I don't get it

I don't get it. I'm sorry, how can you call "more fires" a prediction? That's like saying "another earthquake in California" that shows nothing but she's paying attention to history. And when she was on Coast making these predictions didn't she say fires in California AND the midwest? I don't recall huge fires in Michigan.

I want to be blown away...tell me when the next earthquake will hit in Maine. When will fires sweep across the everglades? I want to know when there will be a shark attack on the coast of Lake Erie. Tell me something unexpected and I will admit psychic ability.

From Comments, Anonymous

I don't recall Evelyn Paglini's exact words. The gist of it was "much worse than usual", and much of the reporting was along the line of "worst fires in history" ... so I'm willing to give her a hit on that one. I don't see that it is necessary for her to get every prediction correct to be given credit for the ones she does get right. You're right a couple of them seem obvious. They weren't all obvious, nor were all the details necessarily obvious. You didn't seem to take notice of her hit on the stock market correction ... or some of the other big misses.

From the way you talk, I don't think you'd settle for "something unexpected" ... you want everything to be something unexpected, and they all have to be hits before you'll admit psychic ability. Well that isn't what is being claimed by predictive psychics, not even close. It doesn't work that way. They all admit a range of error. None of them claim to be omniscient. Clearly that is not the case, or there would be no argument, would there?

If physicians and psychiatrists were judged the way certain skeptics want to judge psychics, we would have no medical profession. We sure as heck wouldn't have any pharmaceuticals (whether that might be a good idea or not, given the abominable tragedies in that business of late, must be argued elsewhere). We don't expect 100% efficacy and accuracy from the medical sciences. Why do some expect that level of exactitude from media psychics, whose work is arguably far less critical to our well being?

I've made my own position on these predictions clear ... they are for entertainment only, nobody should take them seriously. In fact, I started tracking them from the perspective as a truly skeptical observer. I'm told the word skeptic comes from Greek skeptikos "look about, consider, observe". I noticed that the media darlings of the psychic world didn't have anyone truly tracking their predictions. And they were far more negative and apocalyptic than I felt was either likely to be accurate, or ultimately healthy. So I decided to have a closer look at them. It's fun, entertaining, and hopefully people read past them to what really matters here. I hope people will have another look at what lies behind the predictions of their favorite psychics. That doesn't mean I don't think they each have some measure of talent. I just want to see where it shakes out, and it makes interesting reading.

When I look at the future, I'm forecasting, not predicting. I make it clear that subsequent events can (and often do) alter outcomes. That's the point of looking forward. Can I go to a better position than I might have reached if I hadn't stopped and had that forecast? What can I change? So like most working psychics (as opposed to some of the media darlings), I'm not in it to "blow you away" (though I have occasionally been known to do that). If you were one of my clients, that would be your job! You're supposed to blow me away. You're the one who does the hard work of bringing your potential into the world. All I can see is your potential. I can't always see if you will have the stones to bring it about, or exactly how you'll get there.

One thing I think we can agree on. I don't believe it is healthy to spend too much time dwelling on what might happen in the future. It's definitely not healthy to believe that the future is set in stone. If we carry any spark of personal responsibility, we have to believe that our actions can change the path of destiny. The here and now is what really matters most.