. Ryan may be a potty-mouth, but this is intended to be a family thread. I don't want that real sicko anonymous skeptic to show up again. (You probably didn't see him. Deleted him rather quickly. Trust me, it was ugly. Maybe even illegal.)
  • Please, no guilt by association. If one of the Sylvia supporters mentions a belief in a different type of nonsense, please don't dwell on it. We need to keep the thread on topic.
8/31/2006: In other news, I've got a Sylvia episode of Montel on my DVR. I'll detail it this weekend. If anyone knows offhand an easy way to stick it onto YouTube or something, that'd be nice.

5 comments:

Clint Bourgeois said...

Found another Sylvia screw up on Montel.

YouTube

Anonymous said...

There's a wikipedia entry that details all of her false of prophecies. It's pretty entertaining.

Anonymous said...

Sylvia Browne is a liar, she writes these books on mother god and angels telling people to believe in them just pray to them.if you get roses they will help and all that crap.all the people who will go and do that and just wait for them to come and they wait and wait,and they don't come..I called her at hayhouse radio and asked when my finances will improve she told me Aug, well Aug come and went twice, maybe she forgot to tell me what year...What a bunch of crap she sells

Anonymous said...

I had a reading from Sylvia Brown a little over 2 1/2 years ago. I was told I could get half my money back, $350, if I was to transcribe the entire tape recording because NOTHING CAME true. So they were willing to do this but should I have to do this?? In any case, I did but it took me weeks do this and when I finally got the entire tape written out it was such a mess and I was so frustrated by then it wasn’t even worth it. Nothing she said came out except that I was moving which I was already in the process of doing so no big news. Oh she said that I would love my new apartment more then where I was at the time which is unfortunately not the case, complete opposite. I miss my other place a lot. She also said that I would be married by now and starting to have children. Would meet him through a family or friend during Christmas time of that year. Yea right. Still not even close to a marrying anyone. She said I would be doing incredibly well with work and I would love what I was doing. That to is so not accurate. In fact I’ve been in and out of jobs for the past two years it’s been a nightmare and the worst abusive bosses imaginable. Oh and she said my stepfather’s money was going to come through in the fall that year which was two years ago and that too has yet to happen. LOL. She did say to me to stay away from dairy which is true I am getting stuffed up with phlegm. LOL.

The work and my heart (love) were two of the most important parts of the reading which were not accurate at all and ones I was really so hoping and praying would be true and my new home. That too I was hoping she would have been right about.

She said my sister would always be jealous of me and we would never have a good relationship. Sooo not true. In the past year she and I have been amazing together for the first time ever. Phew on that one!!!

Sylvia... I wish I could have told the world you were on it 100% but it was the phlegm and move and that was it -- except the part about loving it. So you got the phlegm down 100%. LOL

For me to have paid that kind of money when I waited over six months to get the reading from you and was all psyched up to hear you tell me what I could look forward to only to be that much more in debt and nothing to show for it. What a waste of my time and finances.

So Sylvia Brown to me you are a fraud. In case the people who are reading this didn't get what I was trying to say.

Hey I've got an idea go to your local tarot reader for $20 bucks and then go home. She is probably more accurate then Sylvia Brown would be and you'd have money to go on vacation. LOL. Enjoy your life and never do what I did. Remember it’s all about entertainment. Don’t be swindled like I did.

Anonymous said...

Suz, sorry to hear about your not unsurprising experience with the liar, cheat and fraud Browne. But why even spend $20 on a local tarot reader?

I'll give you or anyone else who wants the same accuracy in predictions and we can use that $20 to have a beer (or liquid refreshment of your choice) while I do it instead. A much more worthy form of expediture.

Astrology, psychic powers, tarot reading, fortune telling, communicating with spirits or the dead, reading the tea leaves, the Secret - it's all the same.

None of it works.