Just sharing something else that I watched and enjoyed this week.
Well-known medium Matt Fraser is describing and sharing a clip, through an online reading that had just occurred, where he's communicating with the spirit of a woman's deceased father. Then another spirit comes through, which is the soul of a young boy, who had been hit by a drunk driver in the same neighbourhood.
His method seems to be the usual cold reading.
https://eu.telegram.com/story/opinion/le...984201007/
Quote:I attended "Matt Fraser: Psychic/Medium" at Mechanics Hall on Jan. 5, 2020, from 1-3 p.m. There were four sections of rows, two on each side facing each other.
He spent the first 10 minutes talking about himself. His conceit was quite obvious; however he was rather amusing. He then began going down each section forming general statements towards one row; assuring someone in that row had something in common with the statement. If he wasn't getting a response to his "channeling," he would compensate by providing outstanding humor.
He was conveniently "drawn" to two rows from each of the four sections; perfectly balancing his attention around the room. He finished at exactly 3 p.m.
https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/...aser-live/
Quote:Everything I’ve seen shows the hallmarks of a very good cold reader. But in the one video I reviewed of Fraser reading NBC Connecticut Morning News host, Shannon Miller, I saw something completely different. Fraser went directly to speaking about Miller’s dead grandfather, that he was a military man, and that he was proud of Miller. That was quite a tease. And then Fraser said, “You were just looking at photos of him.” Through tears, Miller responds that she had been. YEP, she sure had been. It took my team just a couple of minutes looking at her Instagram page to find three sepia photos that stood out from all the color photos. They were of a man in military uniform, along with a comment that it was Miller’s grandfather. I suppose Fraser would say that “Grandpa came through with a message to his granddaughter.” I have a skeptical mind and think that it is more likely that Fraser sneaked a peek at her Instagram page. If so, that is classic hot reading.
Psience quest needs far more critical thinking IMO!
Yeah I don't know one way or the other. Did you watch the clip I just posted and did you find that specifically was just cold reading though? That would be more interesting to me.
I think group readings and entertainer mediums have potentially those problems you mention.
On the other hand, he's pretty direct and specific with the staff on this TV show.
You could argue he already knows about them or researched them. That's not really convincing to me though with the level of detail here. See especially the African American woman.
(2023-03-19, 11:02 PM)Brian Wrote: [ -> ]His method seems to be the usual cold reading.
https://eu.telegram.com/story/opinion/le...984201007/
https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/...aser-live/
Psience quest needs far more critical thinking IMO!
I'm not sold on the guy, the celebrity status makes me suspicious as it's hard for me to believe a medium can have so many hits to amass wealth of that magnitude...but the first link isn't really anything but accusations?
The second one goes into supposed strategies but it isn't an actual proof of fraud? Susan Gerbic runs Guerilla Skeptics...as such I don't even completely believe that's a real transcript she transcribed.
I've read two other attempts by pseudo-skeptics to expose him and neither had any actual success, just claims he was definitely doing cold or hot readings. For people who talk about evidence and its [importance] was strange they couldn't produce any.
There are also anonymous claims on Reddit that claim he had people fishing for information, but no actual proof. One claimed Fraser called them after the group session because they weren't picked and said he'd do a reading for $50...Fraser is a millionaire, is he really gonna hunt down one person for $50?
I've seen - in the opening minutes of his reality TV show - Fraser explicitly talking about wanting to build his business empire and make more & more money, so he isn't hiding behind some goody two-shoes persona.
I'll see what comes out of the online reading after I sign up for it - I have a feeling it'll be disappointing without any outright fraud but who knows? Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
(2023-03-19, 11:15 PM)Ninshub Wrote: [ -> ]You could argue he already knows about them or researched them. That's not really convincing to me though with the level of detail here. See especially the African American woman.
The cologne stuff definitely seems like a "hit" unless she or her brother posted about this online. I think part of the challenge is it never seems completely random, or controlled in the way SPR controlled their mediumship studies.
I am still going to sign up for the online reading, out of curiosity as much as anything. I do think Fraser is quite entertaining, if nothing else, and given the obvious comfort he's given to people I'd hate for him to be found out.
I am going to read up on "hot" and "cold" reading though, as
does raise a good point that we should know what tricks we might encounter. Ideally I'll come away with a good reading ~
(2023-06-21, 04:58 PM)Sciborg_S_Patel Wrote: [ -> ] Ideally I'll come away with a good reading ~
I would say limit your expectations about getting "chosen". I saw someone post on a youtube video, concerning the same event I attended, that there were 800+ participants. I don't know if that's true, and how that person got that information. But if so, and about say ten person get chosen, your percentage is like 1 out of 80 if I'm doing the math correctly.
I was thinking it might be more worth it if I could convince some family members of mine to attend with me. Maybe then there are more souls around, who are pushy enough to get the medium's attention!
