Atheists - how do you explain the existence of psychics?

Question

Have you seen Long Island Medium? Ever seen the psychic twins? They predicted the stock market crash, 9/11, Paris, ect.

Answer 1

For many years the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge was an offer by the James Randi Educational Foundation  for anyone that could demonstrate supernatural or paranormal abilities under scientific testing criteria.  Every challenger failed. 



There is no difference between results from an admitted fake using the techniques of a stage mentalist and those claiming actual powers. The psychic ability has never been demonstrated when put to the test. 



The long island medium and others are "grief vampires" who feed off the grief of others by scamming them out of their money when they are vulnerable from the grief from the loss of a loved one. The analogy of vampire is apt since these ghouls literally put food on their tables by earning money from grieving families. I can think of few occupations that are less despicable. 

Answer 2

Psychics aren't real. It's just people desperate for money.

Answer 3

who don't have to!  anymore than you can explain diety. god. water spirits and totem poles.  until science finds the answers it remains a mystery just as why do so many seemingly intelligent being believe in non existant things! furthermore  in trying to justify own lack of real 'faith' have to form questions to allude right minded logic  people are in some way missing something!  possibly lack of a real life and of course a real belief in self.( psychologists  will explain) 

Answer 4

They don't believe in psychics. Frankly, neither do I. I'm Christian. What they can't explain is the origin of life. They can believe (There is much doubt about cross species evolution) in evolution all they want, but they have zero explanation for the first cell. That's where atheism dies

Answer 5

As an atheist, I have had psychic experiences myself and while I don't understand how or why, I expect a natural explanation, not a magical one. We cannot let our ignorance allow for magical thinking since there has never been a single magical explanation that has held up over time only to be replaced by a natural explanation when we get there.

Answer 6

Regardless of whether someone is an atheist or some kind of theist, it is possible to believe that an element of existence is just beyond our senses or current abilities to measure accurately--at least at the moment. Because given our current technology such information is difficult to gather and quantify, it leaves to door open to all sorts of con artists and deceivers who claim some sort of "inside information" the rest of society does not have. Add to that the human tendency to want to "fill in the gaps" and all kinds of fanciful stories can arise. 



Still, there are people who have what I would call gifted insight--perhaps an enhanced intuitive abilities, however limited, that allows them to make connections with the flow of existence beyond the "physical" sense level. Unfortunately, while they may be able to pick up on certain tendencies, the ability to pinpoint phenomena accurately may be lacking. That is why sometimes they seem to get it right and other times, seem incredibly off base. If it is a skill, perhaps, one day, we humans will develop it much as a child develops its gross and fine motor skills over time. 

Answer 7

There is nothing a psychic or medium can do that cannot be duplicated by a good magician.

Answer 8

I'm not atheist but this question commits the common error of supposing all atheists are metaphysically naturalistic.  This is not so.  Many atheists accept the existence of psionic abilities.  They tend not to describe themselves as atheist but that is nonetheless what they are.  Spiritualists, for example, completely reject the existence of a creator God but accept psychic power, and there are followers of Indian thought who believe strongly in karma and reincarnation but are also atheist.

Answer 9

I explain them as con artists, who use cold readings and very ambiguous statements that could apply to nearly any event or that 80% of the people will think it applies to them. Since you clam to be a psychic, take the million dollar challenge to prove it.  Here;s my prediction, you will fail, that is, if you have the guts to try.

Answer 10

If any sentient being (or a god) knows the future, then there can be no free will.

Answer 11

Atheism is a lack of religion, not spirituality. Many people who don't have a religion still have spiritual beliefs. Religion is believing in a god or gods, psychics aren't necessarily working with deities. 

Also, bold of you to assume everyone believes in psychics. I personally do because of my spiritual and religious beliefs, but a lot of people don't.

Answer 12

60% of "psychic" activity is 'stage magic', parlor tricks and sleight-of-hand. 35% is 'cold-reading', making enough blind guesses that even at one-in-a-thousand odds they're guaranteed to get something right...and making the guesses vague enough that they can be applied to anything.



So the premise that psychic powers exist to begin with isn't guaranteed to be factual or truthful.

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However, note that nothing about psychic powers, fortune-telling, talking to ghosts, or anything along those lines requires a god. The Oracle of Delphi was a figure in Greco-Roman folklore and mythology who predicted events with supposedly-perfect accuracy...and this was a gift from the Olympians, specifically the god Apollo to his highest priestess. Clearly if this psychic existed, which there are historical records of because the title was passed down from priestess to priestess not unlike a Hellenistic female pope, and was a genuine psychic then it's the Christians and Jews and Buddhists and Muslims who have to explain the existence of psychics.

Answer 13

no proof of any psychics have been provided

people lie a lot

Answer 14

Simple, they’re not real.

Answer 15

atheists claim they know everything but know next to nothing.

Answer 16

There's a lot of money to be made by duping people into believing that you have psychic ability.



