Law and Magic Blog

Psychics and Discrimination

Psychics say they face discrimination in some unexpected ways. Among them--sometimes the requirement that they pay "up front" for things like ads in the telephone book. Read more here.

Fortuneteller Challenges Maryland County Ban

A Bethesda, Maryland fortuneteller is suing the county to try to have a provision of the county's code declared unconstitutional. Nick Nefedro says he can't open a business as he had planned because he can't get a license, and he can't get a license because his business is foretelling the future, and that's illegal in Montgomery County. Fortunetellers have challenged such bans before, and have been successful, as in Louisiana.

[Thanks to Ken Trombly for the tip].

The History of the Paranormal in France

I just purchased two interesting books by Nicole Edelman from Amazon France: Voyantes, guerisseuses et visionnaires en France 1785-1914 (Albin Michel) and Histoire de la voyance & du paranormal du XIIIIe siecle a nos jours (Seuil). The first translates roughly as Female Clairvoyants, Healers, and Seers in France from 1785-1914 and the second as History of Clairvoyance and of the Paranormal from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Neither has been translated into English as far as I can tell. The content is unusual, at least for English-speaking readers, so maybe some publisher will be tempted.

Twin-Gate

So the psychic got it a little bit wrong--all that pink and fluffiness was right for just one Brangelina twin. Never fear, however--the experts are already weighing in on the twin names. According to one such, who's "holistic" (?) the little boy's name, "Knox", will encourage him to be "very physical, very stubborn" and a kid who "wants to do it himself." Okay...but I don't know many little boys who don't. BTW, lots of little girls are pretty independent, too. Read more here.

Ghosts, Reincarnation, Spiritualism: New Books To Read

Some new acquisitions for that unread pile of books (and I've actually started reading these):

Owen Davies, Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). Really entertaining and thorough.

John Warne Monroe, Laboratories of Faith: Mesmerism, Spiritism and Faith in Modern France (Cornell University Press, 2008). For the specialist; has a chapter on the spirit photography trial of Emile Buguet.

Lynn Sharp, Secular Spirituality: Reincarnation and Spiritism in Nineteenth-Century France (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006).

Melvyn Willin, Ghosts Caught on Film (F&W, 2007). Provocative photos of "ghosts" and "spirits" on film, some well-known and some not. I admit I'm not close to being an expert in photography. But since the author speculates, and invites his readers to do so, here are my speculations. I suspect that a lot of the phantoms in the photos are more likely to be tricks of the light or errors on the part of the photographer (or the camera) than documentation of visitors from beyond the grave. Still, food for thought. Compare with The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult (Yale University Press, 2005), a much more elaborate book prepared for a recent exhibition.

New European Union Directive Replaces Fraudulent Mediums Act

Here's some discussion of the new European Union Directive that's replacing the (British) Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951. The Directive places responsibility on the person providing a service (in this case, the psychic) to show that s/he did not mislead the consumer (client).  Some practicing psychics foresee a problem, thinking that the scrapped legislation provided more protection for them than does this EU legislation. The notion of treating psychic services as consumer consumables really offends them. Here's another article on the subject from Reuters.

A Times of London article apparently set off some anxiety among astrologers and psychics with its interpretation of the new legislation. After discussing the possible impact of the Directive with several attorneys, the Times reporter noted that fortune tellers would have to issue disclaimers and tell their clients that readings were "for entertainment only." The Spiritualist Workers' Association responded that it does not believe it is the main "target" of the new legislation. Check out this page prepared by the SWA on "the law and you."