However I don't know if I'll be able to convince members of my family to participate in something like that when they don't have much of an opening to it.
In any event, I did sign up for another event at the end of July.
In terms of Matt Fraser, I do find interesting looking at some of his videos where they aren't readings, either videos that he's presenting on a subject or interviews. I do find him to be genuine in terms of how he comes across - what he "knows", what he knows he doesn't know*. And that what's learned and is still learning is from the connections with deceased he makes, not from books.
*See here for example on the topic of reincarnation (go to 13:27):
https://www.youtube.com/live/YpsFlju1Jnc...hare&t=807
I've ordered his book just to read his own sense of the afterlife because I find his answers interesting, with the goal of comparing them to other sources.
I'm glad I don't have TV because I'd be turned off by that show!
I'd add that Matt's limits here in terms of knowledge of the afterlife are those of most mediums, who aren't channelers but just strirt mental mediums. They don't go much into metaphysics of the afterlife because they don't have access to that information. Same thing would happen if you would attend a Spiritualist church.
In her co-authored book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Communication with Spirits, certified medium Rita S. Berkowitz makes the same point. (Can't find the quote, I'd have to re-read the whole thing.)
If you're someone who isn't looking for validation of your deceased's ongoingness or just possible validation of the existence of life after bodily death, but are looking for the Grand Picture, you're bound to be disappointed, as they just access a certain sphere - what the discarnates tell them they experienced. So, for example, you wouldn't know through that if a discarnate has a higher self, etc. For access (or speculation about) the Greater Picture, you need to look into channeling, or more transcendent NDEs, astral travel, etc.
This is another of Matt's videos I found interesting, though, taking into consideration those limits, about "hell" or earthbound spirits. How "bad" do you have to be to get stuck there instead of automatically going to "heaven", etc. (To make it clear, I'm not buying this as truth, but just as one of multiple potential - and potentically conflicting - sources of information.)
In terms of Matt's personality tendencies towards a lot of self-emphasis (!) and potentially other features some would find "not spiritual" - I think that's an interesting topic in itself.
Recently I watched an episode of the Next Level Soul Podcast with someone, I think a channeler, I don't remember which, who said there was nothing "spiritual" about himself but suddenly the gift showed itself.
I think it's easy to get confused with our human understanding or definition of what "spiritual" means. As if one has to be spiritual=holy to be spiritual=having access to other spheres. There's possibly some correlation (that's what I'm speculating) if we get into higher and higher spheres of information or reality, but I think we really have to check our preconceptions aside, or be aware that they are just preconceptions fed by our human culture.
(2023-06-23, 09:25 PM)Ninshub Wrote: [ -> ]In terms of Matt's personality tendencies towards a lot of self-emphasis (!) and potentially other features some would find "not spiritual" - I think that's an interesting topic in itself.
"I don't care if they call me a scam artist, a $@#! fake, but if they call me fat I'm gonna cry"
A line from his show heh. I do think the clips make him out to be vain and childish, but ultimately a person who does care about his family. I kinda like that he is very upfront about how he wants to make money as well.
I see more pseudo-skeptic attention focused on Tyler the Hollywood Medium, though AFAIK no one has managed to actually find proof Tyler is faking either. Guerilla skeptics even got a bit weird in their obsession, insisting that Tyler was gonna get pissed off at their articles...seemed a bit like a stalker hoping for attention heh.
Of course I don't know if these guys are fake, I trust friends & family who hear of a potentially good local medium more than I trust the celebrity mediums. It will take some time for me to try and investigate mediums like I planned to do before COVID so will just have to wait and see.
I've seen clips of Tyler. The problem with his readings is that they're all hollywood celebrities, so for the audience, if you're skeptical at all, you know it's possible to Google a lot of that stuff. He also seems to be mixing in mediumship with psychic readings of the person, which muddies the waters, which Matt doesn't do - he keeps strictly to mediumship (what the discarnates are telling him).
The most annoying thing I've seen with Tyler's readings though is the sitters, some of whom say they're skeptical of all this, but as soon as he starts saying they'll start crying and they will reveal absolutely everything. So it's absolutely of 0 use as evidence, although of course I'm sure those most who watch his TV show aren't interested in or aware of all that.
On this question, in the previous video I posted of Matt, the interview, it's interesting because at 26:17 he's asked about that. Because he too will occasionally read a celebrity and the question of Googling is brought up.
Sci, I'd recommend you watch this video if you're interested at all in signing up and trying. It's an interesting interview. Personally what I come away with after seeing a lot of Matt Fraser (not on the TV show!) is that I would actually put my hand in the fire that he's not a fake, that he's completely genuine. That's where my level of trust and psychological sense is with him.
Now as to whether mediumship is actually reading discarnates all the time is another question, or or what is actually happening on the other side when mediumshiop occurs (is all as it seems?). I favour strongly that hypothesis, but to me that is more of an open question than whether Matt Fraser is a fake!