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Psychics Many radio stations have phone-in psychics although their abilities vary. One of the best I heard was some years ago on a Melbourne radio station, Alan Dodge I think his name was. He had an uncanny ability to relate events about the person phoning in. However, like all psychics he had his off days. Most psychics don't understand their psychic abilities, assuming, of course that they actually have any. (See my essay 'A Colourless World' which gives some insight into why people with absolutely no psychic ability may think they have some.) Because radio psychics have to put on a show many of them are reluctant to admit that on certain days they are performing below par, and they use various techniques in order to disguise this. One of these techniques, used by a local radio psychic, is to get every caller to give their star sign when they phone in. If all else fails she can simply say something like 'as a Gemini you will be coming to a transition next month' or some other innocuous remark. One of the problems when dealing with psychics, whether on the radio or in any other situation, is sorting the wheat from the chaff as there are currently no tests to determine the genuine ones from the frauds, imitators and the simply incompetent. Nowadays psychics, and imitators, use astrology, numerology and many other techniques to try to get an insight into the caller. Palm reading doesn't work too well on radio. One criticism that sceptics make of psychics is that the numerous methods used 'prove' that at least some of them must be wrong. The reason why good psychics can use such diverse means to elicit information is that the method is simply a map, as it were into the reality behind the outer form. Astrology is not a science, although many astrologers would like to think that it is purely a matter of applying known formulae to the planet's positions. A good astrologer uses the various indications that the astrological chart shows and picks up on the relevant ones. So two similar charts may result in different readings. Similarly, a good palm reader uses the palm as a 'window' onto the person and what they see in the window depends on their intuitive ability rather then the mechanical interpretation of the lines.