Sylvia Browne

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("Failing to correctly predict" could mean offering no prediction. She offered wrong predictions.)
(Removed speculation. I see no reason to think that Lancaster caused Montel's cancellation or Sylvia's drop in popularity. See talk page.)
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Browne attempted to claim [[James Randi]]'s Million-Dollar Challenge, <ref>http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/1404-randi-foundation-responds-to-qpsychic-nikki.html</ref> but after agreeing to the initial terms she has made no further effort since 2001. In addition, those who have consulted with Sylvia ($850 is the current going rate for a phone call) have stated that she seems quite fond of [[vitamin supplement|lecithin supplements]] for some reason.
 
Browne attempted to claim [[James Randi]]'s Million-Dollar Challenge, <ref>http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/1404-randi-foundation-responds-to-qpsychic-nikki.html</ref> but after agreeing to the initial terms she has made no further effort since 2001. In addition, those who have consulted with Sylvia ($850 is the current going rate for a phone call) have stated that she seems quite fond of [[vitamin supplement|lecithin supplements]] for some reason.
  
Due to her disproportionate fame for her cold reading ability, she managed to attract the attention of a Robert S. Lancaster, an anti-bullshit writer who started a two-year exposure campaign to point out just how crap a fraud she is. Due to the relentless efforts of Lancaster, Browne's popularity dropped, and it is postulated that the knock-on effect of the negative press was a factor in the cancellation of the Montel Williams show.
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Due to her disproportionate fame for her cold reading ability, she managed to attract the attention of a Robert S. Lancaster, an anti-bullshit writer who started a two-year exposure campaign to point out just how crap a fraud she is.  
  
 
According to [[Quackwatch]] Browne gives inaccurate and dangerous medical advice that she is not qualified to give.  <ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/browne.html Sylvia Browne: Psychic Guru or Quack?]</ref>
 
According to [[Quackwatch]] Browne gives inaccurate and dangerous medical advice that she is not qualified to give.  <ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/browne.html Sylvia Browne: Psychic Guru or Quack?]</ref>

Revision as of 15:11, 9 December 2012

The wonderful world of

Psychics

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Sylvia Browne is one of the most popular, self-serving, and blatantly callous "psychics" out there. [1] She is the leader of an allegedly Gnostic church called the Society of Novus Spiritus, based around the teachings of her channeled "spiritual guide" Francine; she promotes both a mother and father God, and claims to teach Christianity the same way Jesus did. She publicly espouses both afterlife (and afterlife communication) as well as reincarnation.

Sylvia was a regular on the Montel Williams syndicated TV talk show, until it was cancelled by CBS, where she was known for claiming to speak with the dead and famous for several notorious flameouts (including mis-predicting the outcomes of the Shawn Hornbeck case and, on the syndicated radio show Coast to Coast AM, the Sago Mine Disaster). Her method of "psychic" operation seems to be simple cold reading.

Browne attempted to claim James Randi's Million-Dollar Challenge, [2] but after agreeing to the initial terms she has made no further effort since 2001. In addition, those who have consulted with Sylvia ($850 is the current going rate for a phone call) have stated that she seems quite fond of lecithin supplements for some reason.

Due to her disproportionate fame for her cold reading ability, she managed to attract the attention of a Robert S. Lancaster, an anti-bullshit writer who started a two-year exposure campaign to point out just how crap a fraud she is.

According to Quackwatch Browne gives inaccurate and dangerous medical advice that she is not qualified to give. [3]

A 2010, Skeptical Inquirer article examined 115 missing person and murder cases Browne commented on, and discovered she was correct zero times.[4]

Runs in the family

Browne's son, Christopher Dufresne, is also in the business of psychic readings. Sylvia claims that her son's psychic abilities are equal to her own. While Sylvia charges $850.00 for a 30 minute phone reading, Christopher charges $500 for a 30 minute phone reading.[5]

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