From: Brough Perkins
To: Spencer Marks
September 13, 2007 9:35
AM
Dear reader,
I read an
article featuring your org. on badpsychics.com. It was interesting and I was
intrigued by your panel of volunteer professionals who donate time and effort to
investigating certain psychics. I am a young man from Canada who has had some
media exposure. My media exposure was a fluke as it turned out clients of mine
happened to work in Television.
I have been
doing psychic readings for nearly ten years, since I was fifteen and I believe
in psychic ability and the afterlife.
I have some
hesitation around contacting you as you seem to perceive psychic ability as
being "paranormal" or "outside the realm of normal".
If there are non-physical dimensions to our universe and the nature of
consciousness is not produced by the brain, rather independent of physical
matter then I think Psychic ability and the Afterlife are natural and not
paranormal in any way.
I found myself
wondering why I spend time reading skeptical websites and having so much
interest in what sorts of opinions exist about my work and passion. The truth is
that I would never want to con or hurt anybody by doing what I do, and I believe
that as a human being I have to do everything in my personal power to keep from
being untrue or misleading others.
I think that
as part of your prelim. tests you should find a way to tell if a claimant truly
believes in what they do. Lie detector tests are unreliable but somewhat legit.
I wonder if you are gawking at my letter so far, or if you can tell how sincere
I am and that I do believe in the reality of psychic ability.
I do not claim
to have any powers or paranormal/supernatural abilities. I do experience a very
unusual and rare event when I sit with someone who has come to me seeking
counsel.
All I know of
each client of mine is their first name. And within moments I will start talking
about exactly why they have come. They do not speak nor do they even have to
confirm. In some cases they are even on the telephone.
I do not ask
questions. And when I hear or see names in my mind I usually always get them
around the subject at hand.
IE:
I may say "Your father is a very nice man",
then the next statement I make is "I see the name John there".
Later my client explains their father's name is John.
I personally
feel that you would call anything cold reading.
You would go to great lengths to explain away the 100% accurate hits
simply because in your model of the world, there can be no such a thing as
psychic ability. So therefore your
challenge is simply a challenge of how many different ways you could reject the
evidence of Psychic ability and the Afterlife.
Could you
prove to me that you or someone you work with does not have a pre-set model of
the world that is so rigid in it's foundation that psychic ability, when
demonstrated, would actually be accepted?
Because I have seen no proof on your part
and in your cynical tone that you even care if such a thing would exist.
What must a
person do to demonstrate their ability?
Give me an example of what a positive hit would be in a practical
setting.
Tell me what
Subject A: The psychic would have to
say to subject B the sitter, in what scenario that would qualify as a hit to
you.
Thank you
Brough.
_________________________________________________________________________
From: Spencer Marks
To: Brough Perkins
September 20, 2007 1:23
AM
Hello Brough,
Thank you for
contacting the IIG.
First, let me assure you that we are on
the same page about many things. If the ultimate goal is to seek the truth, no
matter what that truth is, then you and all of us at the IIG desire the same
thing. As you know, we offer a $50,000 prize to anyone who can prove any
paranormal or "fringe science" claims. We have made this offer for some time,
and James Randi has offered a $1,000,000 prize for even longer to try to find
proof of paranormal activities. To date, no one has been able to show, under
controlled conditions, anything that would show any indication of such
paranormal activities.
I find it
interesting to note that not ONE psychic individual or group offers the same
type of prize for anyone to prove that they are a fraud, but that can be a topic
of discussion for another time.
Brough, you
are right, you do sound very sincere. We have no way of knowing, outside of
testing you in a controlled setting, to see if you have legitimate powers, and
we would be happy to do so. As you can well imagine, we get the whole spectrum
of applicants ... from those that are mentally ill or delusional, to those that
are obviously trying to perpetrate a fraud, as well as others like yourself who
are very genuine in their beliefs. The problem is that those who are genuine in
their beliefs, who have had great success around friends and family, all seem to
lose their powers when the conditions are controlled. By the way, ANY time that
we set up a test, it is with the entire cooperation of the person being tested
... there are no tricks or surprises ... we go to great lengths to set up a
protocol that is acceptable to both us and the person being tested. Always.
