in the present time...: January 2009

Patty and I went to see a presentation on Sunday by a guy who claims to be able to speak to the dead. I think he said that we all have this ability but I forget what makes him special. Anyway, it was interesting to see him work. He bounced from person to person in the room randomly, claiming he was "getting something" from various parts of the room. I was nervous that he'd try to communicate with one of the spirits floating around me, which of course he did.

My theory on this man is that he starts out by setting up the rules in his favor. For example, he said that while he may say something to you that you doesn't make sense, it could make sense based on facts which you aren't currently aware of, or it could be a spirit talking who is trying to use you to communicate with someone that you once met but in truth you hardly know. That opens up immense possibilities for fudging.

Next, he enhances his odds at a successful "communication" by making a decisive statement of something he heard from a spirit, but allows audience members to self-identify as being the person who is connected with that statement. For example, he may state that he's getting a strong "miltary voice" trying to speak to someone about a recent auto accident. But that voice is near one of four people sitting in the corner and he's not sure who it's for - oh no! He encourages one of the people to identify themselves as the person being spoken to. Chances are better than zero that one of those four people had a male in their family with a military connection and who also had some connection to an auto accident within the past year.

And here's where his third and fourth tricks tie in - wide time frames and use of social networks. See, for Mr. spirit man, "recent" is relative. Got a spirit talking about that "recent" auto accident? YOU happen to work with someone who's sister had an accident 5 months ago? Okay, chances are good that one of the numerous people you know had an accident within the past year. The wide time frame and the numerous connections we all have make it much more likely that his predictions will appear real.

Another trick he uses is he draws on what he knows about people as a foundation for his communication. Got a shaved head? Mr. Communicator will claim he's hearing from someone in the military. Happen to be black? He'll throw out some slang and cop a working class southern black stereotypical tone to make your spirit sound more authentic. Sitting a bit too far from your apparent opposite sex partner (I noticed this with another couple), the spirits will comment on your relationship and how you need to work on it. Those spirits, so perceptive.

Now, he did hit a couple of things which seemed eerie. For one woman, he seemed to correctly know that she had two friends commit suicide in her life - a male and a female. And for another, he knew about a miscarriage. Lucky breaks I tell ya.

Do I think he's faking on purpose? No, I believe that people like the man I saw really believe that they can communicate with the dead. I believe they either hear voices or think they're somehow really communicating with spirits. When I was a kid, I thought I had x-ray vision because my left eye saw a slightly different image than my right (it's called parallax). And then there was that rumor that went around that when kids turn 13, they might find out that they're really sorcerers with special powers. I wish that were true, man, oh man. My theory - some people buy these stories and they never let go.

Or the SOB could be lying, too.

Either way, he got my $8, and I got to write this blog.

- Mike