A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
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A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
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| Sylvia Browne and "The Mentalizer"
Browne declares a mentalist's feats to be paranormal. What does the mentalist say?  Ehud Segev, "The Mentalizer" BackgroundWhat is a mentalist? A mentalist is simply a stage magician who uses sleight-of-hand and a knowledge of human psychology in order to create the illusion of psychic powers. A mentalist is not "psychic." He or she does not have any "paranormal powers." As part of a mentalist's act, he or she may (and usually will) say that what they do is achieved using mystical, or paranormal abilities. But it is part of the act, much like a non-mentalist magician will pretend that they have really sawed the lady in half, or really made the four aces "jump" to the top of a deck. Steve Shaw, a world-class mentalist who performs under the stage name Banachek, says it this way at the end of his performances: "Ladies and gentlemen, I use my five senses to create the illusion of a sixth." This article examines some of what happened when Israeli mentalist Ehud Segev met Sylvia Browne on the Montel Williams Show. The Show Segev, Browne and Williams On February 3rd of 2006, Sylvia Browne appeared on the Montel Williams Show, but not in her usual capacity as a guest. On this episode, titled "The Friday Show With Sylvia", Browne co-hosted along with Williams. The first guest that day was Ehud Segev, an Israeli mentalist who refers to himself as The Mentalizer. Mr. Segev performed several mentalist routines that day, and he performed them well. But what was most interesting to me was Sylvia Browne's reaction to his performance. 
Williams watches as Segev "bends" a spoon. First, while Segev performed a spoon-bending routine, the following exchange took place (all emphasis mine):
No, it was sleight-of-hand. And some casual searching of the Internet will show how it is done.
No, it is a simple (though well-executed) magic trick, and kinetic energy has nothing to do with it. Moments later, after Segev performs a fork-bending routine...
Segev performs the "touch" routine. After the commercial, Segev performs another mentalist routine in which he touches one person (Browne) while a second person (an audience volunteer) apparently feels that touch. It is a clever routine, invented by the aforementioned Banachek. It is perplexing to the audience, but, like many magic tricks, it has an extremely simple and mundane secret behind it. At the end of the routine the volunteer returns to the audience, and as Browne, Segev and Williams sit back down, Browne says the following:
No, what Segev had just proved was that sometimes, the simplest magic tricks are the most effective. Did Browne Believe It?From Browne's statements I've highlighted above, it is clear that she either believed that Segev was performing "psychic feats," or she was pretending to. A case could be made that she was just "playing along" with the act for the sake of the show, but I do not think so. In the past, Browne has expressed total confidence in the "paranormal powers" of another Israeli mentalist, Uri Geller. On page 169 of her 2005 book Secrets and Mysteries of the World, under the heading "Kinetic Energy and Auras," Browne writes the following:
A field day indeed. Geller claims not to be a mentalist, even though his small repertoire of tricks has been replicated by magician and skeptic James Randi, using nothing more than sleight-of-hand. In fact, these same tricks (bending spoons/keys, starting stopped watches, causing a compass needle to move, knowing what is in a hidden drawing) are the stock and trade of mentalists the world over. And even though Geller continues to insist that he does all of these things using only the "power of his mind," he has been filmed many times where he is clearly seen achieving his effects with decidedly non-paranormal means. What Does Segev Say?But what about Segev, "The Mentalizer?" Does he also maintain that what he does is supernatural? Let's see what Segev himself says on the subject. Segev's Message Board #1On the message forum on Segev's web site, user "Weewop" asks him about his appearance on the Montel Williams Show. Here is an excerpt from Segev's response:
Segev's Message Board #1Elsewhere on Segev's forum, he is asked by user "Tessa" about his "supernatural abilities." Here is an excerpt from Segev's response:
NBC's PhenomenonIn 2007, Segev was one of ten mentalists selected to participate in the NBC show Phenomenon. In his "post-elimination interview" upon leaving the show , Segev was asked "Do you believe in the reality of true physic phenomenon or is it all 'just a trick'?" Here is his response:
Email From SegevI contacted Ehud Segev on his web site, and asked him if he would like to share some thoughts regarding his appearance with Browne and Williams that day. Here is what he said:
(For more information about the mentalist Ehud Segev, please visit his web site at www.mentalizer.com.) AnalysisSo, Browne has declared both Segev and Geller to have supernatural powers, when they do not. Why? She either mistakenly believes it to be true, or she is deliberately lying about it. If she is mistaken, wouldn't a "real psychic" know that these men were using sleight-of-hand? If she is lying about it, why? ConclusionMy personal opinion is that Browne knows that these people do not have paranormal abilities, but claims they do because she knows that it encourages people to blindly accept claims of paranormal abilities without any proof. If she acknowledged that these seemingly "paranormal" abilities were nothing more than magic tricks, that might encourage people to examine Browne's own supposed abilities a bit more closely. And I believe that is the last thing Sylvia Browne wants. My thanks to correspondents SK and GZS for making sure I knew about this clip, and of course to Mr. Ehud Segev, both for his contribution to this article, and for his clear and ethical stand regarding his profession. Related LinksClicking on any of these links will load a separate browser window for viewing the linked page. StopSylviaBrowne.com is not responsible for the content of any of these linked pages.
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