Archive
June 2005
The
BAD Astronomer
28.June.2005
 Dr.
Phil Plait, known as ‘The Bad Astronomer’,
visited Australia late in 2004. His public lecture exposing
lunacy of those who insist humans never went to the moon,
was the highlight of the Australian Skeptics national convention.
Phil also talked about various other wired and wacky space
conspiracies such as the so-called face on Mars.
Phil’s easy going style, combined with his in-depth
knowledge of the subject, makes him one of the better science
communicators ever to visit our shores.
You can read an interview with Phil in the latest issue of
The Mystery Investigator, or visit
his web site to
read more.
Also
see Phil's Blog about The Mystery Investigators
John
Edward, Mark
Mayer &
Me 14.June.2005
In April this year, the famous Clairvoyant/Medium, John
Edward, made a trip to Australia for a one-off show
in order to support the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.
An odd choice given that Edward’s act revolves around
talking with the dead. In any case, Edward was also going
to be a guest on channel 9's Mornings With Kerrie-Anne
and I was lucky enough to get a ticket.
I made my way to the channel 9 studios in Artarmon, Sydney.
My name was ticked off and I waiting, together with about
20 others, in a small outside but covered BBQ area. We were
there for about 30 minutes, more than enough time for me to
easily overhear ( I could not avoid it ) various conversations,
many of which revolved around family issues. As was the case
with other events I have attended, I could have amazed people
later on with my insights into their private lives. But I
did not suspect anyone there of being a snoop for Edward.
As we entered the studio, a member of the crew told us to
“Think up your questions now for John Edward.
You know, who you’d like to contact.”
We were told this another 3 times during the commercial breaks
in the first half of the show. I must admit to finding this
a strange request as Edward does not work that way. It is
he who asks the questions about the dear departed, not the
audience. I suspected that the crew were simply acting on
what they thought Edward can do, that is make contact with
certain specific dead people as, after all, that’s what
he does on his TV show all the time. My suspicions were confirmed
when shortly before Edward was to appear, a producer came
over and said
“Oh, I’ve just been with John Edward
and he is amazing! I was a skeptic but he told me things he
could not have known and contacted my dead relatives.”
- Gasps from the audience.-
“But he does not do dial-up, OK? He cannot
contact the loved one you want to talk with, it’s up
to them to contact him, so no questions about your relatives.”
What the…? I could see that others in the audience
were terribly disappointed at this news as they had come to
see John Edward talk with the dead and hopefully the dead
they were wanting to contact. Edward took credit for a flickering
monitor in the make up room.
“Things like that are always happening
around me.”
he was reported to have said. Really? One wonders why, just
like Uri Geller, he is permitted to board aircraft.
Edward soon appeared on the set and was introduced by Kerri-Anne.
“Well, this is the man you’ve all been waiting
for. We are very, very privileged this morning to have with
us best seller author and host of ‘Crossing Over’,
internationally acclaimed psychic and medium, John Edward.
Applause, applause, applause ladies and gentlemen.”
The tone was set.
The interview lasted the best part of 40 minutes with various
commercial breaks. We were allowed to ask general questions
and it did cross my mind to try to somehow catch him out or
make a protest. But the last thing I wanted was to make an
ass of myself (I do that often enough anyway) on national
TV. I knew that Edward was in control of the situation and
could turn around any criticism. The rest of the audience
was on his side, the network was on his side and so on. So,
I kept my mouth shut and let others question him about,
“What’s it like to be a psychic?”,
“Are there times when you take a break?”, “Do
you still do ballroom dancing?”
An interesting moment come when a viewer emailed in asking
Edward could help in finding Daniel Morecombe, the school
boy who disappeared in 2003 from the Sunshine coast. Now if
anyone should have special knowledge, gained from ‘the
other side’ about such matters, surly it would be super-medium
Edward. Nope. The question was fobbed off with Edward offering
no help, no hope.
As the show ended, Edward waved goodbye and thanked us for
coming. Kerri-Anne, charming as ever, came over to thank us
again and stayed a while to chat to everyone and answer questions.
This was my chance.
“Would you have someone on your show, who
does the same things as John Edward, but does not claim any
psychic powers?”
Kerrie-Anne was instantly interested and before long I had
given her some details.
Within a few days, the Mornings show had contacted Melbourne
mentalist and magician, Mark Mayer. Mark
was flown up to Sydney and appeared on the show for best part
of 15 minutes. During his time, Mark made many good points
about what Edward claims to do and what he really does do.
He mentioned Edward’s disclaimer and totally wowed Kerri-Anne
with some good old fashion mentalism.
“Maybe Edward does hear voices in his
head. There is medication for that.”
All in all, Mark did a splendid job in giving an overview
of cold reading and how people can be fooled.
So, out of a national TV appearance of the a so-called psychic,
came a national TV appearance of a skeptic. Though I don’t
think the 9 network will make a habit of it, it was a still
good result.
Richard Saunders
Mark Mayer's web site : www.mindillusionist.com.au
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