i think the way to tackle psychics,is to be on their case more.
more skeptics going to their "shows" , making transcripts or following up things said if possible.
If those about to go to a psychic, search online for info on that person and they come across transcripts of shows, with comments,notes etc re cold reading,generalities etc its likely to sow seeds of doubt.
i have read comments from people that have researched psychics more by coming across negative comments in forums,articles etc.
Plus if psychics know that EVERTHING they say is going to be scrutinised they might (though i doubt it) think twice about opening their mouths
I think we'll be giving them a little more stick in the coming months with both general and specific articles.
I agree that it's a good idea to put articles on-line as they do get picked up by search engines and, unlike newspaper articles, they are persistent.
There's load of great articles over at The Skeptic Express too: http://www.theskepticexpress.com/psychics.php
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We have to be careful here people - what do we want to achieve by tackling psychics?
Do we want to lobby the govt to ban them or regulate them out of existence? What if we were successful? Is more regulation and curbs on freedom of expression really what skeptics are all about? Isn't that what the fundies do?
Besides, would that really stop them doing damage to peoples lives?
IMO the goal has to be a long term one - the improvement of educational standards and critical thinking faculties. That way we starve the psychics of their customers. No demand, no danger.
How do we achieve this goal? That's a bit trickier! Let's publicise the weaknesses of the psychics, how they swindle the public by offering rubbish info at an exhorbitant cost. People see psychics as a 'bit of fun', by and large, but they don't like feeling they are being conned.
Let's make the pursuit of knowledge a fashionable and necessary thing. It seems to me that in the UK people value stupidity, celebrity and shallow thinking above all. We live in a country where half the youth are yobs who roam the streets in hoodies causing mayhem wherever they go. They look up to morons as role models and become morons themselves. Is it any wonder psychics and charlatans have more influence on the public than our scientists and politicians?
We need to work to turn that around.
I think it's worth challenging psychics' claims and publishing information, such as police denials that they use psychics, on the website.
Our long-term aim, however, is to act as an educational resource. We can't tell people not to use psychics, and other forms of nonsense, we can only provide educational material for use by those who wish to read it.
I don't think it's a battle we'll ever win, but we can make a difference.
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I completely agree. There's no point in pitching ourselves 'against' psychics, if only because we will not win. We don't have enemies, and the public are free to believe what they want.
I think a more achieveable objective would be to ensure that everyone can get access to both sides of the argument - to help the public understand how and why psychics work (or don't work). If they then choose to go to the psychic anyway (which many people will), well, we've done our best to educate and that's all we can do.
For example, we should be trying to persuade the media to present balanced arguments and be more factual. The more information we make available to them (i.e. the easier we make their job), the more likely they are to do this. The media really is the key here because the public, generally, will not go and do their own research, will not seek out a balanced view before making a decision. The media have a huge influence that we can affect.
No, I don't mean the tabloids, they make too much money from woo and don't care about facts. :D
Here's an update to the very first item of this thread which appears in this weeks local free paper "Stourbridge NEWS".
Quote:-
Shamed Stourton psychic Paul Williams (aka Paul De'Aaran) is to be featured in a prime time TV documentary about Britains biggest conmen".
TV company Turn On Television is to make the 90 minuet program scheduled to air this summer.
The program also features interviews with psychic Sabina Heywood and Sgt John Cottrill who worked on the case.
I've only just caught up with this thread - keep us informed DT
We could use this at some point.
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