Check out this YouTube clip displaying a classic bit of skeptical insight featuring famous actor
and director Orson Welles speaking about "cold readings" during an
interview with Sir David Frost back in the '70's.
As it it stated on the Skeptic's Dictionary, regarding the nature of 'cold readings',
"...salespersons, hypnotists, advertising pros, faith healers, con men, and some therapists bank on their subject's inclination to find more meaning in a situation than there actually is. The desire to make sense out of experience can lead us to many wonderful discoveries, but it can also lead us to many follies." (Carroll 2012)
Where some people see special powers...
I see a whole lot of practice.
Source:
1. Carroll, Robert T., cold reading. The Skeptic's Dictionary. Last updated April 2, 2012. http://www.skepdic.com/coldread.html. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