Pet Whisperers

If Pet Psychics aren't enough excitement for you, try out Pet Whisperers. These folks will come to your house if need be, but also communicate long distance with your animal companion to figure out what's amiss with Fluffy, Fido, or Thumper, and pass on the news to you. They even have their own magazine. I must admit it never occurred to me to go to a third party (except a vet) to find out what my felines needed to tell me; they seem to let me know pretty successfully on their own what they need or what they're thinking (including "I really detest this peaked hat and cape. I do not celebrate Halloween. Are you dwelling in some alternate universe?") Check out the comments on Pet Whisperers here on an MSNBC.com discussion board webpage. Consider some of them: one cat was sensitive to an upcoming trip planned, and the owner was impressed because the pet whisperer cottoned to that. Well, Kitty might have seen the suitcases, and cats (and dogs) are sensitive to changes in routine. I don't see any big surprise there. The same cat likes to get up at 4 a.m. LOTS of cats are active in the early morning, particularly younger cats. One of mine gets up regularly to make certain the sanitation workers are doing their jobs correctly. I'm joking, of course. Cats are hunters. My cat hears the activity outside--not just the trucks, but people going to work early, school buses, birdies, all that jazz. For the same reason, he and his sisters "know" my usual time to get up, and they are ready when I do so, hop out of bed, accompany me to the kitchen to make coffee, crowd around to demand breakfast, rush back to "help" run the bath, assist with the choice of wardrobe, and all sorts of other ablutions. Weekend routines are different, as are days when I have guests.

To me, the kind of "hit" that the owner described on this discussion board is not evidence that the whisperer and the cat are exchanging information about concern over an upcoming human vacation or preference for a 4 a.m. wake-up call. It means that the pet whisperer knows how to observe cats and report back. That may bring comfort to the owner, but to me it's not evidence that the pet whisperer is actually in telepathic communication with the animal. I need more proof for the claim. 

As an example of pet whispering wares and services, check out this pet whisperer website and note what the practitioner guarantees and doesn't guarantee the client. She notes that her services are not a substitute for veterinary services, which I think a good point for her. On the page marked "pet tips", she discusses how to read a cat's face, but actually discusses the cat's tail more than the face. Cat tails are indeed expressive. None of the information here should be unfamiliar to anyone who has been around a cat more than a few days. (We'll skip the errors in grammar and spelling, which don't themselves mean much about someone's abilities, although I think they're unfortunate). On this page she describes the services and costs. Note what she guarantees. She offers help, particularly for owners who sense that their pets are close to death, although she also poses this question: "How can I get your help?" which I really do not understand. She says she practices "Psychometry"--reading photos. My understanding of the term "psychometry" is that it means the reading of objects normally associated with an individual (or an animal) through paranormal means. Thus, if someone were missing, a psychic would handle that person's car keys, for example, to get clues to the person's whereabouts. If a cat were upset, one would handle that cat's favorite catnip mousie or some other favored object. See also the The Skeptic's Dictionary. Reading photos might be helpful, but I don't understand how it fits within the meaning of "psychometry."

I'm also not trying to pick on this woman in particular; rather, I'm using her as an example of pet whisperer practitioners to show what kinds of services they offer and what they will warranty and what they won't to the general public. This next pet whisperer is a vet (warning--loud whale song), and this one is a vet tech. Services all seem standard.

Another currently popular whisperer is Cesar Millan. Read this article about an alternative philosopher of dog training, Ian Dunbar. As the author writes,

""Jean Donaldson, director of dog training at the SFSPCA and author of "Culture Clash," a book about the human-dog relationship, views the history of dog training in pre- and post-Dunbar eras. "Ian is the man," she says. "He revolutionized the field." She, too, thinks Millan is tapping into something deeper in the current culture -- and his machismo is only part of it. "It's a backlash against political correctness," she says. "People are angry and life is frustrating and [when] someone tells them it's all about dominating something smaller and weaker? They'll go for that."

""Dunbar puts training in the owner's hands," says Aishe Berger, co-owner of SF Puppy Prep, a puppy day care facility that promotes Dunbar's theory of early socialization. "His methods are based on science and learning theory, not the kind of 'magic' touted by the gurulike Millan."

"But if the magic works, who wouldn't want magic?

"There's the catch: Since Millan's program has gained popularity, Donaldson reports, the SPCA has been flooded with calls from confused and frustrated owners who want her to decipher -- and give them the scoop -- on Millan's "mysterious pinch."

"Dr. Patricia McConnell, author of "For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in Your Best Friend" and the animal behaviorist on Animal Planet's "Petline," goes as far as to say that Millan has put dog training back 20 years. "Dunbar is a world authority," she says, "and he should be the one with the celebrity.""

