According to Peter Kor’s third principle (2), such an extraordinary claim as being able to communicate with the dead makes us “question our understanding of ordinary events” and “such an extraordinary claim or view requires proportionate revision of conventional wisdom”(2). For example, if a friend in Florida calls to tell me that a polar bear was in his backyard, eating the wheel off his car but has since left, I should not simply accept this, because it questions what I already know to be fact. What I already know as fact in a situation like this is that 1) polar bears do not live in Florida because they are not comfortable in the heat, 2) polar bears certainly do not roam free in suburban areas, and 3) just because he said this happened doesn’t make it real.

In order to accept this scenario as fact would cause us to have major revisi

However, when it comes to the questioning or criticism of his “gift”, Edward’s only offer of proof is “I think that to prove it is a personal thing. It is like saying, prove God. If you have a belief system and you have faith, then there is nothing really more than that” (Nickell 22). So basically, Edward’s proof is that he has no proof. He is merely saying that because they think it is real, then it must be real because they believe it to be true. Unfortunately, “personal experience is not transferable” (Kor 1). That is, we will never be able to feel or experience something that someone else has. The birth of children is different for all mothers, even so with each of their children. So for a mother to say childbirth is a wonderful experience, or for Edward’s to say that he can talk to the dead, we should demand and expect more proof then just the acceptance of their words.

It has been proven that people who have been trained, or studied the art of being a “medium” can too produce such convincing results as John Edward. When using cold readings, they will take a vague statement such as “I feel there is a J- or G- sounding name attached to this” and take it to a Margie or Maggie (Nickell 20). Such statements as these gives us the impression that the dead can no longer speak well, and also giving the opportunity for the caller to send the medium a clue (by body language, or even stating a name) of whether or not he is heading in the right direction. If the person perhaps states a name, then this is considered a “hit”, the “medium” has gotten something right.

Another account of “mediums” being exposed is the case of the Davenport Brothers. They claimed to be able to get spirits to play musical instruments on a stage while they were securely locked in a special room. However, one particular show they were exposed by a local printer who had smeared

Some topics in this essay:
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