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Top: Science: Science in Society: Skeptical Inquiry: Cold Reading (4)

Description"Cold reading" is a set of techniques used by mentalists to extract information from a subject then feeding the information back to them as if the reader had special abilities. Sometimes the term is used loosely to include "warm reading". In warm reading, a mentalist will tell a subject things which would be true of almost anyone, or which almost anyone would like to believe about themselves. (ex. "You have unused potential.")

See also:

Cold Reading: The Tricks of the Psychics - Article by William Goldberg on tricks used by cult leaders and psychics to prove alleged supernatural abilities.
JREF: The Art of Cold Reading - Article by James Randi about cold reading.
Skeptic's Dictionary: Cold Reading - Encyclopedia-type article on cold reading techniques.

Media publications

Insolitology: So, You Wanna Be a Psychic? - Description of cold reading techniques, with several illustrations from readings by TV psychic John Edwards. (Published 2002-07-01 00:00:00)

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