Just a couple
more thoughts. As you mentioned, if this power or gift that you have is
"natural," that is, it exists in nature, and is not "above nature" (or
supernatural), then it SHOULD be able to be found by man. It should be testable,
it should be identifiable, and it should be measurable. All humans no matter
where they are located have the ability to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste
(ignoring individuals who are blind, deaf, etc), and any other sense that one
human has, SHOULD be available to all other humans, if this sense IS within
nature. If all humans are within the possibility of this type of power, then I
can't imagine how Las Vegas would exist, or the Stock Market, or the Lottery,
etc. I can't imagine why it is that not ONE human being stepped forward to
predict the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 ... wasn't THAT event big enough to
have been foretold? But no one did ...
Brough, if the
way you do your readings are as you describe, where you tell them the name of
their father and this ISN'T the same type of "fishing" questions that are so
obvious in a "cold reading," then we would be VERY interested in meeting with
you. This is actually to our benefit too, as we would be the FIRST group to
scientifically discover and document true "paranormal" (or whatever you would
want to call it) powers. It is NOT in our interest to see you fail, as that does
not expand the frontiers of science and knowledge. The $50,000 prize paid to you
would be FAR surpassed in income from our own publishing rights, speaking tours,
and of course, the $1,000,000 honorarium from the Nobel Prize!
As a final
thought, let me give you an example of the kind of reading that would NOT be
acceptable. Since you know what a "Cold Reading" is, I won't belabor the point,
but I myself have had great success when I demonstrate to people what a Cold
Reading is. For example, one woman recently (who I told up front that I was
simply demonstrating a Cold Reading) was asked what Peter meant to her? She said
it was her current boyfriend. I asked her what Paul meant to her. She said it
was her ex-boyfriend. I then asked who Nigel was (I was trying to be clever, as
this woman was British). She said she knew no one named Nigel. I asked her who
Mary was, and she stated this was her Mum. I had three out of four hits, and all
I had done was used the names of the old 1960's Folk Music group, "Peter, Paul
and Mary!" When she later told one of her coworkers of my "talent," she had
forgotten that I had one miss ... Nigel.
I had to remind her of that, thus proving once again people tend to
remember the "hits," and forget the "misses."
Brough, I am
NOT suggesting that this is what you do in your readings, as I have not seen
them, but I would simply ask that you look deeply into how you are getting these
hits. Are you REALLY saying, "Your father's name is John" as a statement, or are
you asking, "I see a John in your life" and letting the subject fill in the
blanks? As I said, we would be interested in meeting you, and testing you under
controlled conditions. We will create a protocol that is comfortable to both you
and us, but we will need you to STATE the name of the parents (or whatever
information is agreed upon) of our subjects, and not ask open-ended, vague
questions which are indistinguishable from the questions asked by phony psychics
in a typical cold reading.
We welcome
your response.
Sincerely,
Spencer Marks
Investigator
Independent
Investigations Group
_________________________________________________________________________
From: Brough Perkins
To: Spencer Marks
September 20, 2007 5:04
AM
Dear Spencer
thank you for your sincerity and honesty.
I am struck with a sense of relief to find I'm dealing with someone who has
ethics and
is not cynical. I am very young, and have been using my professed psychic
ability since the
age of 15 professionally. I believe whole heartedly in what I do, and no it
hasn't always been easy.
My gravitation toward science is part in due to my own desire to keep myself in
check and away
from fooling people and myself. I have attached a two page article written on me
by a journalist who's original
intent was to expose me as a fraud in the community a few years ago. We have
since become great
friends and are writing a book for teens this year.
In the article the journalist briefly mentions something of his own experience
having a reading with me.
I would wonder what your thoughts are in terms of what constitutes a hit with
out cold reading.
Also: Let me suggest that to some extent if psychic ability is real, there will
ALWAYS be an element of cold reading
to any reader. Think about this for just a second: If all I profess is that I
get visions in my mind or hear short phrases and sentences
in my mind that come from "out of no where" then of course there's some degree
of interpretation involved in making sense of the "super information"
being received. What makes it psychic/ or spiritual in origin? Well time and
time again the information pertains directly to the subject sitting in front of
me, or sometimes in another country over the telephone.
Being psychic doesn't mean you know everything. It means you see visions and
hear short phrases and words which, as the medium for such information, you must
put into a phrase yourself, in a sensible manner that resonates with the client.
