How Mentalists Read Your Mind The Art Of Cold Reading or Mind Reading | Page 71
2/ Be conscious of trends and life-phases
Each period of time has its own favourite babynames, movies,
music, celebrities, fashion, gadgets, … Each generation is
marked by the history they lived and, on a personal scale, we
all go through roughly the same phases (Gail Sheehy,
“Passages”).
It’s a good idea to read some books on the subject and take
note of useful information.
3/ Beliefs affect what people see: if you believe in the paranormal
you simply won't notice cheating
It has nothing to do with the gullibility or stupidity of the
subject (the person being read). Even intelligent, perceptive
people can be taken in if they don't know how cold readings
work, just as they can be fooled by a stage magician's sleight of
hand. Psychics do rely on the subject's co-operation, often
unwitting.
Some people dismiss readings as nothing but vague
generalizations. Sure, psychics can be vague at times. But often
they give very specific information – or at least they seem to.
You may have heard that stage psychics read body language
and make shrewd, Sherlock Holmes-style deductions about the
person being read. Again, that's only a small part of the story.
Most deductions are fairly obvious, like noticing a wedding
ring or lack thereof.
Dr Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire says: "In
research we often call people who believe in the paranormal sheep
and those who don't goats. What we have found here is that there
is a difference in the way sheep and goats see things."
He has made video- tapes of people cheating while doing
apparently psychic things - bending spoons, producing objects out