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Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina  It's really no different than any other profession in the sense of mistakes. It's safe to say that doctors do a lot more damage than psychics do when they misread a serious problem (which happens quite often). |
Hello Steve,
I don't know much about the legal situation concerning psychics. I assume that doctors (if, by that you mean medical doctors trained in scientifically-based medicine with a peer-reviewed and publicly vetted structure) in your country are liable to prosecution for their mistakes. How does that compare if I get advice from a 'psychic', take it, and then try to sue them when everything turns pear shaped?
Besides which, let's rewind a moment - all that scientific study into the causes and cures of disease and so on - all the peer review process requiring strict adherence to scientific principles that something is effective (on the one hand), someone with presumably no formal training, possibly working in isolation or just backed up by their 'psychic' mates at informal get-togethers (on the other). I don't know in what sense you are using the words "really no difference".
Furthermore, could you tell me whether you think it is possible for someone to have a psychiatric dissorder or other mental confusion, and whether such a person could, theoretically, practice as a psychic? Because if we put this possibility together with the lack of scrutiny and peer accreditation - oh, did I mention the several years of hard study and exam qualifications - then I think the OP's concern is even more reasonable. While one could argue that it is possible for a doctor to be mad, all that testing and feedback in the medical system is likely to weed those people out.
As a last point, perhaps you would like to tell me how one can distinguish between a fact and a hallucination, if you have time.