On March 6, 2001, psychics Sylvia Brown, John Edward and James Van Praagh appeared on an episode of Larry King Live entitled, Are Psychics For Real?

For those who don’t know, Sylvia Browne, John Edward and James Van Praagh are self-proclaimed psychic/mediums, each with throngs of dedicated, thoroughly-convinced fans. All three claim to be in contact with “the other side” (i.e. the dead) and regularly demonstrate their “abilities” in front of large, TV audiences. Occasionally, they are involved with missing person cases, murder investigations, and other serious issues.

I have seen Sylvia Brown, John Edward and James Van Praagh on TV many, many times, and usually find myself unimpressed and/or angered. In this particular case, I was mystified by the following comment by Ms. Browne to Larry King:

BROWNE: Well, what does somebody do one day, just decide to be a skeptic. I mean, I don’t understand that. What do they do one day?

And the following excerpt from a discussion between to Ms. Brown and Skeptic Paul Kurtz:

BROWNE: I want to know who appointed you, Paul?

KURTZ: No one appointed me. I’m talking about objectivity of science on which the modern world is based.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWNE: I mean, did you one day decide to get up and decide there’s nothing else to do, so I think I’ll be skeptical?

KURTZ: It’s not a subjective test. We want hard evidence. And it seems to me that you’ve presented nothing but your own claims which are — have not been supported.

BROWNE: Well, apparently you haven’t read enough about us, have you.

Sylvia Browne doesn’t understand why a person would be skeptical? Five minutes of research on The Skeptic Societys website will answer that question–but then I guess she hasn’t “read enough” about her critics. Of course, if Ms. Browne truly does not understand why a person would decide to be a skeptic, she can take a look at her own website.

Please note that Sylvia Browne stands by her website; a message from Sylvia on the homepage clearly states: “The only complete truth you will read regarding quotes and statements purportedly made by Sylvia Browne is within this website and those of Hay House, Penguin-Putnam, and Angelbea Publishing.”

Go to (her website) and check out the Psychic Readings section. Down near the bottom (just above the mention of the $750 reading fee) Ms. Browne tells us why we should choose her above others in her profession:

“Other “psychics” tell people that their problems are caused by the person’s own negative blocks, curses, evil entities, demons, or karmic retribution. Do not believe these things. They do not exist. Only a fraud will tell you such things.”

The above statement sounds awfully strange coming from a woman who apparently doesnt understand how or why a person should become a skeptic. If there are false psychics out there looking to scare us with talk of curses and demons, isn’t a little healthy skepticism a good thing? And isn’t Sylvia herself practicing skepticism here?

SKEPTICISM: WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?

Ms. Browne and I apparently do agree on one very important point: THERE ARE PHONY PSYCHICS OUT THERE. Even if we all agreed that psychic powers do exist (I’m agreeing to no such thing, but just for the sake of argument) this doesn’t mean that every person who claims to have supernatural abilities actually has them. There must be a few people out there who have seen the immense wealth and fame accumulated by high profile psychics like Ms. Browne–it’s only natural that copycats will pop up here and there, coveting wealth and fame for themselves.

Now, let’s pretend for a moment that Sylvia Browne really is psychic–in that case, she may be able to easily identify the phonies. Would it hurt her to have some degree of sympathy for people who cant tell the real psychics from the frauds so easily? I myself cannot read mind; all I have is the word of various psychics that they can do extraordinary things. How will I know which one I should give my hard-earned money to? How can Sylvia blame me for being cautious around psychics, when she herself admits that there are frauds running around? What if I don’t feel like being scammed?

If Ms. Browne were an honest-to-goodness psychic, she would have nothing to fear from skeptics. As a matter of fact, she should be TEAMING UP with skeptics. After all, she feels strongly enough to warn people about psychic fraud on her website, and she must not appreciate what all these phonies are doing to give her honest profession a bad name. Why isnt she out to get these people? Why does she continue to fight skeptics at every turn? She has agreed, on more than one occasion, to take James Randis psychic challenge; yet she has refused, on more than one occasion, to reply to his repeated inquiries. For more information on Sylvia’s refusal to take the psychic challenge, go here: http://randi.org/sylvia/index.html.

OKAY, BUT IS SHE FOR REAL?

Sylvia Browne’s services do not come cheap (again, note the 750 dollar fee). For that price, are we not entitled to ask for a little evidence of her powers? She told Larry King that has has “found — saved babies lives, found people that were dead, solved crimes, worked with FBI. How do you do that with cold reading when you don’t even know the people? Work with police department, how is that possible?”

If she’s really done all that she claims, where is the evidence to support it? If we go to her official website, shouldn’t we expect to see actual newspaper articles on the missing children she’s found, copies of police reports from cases she’s worked on, contact info of the officials who endorse her, etc. Unfortunately, all of this is conspicuously missing from Slyviabrowne.com–possibly because the information on her books, lecture dates, and gift shop take up too much space. Is it unreasonable to expect her to provide potential clients with something more substantial than a few uplifting phrases and an angelic photograph of herself?

When I go to a new doctor, I expect to see a few diplomas on the wall. What credentials can Browne produce? What tests has she been required to pass before she can practice? Why should she be allowed to charge 750 dollars for a service she may OR MAYNOT be able to provide?

Geez. Is this woman for real?

To read the entire script of the 2001 Larry King Live interview, go here:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/06/lkl.00.html

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