I can see where this process may become frustrating for a scientist who wants to
get rid of the mediums own filters which only serve to "distract" from the
purity of the information being received.
I also feel Dr. Gary Schwartz, whom you will no doubt attack, has taken great
efforts to reduce if not totally be rid of the mediums personal interpretation
and has striven to get the purest messages from mediums with out cold reading.
He will sit a medium in one room, and a client in another. The medium doesn't
even know the client's gender or age or name and yet the client has arrived
having specifically wanted to hear from a deceased loved one, if such a thing is
possible.
The client is given a score sheet to mark down what information is accurate. Not
even the scientist testing the procedure always knows what the client is
expecting, thus creating a tripple blind test. The subject or client nearly 100%
of the time will receive total confirmation that their loved one is there via
identities and names.
Furthermore I appreciate your candor and that you are not suggesting what I do
is intentional cold reading.
You should know I am open to the possibility that what I do can sometimes be
cold reading. I am human and am subject to error.
I think it's VERY important for scientists to get involved in my work so we can
rule out fraud and make what I do more sensible and ethical.
Perhaps one day the public will not be so gullible to fall for the abuse of
charlatans and thieves who come under false religious and spiritual
facades.
But I must say Spencer, I feel that your example of cold reading was very far
off from what I do. However, on the surface to the in experienced eye
say: the eye of the general public, there would not appear to be much
difference.
If I get names I always tell my client where they are. It is rare that I will
get a name and not know who it belongs to.
Sometimes I have to pose a question. But the question isn't cold. For example:
If I'm talking about someone's sister, then I see an image of a young girl, I
may say "And your sister has just one daughter?". And as we keep talking I may
get a name. K or C like Caren or Kristen. I say "So we've been talking about
your sister and her child. I see a C or K name like Caren or Kristen". Then the
client will say "Yes that's her daughter".
To you this may seem like cold reading, but to a statistician and to the client,
what are the odds of me blurting out the name of her sisters daughter, as I am
talking about that part of the family, after I stated that her sister has just
one daughter. (this was a true example from a recent reading by the way).
Finally I will also state for the record that I can not choose what I see.
Because the information I get depends on sources outside of myself, if you say
"What's my fathers name" I wont just have an answer. But if you send ten clients
all of whom have strong emotions around their fathers, whether there was abuse,
loss of life or just a deep heart felt bond, I will against probable odds
receive information pertaining personally to their father. That's because
undoubtedly the client would have some need for resolve around that subject.
As long as the clients are truly there for a real purpose, and not just for
"fun" then I will function my best.
PS: In my original letter I stated clearly that I do not have any powers.
Psychic ability is a facet of the mind and is there for anybody. In your reply,
which was quite lovely to read for the most part, you stated that I said I
believed I had a power or "gift". Would you have a problem with a world class
athlete or a genius in mathematics stating that they were born "gifted". The
term gift is just an affectionate term I believe that people will use to
describe something to which they themselves had no choice about having. It
should be seen and regarded as a sign of sincerity on your part when someone
professes to be gifted because what they are actually telling you is that they
didn't wake up one day and decide to be a psychic. That helps a lot in
determining whether someone is who they say they are or a fraud. What I do is
not a magic trick, nor an illusion any more than any other facet of physical
perception. Lets keep in mind that perception itself is largely illusory though
and so I refer again to my above points about how there will always be an
element for human error which might be construed as cold reading.
Yours,
Brough
_________________________________________________________________________
From: Brough Perkins
To: Spencer Marks
September 20, 2007 5:13 AM
One more thought for the morning:
If your intentions are genuinely for the advance of science
then you may consider changing your organizations emphasis of "a challenge and
prize" to a more professional theme.
As it stands, waving money in the face of psychic mediums and
describing laboratory testing by using circus terminology like "challenge"and
"million dollar prize", is just ridiculous.
In fact just re-reading what I've written now, I am wondering
again why I've even bothered to write your organization.
Your doubting friend
B.
_________________________________________________________________________
From: Brough Perkins
To: Spencer Marks
September 20, 2007 6:15 AM
By the way,
How do you know personally that no individual psychically
sensed the September 11th tragedy?
I find that to be an extremely weak argument.
Unless of course you're speaking about sensational media
psychics like Sylvia Browne.
