Just a brief post. Anderson Cooper (CNN) did a segment today (transcript) on Sylvia Browne – examining the “successes” she claimed and finding them to be somewhat wanting. Cooper then hosted a he-said she-said segment with Randi opposite Linda Rossi, Sylvia’s business manager.
If you want the details, read the transcript, I’m not going to bother to break down Rossi‘s drivel line by line. Although one thing you probably won’t get from the transcript is how Rossi interrupted Randi numerous times and tried to talk over both him and Cooper. Randi behaved impeccably. And Cooper was pretty good, not letting Rossi get away with several attempted red herrings. But I thought it relevant to note that Rossi decided to allot most of her speaking time to complaining about Randi being an atheist, rather than explaining why we should believe that Sylvia is a psychic. She was trying to make it all about Randi – how he was an “atheist” and a “magician” – rather than providing evidence that Sylvia is not a fraud. Regular readers will know that attacking the person this way, rather than their arguments, is a logical fallacy known as ad hominem. It’s the refuge of someone who hasn’t any real arguments to present. Or as Cooper put it (if you could hear him over Rossi interrupting):
That's like a high school debating tactic, to attack the guy who's asking the question, as opposed to answering the actual question.
Very well put!
Of course, you know that Rossi said Sylvia wouldn’t take Randi’s challenge because “[Browne] has nothing to prove to Randi”. Of course, the real reason she won’t take it is because she knows she would fail. And following this lame performance from Sylvia’s representative, of this there can really be no doubt.
This part of the transcript is absolutely hilarious:
COOPER: But when she told Shawn Hornbeck's frantic parents that he was dead and where to find his body, she sounded pretty certain. She didn't say, "I think he's dead, but I could be wrong." She said, "He's no longer with us, and here's where his body is."
ROSSI: Because we still don't have the body of this case. We don't know...
COOPER: Shawn, you think he may be dead?
ROSSI: No, not Shawn Hornbeck. But we -- you know, she could have seen another person that was -- that was also...
COOPER: She didn't say maybe it's another person. She said he's dead, and here's where his body is.
This is her excuse? She didn't mean Shawn Hornbeck, she meant some other kid? Or maybe Shawn really is dead after all, even though he's not? What a piece of work.
Posted by: Chayanov | January 31, 2007 at 12:49 PM
I've said it elsewhere, and I'll say it here. She just gave Sylvia two free hits. If/when a child is abducted by a Hispanic, ok, that's the child she saw. If/when a child's body is found in the woods near rocks, ok, that's who she saw. This is total garbage.
Posted by: Ted H. | January 31, 2007 at 02:30 PM
Oh, for shame! I did debate in high school, and we were much better than to fling ad hominems and similar crap around. That's an elementary school playground debate tactic, which is, naturally, the best I expect from Sylvia Browne and her lackeys.
Posted by: Brendan | January 31, 2007 at 05:15 PM
Oh my word this is crazy! It seems just about impossible to argue with these woo industrialists. These people (psychics) just don't understand that science is a means to an end when it comes too critical thinking. The thinking part is seriously lacking to begin with, AND no evidence can be presented for any of their claims. Frustrating!!!
My ex-girlfriend was and still is a new ager. Her mother told me that, during one of her tutorials on Universal Energy Healing, the instructor claimed to have built a metal pyramid and, when the power went off, he plugged a light-bulb into the pyramid, channeled energy into it, and it shone right through the night!!! Now, I don't understand how this can not be possibly THE biggest finding of our times? No more energy problems… Free energy for everyone!!! But, unfortunately, it can not be tested in the lab, as always. In any case, as I said, very frustrating!!!
PS Great blog skeptico!!!
Posted by: Anti-drivelinator | February 01, 2007 at 05:05 AM
What amazes me is not the comments by Ms Browne, here, but that anyone can be fooled.
"My mama always said," to coin a phrase, to ask for evidence whenever claims are made. Strangely enough she also tried to teach me religion, but... how do people actually survive to breeding age without picking up some healthy skepticism?
Posted by: Dreamer | February 01, 2007 at 05:48 PM
Quoth Rossi: “[Browne] has nothing to prove to Randi”.
Well, that's the whole point of the criticism, isn't it? Browne has no actual abilities, so she has "nothing to prove," not only to Randi, but to everyone.
Posted by: Jurjen S. | February 02, 2007 at 06:08 AM
she may have been wrong but only God could be 100% right.
Posted by: colin | March 20, 2007 at 12:18 PM
Posted by: Tom Foss | March 20, 2007 at 12:45 PM
No one's demanding that she be 100%. We only demand that she be greater than chance. This is just one case where she was wronger than usual.
Just to repeat an important point: No one is demanding that she be 100% correct.
Posted by: Bronze Dog | March 20, 2007 at 02:28 PM
she may have been wrong but only God could be 100% right.
And look how often he get's it wrong.
Posted by: Jimmy_Blue | March 20, 2007 at 07:16 PM