Journal #8223

They can easily manipulate you for information that at first you don't notice you gave.

But there is also an "voice" every one has, some listen to it more, some less.
With it you can understand an person easily.

I tested for that too. I told him a name and nothing more, and asked him to see what he got. He didn't know anything about this person, I had never mentioned her to him before yet everything he said was correct.

look up 'hot reading' and 'cold reading'. That's how scammers do this sort of thing. However, some people actually can do it. I have no idea how that works.

I had a tarot reading a few times.
Even to a skeptic they can be oddly precise

Depends how deep that is, that he said.
I mean, if i say your friend has legs till the floor, breaths air and probably eats when hungry i will be right at a very high percentage, but those things are something banal.

I'm tempted to assume it's information manipulation. How specific can he be, for example? Does he flat-out give you information, or does he work towards a conclusion by asking "does he/she" questions?

Ask him what color underwear I am wearing.

@2muchvideogames: Yeah I used to think that, but most of our interaction takes place in Steam chat. He can't see my face or hear my tone of voice. Also there's no benefit in tricking me, he isn't even getting money for it. He's just doing it for the hell of it, trying to find out what it is about.

As for how specific he is, he's working on it. He apparently read that, with practice, things can get pretty specific. Right now, he's getting pretty accurate things within acceptable vagueness levels. He doesn't ask questions, he just "reads the cards" according to their individual meanings.

For the above test, I just told him my friend's name and asked him to tell me what he got. I never told him anything about her, yet the first thing he said was that this person had a major journey in her near future (correct, she lives in the US and she's coming back to visit relatives next month), that she had a critical emotional crisis and breakdown in her past (correct, a very major issue in her life) and was starting a new relationship after a long time (also correct). That makes three correct statements - out of three. It's not MUCH, and that's what we're still testing, but he didn't say anything else. He only said that, giving him a 100% accuracy. He could have said lots of vague things that may or may not have been near correct, but he didn't.

He's practicing, and he sometimes gets vague readings that he doesn't know how to understand. But for the most part, there seems to be some hint of truth in it. We're trying to figure it out.

But I wanted to know what you yourselves think of such arts (if it might be called that). I'm a disbeliever, but he's gotten it right so far.

As i wrote above, he can only go so far until you start noticing an pattern in his predictions.
No one can KNOW anything about anyone, with out asking, if they are not near each other.

Sounds like fortune cookie material, to me. Those predictions are designed to be vague enough to apply to pretty much anything, and they work because you're expected to look for instances that fit the criteria.
It falls apart when you seek clarity. For example, what type of journey? Traveling the world? Finding a new career? Overcoming an addiction?
Most people will have experienced what they define as an "emotional crisis".

I don't remember the exact words, but it was about travel.

If it didn't specify physical travel, then my point still holds.
I'd remain skeptical if I were you, but I wouldn't discourage your brother from having fun with it.

Only time will tell if either of us are gullible idiots.

As a Christian, I see stuff like Tarot as somewhat real but also as a form of black magic. I wouldnt be too quick to dismiss that stuff...
Just my two cents
Dont bash the bible basher

*thumper.

I don't really know all that much about Tarot reading. It could be real, but it's likely just a collection of cards and rules that are worded in a way it could apply to anyone with a decent degree of success.

"they work because you're expected to look for instances that fit the criteria."

"It falls apart when you seek clarity."

To gauge the accuracy of these sort of things, it's best to start out simple. Those vague predictions like 'emotional crisis' can indeed apply to everybody. Can he predict simple things like how many siblings a person has or whether their parents are divorced, or stuff like that? Because there are people that can do that, just based on like a birthdate or something

I'm sure he could. I'll ask him.

i see douchebaggery in your future! =PP

Tarot has always interested me even though i don't consider myself a believer. Same with Astrology: it's fascinating even though i don't find it true =)