Talk:Cold reading

	This Parapsychology related article has not received a brainstar for quality. Please consider expanding the article appropriately. See RationalWiki:Article rating for more information.
Editorial notes Desperately needs more citations. Tagged since November 2022

Bronzer

I've popped a brainstar on this one. It's the kind of high-priority stuff that should go silver/gold. I'll work on it later until I am completely satisfied and require a cigarette. ^{d hominem} 08:31, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

I highly approve of this article. Awesome work. Junggai (talk) 11:13, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Perspectives

If someone makes use of psychics etc to achieve closure ('X is happy in the afterlife, and I told them my good news, now I can move on') or make a decision (a variant on flipping a coin/reading all the newspaper horoscopes to find one that tells you what you really want to do) is it necessarily 'bad'?

To what extent do 'psychologists, detectives and others analysing a situation' use the equivalents of cold reading to legitimate ends? 82.44.143.26 (talk) 17:02, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

Yes, it's necessarily bad, because cold reading is not something that happens by accident. Cold reading is a deliberate strategy to decieve another person that you have other ways of knowing when you actually do not. Reverend Black Percy (talk) 19:10, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

There are occasions when 'mumbo jumbo/using external decision makers' such as those mentioned works better than 'a plain statement to do the same thing' (and we have probably all used 'illogical decision makers' on occasion).

What would the positive equivalent of the second paragraph be - would add legal cross examination and certain types of research. 82.44.143.26 (talk) 19:28, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

I'm sad to say, but I rarely understand exactly what you mean (if at all). Could you be (much) clearer? Keep it simpler. Thanks! Reverend Black Percy (talk) 19:29, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

I think 82.44.143.26 means it can function similarly to flipping a coin? I disagree. Christopher (talk) 19:37, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

What is the 'professional version' of cold reading perhaps? 86.146.100.82 (talk) 13:47, 23 March 2017 (UTC)