I can tell you that two Psychic's I know of did predict
september 11th and had stated their predictions prior to the event.
1: Christopher
Robinson, a British man who was at Arizona University at the time was being
tested in a laboratory for his claimed psychic powers. Each night Mr. Robinson
recorded his dreams on a note pad. The day after the dream a scientist would be
on the road somewhere in Arizona, going to some sort of specific location.
Each night Chris would dream of those places that the "target" was going
and described them with alarming accuracy.
What's more is that the scientist on the road picked up a
crystal at a gift shop and hung it in his mirror just for his own amusement,
Chris Robinson saw this in his dream.
Great lengths were taken to rule out human error.
Two weeks prior to september 11th, Chris Robinson woke up from
a dream but his notes weren't about the target location for that day. He saw two
planes crashing into towers, and specified to Dr. Schwartz he believed it to be
in New york and that it would happen in September. They even sent a letter to
the British Govt. but it got there too late.
2: I myself was
only a teenager at the time when I suddenly kept having dreams of death, fire
and kept seeing my friends faces in coffins. I fell into a depression and during
a walk one evening through the park with a friend who was consoling me, I said
"Leslie something horrifying is going to happen in the world. It's either here
in Toronto or in the states, but it's going to be a huge tragedy and I keep
thinking it's next month"
This was in August just a month before September 11th.
Ironically I had got my first job that year working for a
store that sold spiritual items. My first day of work was on september 11th, and
as I got dressed I watched the towers fall on the news.
As I witnessed this on CNN, I said out loud to myself in the room "This
was what I was seeing".
The store I worked at was called "where angels gather". That
day several people came into our store to seek solace. Some had family in new
york city.
You have to take my word for my experience, as it is purely
anecdotal to you.
But please try to realize that psychic perceptions aren't the
same as "knowledge". You can sense a huge tragedy but that doesn't mean you'll
know what it is specifically.
And nowadays with such cynical organizations that put down
psychics and state lies such as "no police crime has ever been solved using
psychics", which is not true if you talk to the colleagues of Alison Dubois who
worked for a district attorney for many years and has solved crimes using
psychic ability, you will find that it would be difficult for someone like me to
be taken seriously by government if we wanted to prevent a tragedy.
A tragedy such as the
one to come in the next ten-fifteen years when one of the major cities in your
country is destroyed by a nuclear bomb in a suit case in the basement of a
building. It will be the worst we've
ever seen, and London UK is at risk.
Unfortunately your country will retaliate and nuke Iran and
kill millions in return.
But sometimes these sorts of things can't be prevented, and
people like me will be persecuted for even seeing such things.
And if proven accurate, would be accused of planning or being part of it.
Such as the case of a psychic woman from your country who was thrown in Jail
after actually finding a missing body that she had been working on with police
herself.
You can't tell me that these cases which are documented and
legit, are all "made up", or "lucky guesses".
You really have to prove to me that you're going to be serious about this
and that when I provide evidential information you wont ignore it.
So far I've received little proof of that on your behalf.
Tell me what would constitute a proper "hit" in your books and under what
circumstances.
You describe cold reading.
So now describe a genuine reading. What do you think psychic ability is,
so that I can work with you to determine if this is a worthy cause to pursue.
Thank you
B
_________________________________________________________________________
From: Brough Perkins
To: Spencer Marks
September 20, 2007 6:29 AM
PS PS PS PS: =P
"
I find it interesting
to note that not ONE psychic individual or group
offers the same type of
prize for anyone to prove that they are a
fraud, but that can be
a topic of discussion for another time."-
Specifically has a five hundred thousand dollar challenge to
anyone who can replicate
his group's physical mediumship phenomena successfully using
fraud.
They tie up, gag, and take every precaution to rule out fraud
from the medium and sitters
and yet still voices materialize out of thin air and give
accurate information to sitters about their dead loved ones as well as interact
and answer questions. Other physical phenomena occur as well.
So you really just suffer from a simple lack of knowledge
about this field. It seems I have more facts than you do about actual tests,
studies, challenges and psychic's.
It surprises me that you even wonder why so many mentally challenged
people apply for your "prize" because you advertise yourselves in such a
non-scientific manner.
Genuine psychics wont take you seriously until your organization steps up to the plate and actually puts it's preconceived notions aside in the name of science such as the other scientists have.