[I apologize for the weird formatting. Typepad (the blogging software I use) is into some kind of upgrade, and I've lost the ability to indent. I just don't have the energy to take out all those double quotation marks. I've written to Typepad to inquire about when the "indent" function will be operational.]

Jolie and Pitt Call In Psychic To Consult Twins Concerning Nursery Design

According to a report from MSNBC.com, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie couldn't come to an agreement on decorating the nursery for their twins, so they brought in a psychic to consult the babies (who are not yet here, by the way). Mr. Pitt wanted "a nursery filled with furniture with ‘clean lines’ — sort if (sic) ’60s modern and lots of natural wood colors and whites," according to the source quoted by MSNBC. Ms. Jolie wanted "a classic European nursery." And guess what the twins wanted! Yes! According to the psychic, the word went out to the store that they favored "organza bassinets with pink bows, pink Versailles-style cribs with matching changing tables and armoires, and custom-made crystal chandeliers made in France." Surprise! The bundles of joy were on Mom's side! Since Ms. Jolie is rumored to be having girls, not such a leap. Mr. Pitt, who seems to have been thinking in a gender-neutral way, lost out on this one. I wonder who the psychic was, and if any guarantees were made as to the accuracy of the reading. I'm guessing not. 

The Still Unexplained (But We're Working On It)

MSNBC.com highlights some "weird science" written up by Benjamin Radford here, in a sidebar for an article discusses why Indiana Jones is an entertaining character but a really bad archaeologist. [He seems utterly unaware of the law regarding historic artifacts, even in the 1930s. Ya don't just grab 'n go, pal.] Mr. Radford reviews Bigfoot, near-death experiences, deja vu, psychic detectives, ESP, and the placebo effect, among other unexplained phenoms. All interesting, and worthy of discussion. A tip of the hat to MSNBC and Mr. Radford for this overview of the subject metter.

Across the Pond

Here's a link to a post at Ben Goldacre's BadScience.net in which he discusses the new legislation that replaces the soon to be repealed Fraudulent Mediums Act, that itself replaced the Witchcraft Act of 1736. Among his comments:

Psychics are popular. They do what they say on the tin. They serve consumers who possibly shouldn’t watch telly after 9pm, but who have chosen to seek out practitioners with a very odd take on evidence. Apparently, special protection will be given to those who may be “particularly vulnerable” on account of their “credulity” (”consumers who may more readily believe specific claims”).

With my tiny brain, I can’t see how anyone is going to rationally police this kind of thing, given that the whole industry is, by definition, based on nonsense, and it’s plainly undesirable to ban things simply because they’re stupid.

...

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has given us a taster of the comedy to come, adjudicating last month in all seriousness on Zara, the “UK’s premier psychic adviser”. It was concerned that statements like “I will cast a spell to grant your wish”, “might be interpreted to mean that her spells would be successful”. Thank God the ASA is there to save us from this underhand marketing practice. I don’t understand why anyone would pay for a spell if they didn’t think it would be successful.

Then the regulator tried to assess Zara’s powers. “We considered that the claim ‘premier psychic adviser’ implied that Zara offered an objectively superior service to all other psychic advisers … because we had seen no comparative evidence to show that Zara offered an objectively superior service to all other psychic advisers, the claim was misleading.”

It’s unclear what kind of evidence might have sufficed for the ASA. If it was a provable phenomenon then perhaps that would genuinely have been mis-selling. Maybe Chris Forster, the BNP’s moustachioed psychic candidate for the London Assembly, could have helped the ASA take a more quantitative approach. His speciality is “remote viewing of people, property or businesses, ie to analyse accurately at a distance”, and he promotes himself as “the only qualified internal auditor and accountant working full-time as a psychic”.

This nonsense is everywhere, and I’m glad of it (although not the BNP part). I am very happy to live in a world where “Alien doctors treated my cystitis” can be a news story in the Hartlepool Mail (”I don’t tell people … I don’t think they believe me. That’s why I’m telling my story to the Mail, to give credibility. I want to get it into concrete evidence”).

Good stuff.