How do clairvoyants know things??

[Homer2]

I have never believed in this, I saw one once just for fun at my aunties house and she wasn’t great. She did say a few things that were accurate, but I put this down to being guesses or general vague things that would be relevant to the majority of people.

However, recently my friend went to one. She recently lost her dad and her partner. Without telling the clairvoyant anything, she knew how her partner died and what his name was. She mentioned my friends dad blowing kisses in a weird way, with the palm of his hand instead of his fingers, which is something he did used to do. How would she know these things??? I don’t honestly believe in it, but can’t understand how she’d know such specific things

Doing a social media search on the person. You should book but give a false name see how much they know then

I’ve never believed but agreed to go with a friend, he said some really relevant things which hit home, I was floored. It was only when I was laid in bed that night did I remember I had talked about it with a friend in the lounge waiting area. Place was obviously bugged or something, absolute charlatan! I went again, no idea why I agreed, just peer pressure I guess, I talked bollocks about my fictional ds Peter, low and behold, he mentioned my grandad saying a P name, maybe Paul or Peter. I was rushed out when I started laughing.

In mill towns, they ask for people with grandparents/great grandparents with a missing finger. And there was always at least one, because it was a common injury amongst weavers.

For those saying googling, social media etc .. what about the days before this? Saw a ‘clairvoyant’ back in 1990, so way before internet, mobile phones, social media etc. We went as a group from work. She told me a couple of things which were true and not easily guessable, but then she hit me like a ton of bricks when she said the baby I had terminated was doing well in the spiritual world, and would not have survived the living world, so the termination of was the best decision. No-one knew I’d been pregnant or terminated. Absolutely no-one. I was 18. I didn’t tell a single soul. There is no possible way she could have known this information at all. For me, this cannot be explained in any way other than she truly did have spiritual insight.

I've just read Goodbye, Dearest Holly by Kevin Wells, Holly's dad. In it, Kevin describes how a clairvoyant 'knew' things about Holly and Jessica's disappearance long before anyone knew what had happened. This cannot be explained in any logical way.

What did he "know"?

Their other approach is to rely on faulty memories of 30+ year old events. Can you remember exactly what was said? Of course not, the wording will have twisted and turned over the years.

Google "cold reading", as it's by far the more plausible explanation.

Yes, same with steelworkers as well. They use clever odds with names and experiences, but swiftly gloss if it doesn't hit.

I was out walking with my puppy (at least 15 years ago now). A lady stopped me (I had never seen her in my life before). She told me that I had two other dogs following me. She told me thier breeds, sexes, and the fact that one of them only had three toes on one paw. This describes my two long gone dogs perfectly. She told me she occasionally ‘sees’ things but never knows quite when they will happen. I didn’t know her, had never met her before and have never seen her since. She had no reason to make up an impossible story about my two dead dogs. She made my day. To know my darlings are still with me is a massive comfort.

Why have none of these people been able to do it in controlled conditions?

They mainly throw out a lot of things and something sticks. The punter remembers the thing that resonates and forgets the rest.

This. I am not a clairvoyant but sometimes get a feeling about certain things that turn out to be true or happen later.
My aunt has the clairvoyant ability. She also says its a curse knowing things about people shed rather not know. She doesnt use her ability for financial gain at all.

Quite.
I'm quite good at "reading" people, but that's because people give clues and hints, verbal and non verbal. I'm not clairvoyant, just quite aware in that sense.

If you told someone in a tribe that there were airwaves all around them, they wouldn't believe you. 🙄

So many sceptics on here. I find that quite a self important attitude to life : "If I haven't seen it, then it cannot be true". Just sticking fingers in their ears when other people tell stories that simply cannot be logically explained.

There's nothing wrong with being open minded.

If everything is "explainable", someone explain just one of my examples upthread :

^My Mum went to see a Medium many years ago. She had just lost her sister. She (my aunt) was called Pauline, but close friends called her Polly for short. The Medium was rubbish. When they all got up to leave, a woman who had been sat next to my Mum in the audience said "That guy was rubbish. He didn't give anyone any real detail. I mean, you'd want someone to say something specific, like for example" : "Hey, I have your sister here, her name was Pauline, but everyone called her Polly for short".....^

Coincidence or fiction would be two more credible explanations

The way she died was very unusual for lack of a better word the medium described the way she died and the people connected with her death, she wanted me to know she is okay and at peace. It was very odd for me as she wasn’t as close of a friend in my adulthood but in my childhood but I do often think about her.

Cold reading. Researching where possible. They also usually play to a receptive audience,
people who want to believe it’s true and are willing to unconsciously collude in the illusion.

And people citing “yeah but” examples - it’s impossible to explain it on a forum without full, transparent disclosure of all the circumstances and being able to hear the actual conversation that took place.

I am a complete nonbeliever in this kind of thing but had an astonishing incident years ago

Waiting to meet someone in Glastonbury I was wandering around and a clairvoyant/medium/tarot reader type person's rooms. I had time to spare, it was only £15 and I was interested really to see what a load of crap it all was.

The woman asked if there was anything in particular I wanted to know and I said no. She dealt out some tarot cards and pretty much before I'd even sat down told me about an incident that had just happened in my life. She named names, times, amounts of money, details of an incident - all completely accurate. All of which I suppose could have been clever guesses.

Then the most amazing thing she actually said something word for word that someone had said to me. The whole thing - word for word. Then she told me what the outcome would be. That later came true too - all outside of my control so I didn't kind of make it happen.

I was bloody well reeling when I came out of there so much so that the friend I was about to meet met me with, 'Are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost'.

I till don't believe in it all, but what happened that day was odd.

Poor Ted. Dead without even having had a chance to exist in the first place.

I’m very cynical and so is dm, but years ago dm went to a social group (primary school mums) and they had a palm reader. Dm had only been once before and didn’t know anyone well as db had just started primary. The palm reader could tell my sister had died, roughly when. My mum hadn’t told anyone in the group about her heartbreak so he really couldn’t have been set up. This was in mid 1980s so no Facebook etc. dm isn’t a full believer and thinks most are playing a game but thinks “there’s something in it”.

cold reading. The only ones who can do it are I believe mostly Romany and don’t charge. Even Romany and travellers who say they’re mediums are mostly not ime. I worked in Croydon and in beddington lane Mitcham there are Romany and traveller camps, some live in houses. Used to see burned out caravans in Valley Park, Purley Way, was told they’re Romany or traveller.

Apparently the burnings happen less so now.

Some of it is research, cold reading.
Some of them do receive messages I believe but they are few and far between
i went to a pay at door event as I was passing and the guy knows names (not generic Steve’s or Gary etc) , dates etc and was incredibly accurate. Down to what I was studying (again, not mainstream)
There was no local paper, social media etc so I can honestly say the guy had no idea who I was- I literally walked in from the street, paid cash and didn’t even give my own name.

It's like Sherlock Holmes, looking for clues. He could work out that Dr Watson had been in Afghanistan, who worked as a clerk, who had a fear of dogs. A fictional character, but it's possible to develop these skills

The Romany and travellers used to sell lucky Heather. In fact they were there recently in the street opp the old Allders.