From 1964 to 2015, the James Randi Foundation offered a cash prize to anyone who could demonstrate actual psychic ability - by 1996 the prize was up to one million dollars, but (unsurprisingly) nobody was ever able to claim it, because 'psychic ability' is nonsense.

Answer 17

Exactly the same as any other con artist

Answer 18

The only thing you could have done that would make this question any worse for yourself is add a Youtube video or link a wiki page. Are you seriously this stupid? There is a reason Theresa Caputo is not on TLC any longer~~ SHE WAS BUSTED FOR FRAUD!! The same as all these other idiots should be. Haul your head out of your a$$ and wake up. There is no such thing as a psychic. And stop watching tabloid tv. It rots your brain.

Answer 19

Frauds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Answer 20

Their will be evil in the world trying to lead humans to the dark side

Answer 21

I'm no atheist but I can tell you that they  are  hooked up with the devil.  I had a fortune teller tell me some things when I was teenager that she had no way of knowing.  Don't mess with it.   The Bible speaks against it and all the other "new age" garbage.  

Answer 22

It's a con game just like religious preachers. If you can fool the people you can make money. If psychics were for real, they wouldn't have to work. They could just win the lottery every week.

Answer 23

You don't have to explain it to atheists, much less, to unbelieving people, even if they are religious, the existence of the so-called Sensitives, Magicians, Medium, has always been on earth, and there will be until the end of mankind on earth.



These people are under the power of the Demons, that's why they can predict the future about all things, which will actually happen.

As for September 11th, I was aware of this destruction of the twin towers, as it had been revealed to me by the Lord, as well as of the Pestilence, called CoronaVirus.





Divinations are not allowed by God, for those who consult such people, as mentioned above, here is the law:





Leviticus 19:31.

Don't turn to mediums and magicians; do not consult them, so as not to contaminate yourself through them. I am the Lord your God.

Answer 24

Lies, coincidences, and cold readings techniques

Answer 25

Whether psychics can communicate with the dead or not doesn't prove God exists.

If a psychic is real, then they should be able to predict winning lottery numbers, etc.  Its easy to "predict" something that occurs on occasion (like the stock market) and without providing details of 9/11 BEFORE the event its not a prediction.  Anyone can claim they knew about something before it happened.

Answer 26

Because of charlatans and gullible people. Psychics are as real as pink unicorns.

Answer 27

How did life originate? Evolutionist Professor Paul Davies admitted, “Nobody knows how a mixture of lifeless chemicals spontaneously organized themselves into the first living cell.”1 Andrew Knoll, professor of biology, Harvard, said, “we don’t really know how life originated on this planet”.2 A minimal cell needs several hundred proteins. Even if every atom in the universe were an experiment with all the correct amino acids present for every possible molecular vibration in the supposed evolutionary age of the universe, not even one average-sized functional protein would form. So how did life with hundreds of proteins originate just by chemistry without intelligent design? 

See:

Answer 28

Like preachers, they lie for a living.

But unlike preachers, the law demands a sigh "For Entertainment Only" to be displayed.

Why a church doesn't have to post the same sign remains a mystery.  They sure should.

Answer 29

I explain the existence of psychics thusly: bullshit! That's just something for complete idiots to believe in.

Answer 30

open forum and they are fakes....ALSO TIRH

Answer 31

It’s called a cold reading.They just ask simple question to make it seem like they know you

Answer 32

Some people have the gift of seeing in the world of spirits, it depends on which spirits they work with.  The apostles and the prophets in the bible communicated with the spirits to God, but many communicate with the spirits of hell.

Go to www.godsgrandplan.org.

Answer 33

i dont belive in psychics just as i dont belive in any supernatual powers

never heard of long island medium its probabaly some rubbish  they feed to americans

and  thank you  for aiming your  question to atheists as  you realise  you will get a decent unbiased answer

Answer 34

Those who claim to be  Christans, Jews, and Muslims do not kill such people, as they are commanded to do by their own holy books. fortune tellers, astrologers , psychics, etc, are truly  against god 

Answer 35

Its called cold reading. Many psychic people have "waiting rooms" with audio to hear patrons talk about...well anything...and they start with that. Psychics can read and manipulate people easily. Its all a con. In psychic seminars (like John Edwards) they put drone people in the audience to pretend to agree with everything the psychic says. Televangelists do the same thing. Vaguely predicting the future is not hard. I can do it. See....there will be a major earthquake in the southern hemisphere within 100 years. If that comes true...which it most likely will...does that mean I'm psychic? 

Answer 36

Psychics are people defrauding other people.

Answer 37

Hey, baby. It's a trick. Look into how psychics work their marks. How cold readings are done. Etc, etc. 



It's a trick. 

Answer 38

Well  kid, it's like this

The world is full of liars, cheats and charlatans and also the stupid, ignorant and gullible.

When these two groups interact you get psychics

Answer 39

EVERY year there's at least 60 billion predictions made by people. There's pretty much NOTHING that hasn't been covered in predictions. Therefore, at least "some" of them eventuate because it's impossible for them to not eventuate owing to the fact that the huge number of predictions cover virtually EVERYTHING.

Duh!!!!!!!