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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9/11 Fireman: Reading on the Montel Williams ShowSylvia Browne tells a woman that her boyfriend died in a way which seems to conflict with the facts. 
Sylvia and the woman (see Update below). BackgroundThe Montel Williams Show is an American daytime talk show which frequently features Sylvia Browne as a guest. On some of these shows, members of the studio audience are allowed to stand and ask Ms. Browne questions. One such episode of the show was broadcast on May 24th, 2006 (episode title: "Sylvia Browne Explains the Unanswered"), in which a woman asked Browne about her deceased boyfriend, and was visibly upset when Browne's answer did not make sense to her. As discussed elsewhere on this site, I believe that what Sylvia Browne does is indistinguishable from "cold reading," a method used by mentalists, magicians and others to create the false illusion of psychic powers. The way she handles this woman's statements is very much in keeping with cold reading techniques. The ReadingWhat follows is a complete transcript of that segment of the show, interspersed with my comments. Browne and Williams are seated on stage, and the woman is standing in the audience holding a microphone. (See Related Links to view a YouTube video of the segment.)
The woman looks stunned at this, for reasons which will become apparent in a moment. First though, an observation on Browne's statement: If a body has not been found after "a few years," chances are, it will never be found. When presented with a situation like this, a cold reader can make up any answer he or she wishes, usually with little fear of contradiction. Usually. But not always.
(The woman's New York accent, combined with the fact that the show tapes in New York City, would seem to indicate that the woman's boyfriend was one of the New York firemen who died at the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.) If Browne is cold-reading (as I believe she is), she has just made a major blunder, and needs to decide how to recover. Apparently, she decides to run with it, insisting that she is correct.
There is another pause at this point. Even Montel Williams, who normally backs Browne up when her "readings" go astray, seems to be at a loss to accept this one as correct.
By now saying "he was filled with water" (past tense), Browne has opened up more interpretations than her earlier, more specific statement, "he is in water" (present tense). A cold reader might make such a change, hoping for interpretations which would be considered a "hit." But neither Williams nor the woman seem to buy it, and there is another long pause.
There is another uncomfortable pause here. Apparently, Browne decides to not push the "in water" idea any more, but tries to wrap it up on a somewhat positive note.
At this point, a woman's voice can be faintly heard saying "Okay, thank you." It is difficult to tell if it is the woman who just sat down, or the one to whom Montel just pointed. ConclusionSo, could a fireman who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11 be "in water", more than four years later? Could he have drowned on 9/11? I have read a fair amount of material on 9/11, and have never heard of anyone - fireman or civilian - drowning at the World Trade Center that day. If anyone reading this can send me legitimate news references of people drowning that day, I will add that information to this article. As it stands, in my opinion, this is yet another example of a cold reading which went badly - for the cold reader. 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.
Links to video of the reading removed. See Update below for explanation. Update: December 20th, 2006I was contacted today by the woman being "read" by Browne in the segment of the Montel Williams Show discussed in this article. Here, with her permission, are excerpts from the email I received from her:
After verifying to my satisfaction that she is indeed the woman in the clip, I removed her image from this article, as well as links to the video clip, out of respect for her loss, and her fiancée’s sacrifice. If anyone reading this has a copy of the video up on the web, I would ask you to consider taking it down as well. I feel that it is important to show Sylvia Browne for what she is, but to do so at the expense of this woman and her feelings seems too much like what I am accusing Browne of doing: taking advantage of the grieving. My thanks to this woman for agreeing to my keeping the transcript of the segment here on the site.
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