22 September 2012

Psychic Wayne Isaacs: Medium or Mediocre?

The following article was written by Brian Byrne and was originally published on The Daily Shift on September 21, 2012. The article and its comments are the opinion of Brian Byrne and may or may not represent the opinions of BadPsychics. Also make sure to check out the links at the bottom of the article that lead to further exposures of Wayne Isaacs and Psychic Readings Live.

Can Psychic Wayne live up to his name? The Daily Shift’s Brian Byrne gets a reading from Psychic Readings Live host Wayne Isaacs and finds out for himself. 



Psychic Wayne of Psychic Readings Live performed a reading for me today.
I’m still convinced he was reading the wrong page.
Wayne describes his ability as a muscle; “The more you use it, the stronger it gets”. He says it’s a connection with his guides: his mother, who died in 2003, and his twin brother, who died at birth. While he can’t see them, he claims he can sense or feel them. His guides, he says, help him give messages to other people.
Wayne can’t tell you when you’ll die. “It doesn’t work like that,” he says. “The spirit is one thing, the human body is another. I don’t get that kind of information.”
During my reading, Wayne was wrong more often than he was right. If you were to ask Wayne, he might tell you he was having an off day. “We’re not God. We don’t get it right all the time”, he told me before the reading began. But my results make his abilities seem like little more than guesswork—and not very good guesswork at that.
The cold reading technique is infamous among skeptics. So called psychics make probing statements in an attempt to reveal information about their subject. Every time Wayne stated something about me or the people in my life, he asked me to confirm or disconfirm it.
This is also part of the technique. If the subject dismisses the statement, either verbally or via facial or bodily cues the psychic quickly moves on; if not, the psychic knows they’re onto something and narrows their scope.
I did my best not to give Wayne any hint as to whether he was on the right track. I tried to keep a straight face; to neither nod nor shake my head. This seemed to make him uncomfortable; on two occasions he asked me to relax, that I was nervous, that the more open I was, the better the reading would be.
Did it work? Wayne’s attempts at the technique, with me at least, weren’t very successful. First, he said my mother had a miscarriage. She never did. Later he told me my sister had blonde hair. Wrong. Then he changed tactics and told me my brother did. Again he was wrong. So he said it was my mother, maybe. Still wrong.
“There’s a lady in your life that there’s been problems with. It’s a love situation. I’m being shown the breaking of the heart.” Again, wrong. First of all, I’m gay. I’ve never had a girlfriend. Here, Wayne was employing cold reading again. He was probing, using a sweeping statement that could apply to many people. Think about it – how many men have had their heart broken by a woman?
But his reading wasn’t a complete failure. Wayne successfully named a person who died in my family (albeit my extended family), and he also named one of my good friends, even if he did have to ask whether she is my girlfriend. That means either one of two things: Psychic Wayne is a fraud or I’m so good at hiding my sexuality even a psychic can’t out me.
Wayne also pointed to an issue I have with finance. Maybe it was the admittedly grubby outfit I wore during our meeting; maybe it was my age. Either way, do you really need to be a psychic to tell a lot of people are struggling with money right now? Come on.
Before the reading, Wayne pointed out that there was no accurate way to test a psychic’s ability. While he was unable to give me an accurate reading, that right there is something he was right about: until we find a way to police psychics and their supposed abilities, people like Wayne Isaacs will carry on giving out inaccurate readings and, in the case of Psychic Readings Live, continue making money from them.
Full results
Accurate
Inaccurate
Statements:
“As I look at you hair, I see a lady with similar hair. Long hair. She’s very very close to you.”
“There seems to be a very very sad loss around you.”
“There is a child or someone that died very very young around you.”
“There’s a brotherly link. It’s a brother in spirit.”
“Your mother had a miscarriage.”
“I know you’re Brian, but there is another Brian, in spirit.”
“You are not going to be in this area for too much longer. You’re going to be moving away.”
“You’re not happy in your current situation in this moment in time.”
“There’s a lady in your life that there has been problems with. It’s painful, a love situation. I’m being shown the breaking of a heart.”
“You’re really struggling with money at the moment.”
“A grandmother passed away, maybe in the last two years.”
“Her name was Maria or Marie.”
“You have one brother and one sister.”
“One of them seems to be completely different in height to you. I would say little and large, there’s almost a joke about it.”
“You’ve got ginger hair, but your sister’s got blonde.”
“Is it your brother?”
“Or maybe your mum?”
“Is your girlfriend blonde?”
“Sinead? Do you know who Sinead is?”
“Is Sinead your girlfriend?”
“You’re very easy to wind up.”
“There’s a birthday in August. Is that with you?”
“Or one of your siblings? Your sister?”
“Is it around the 15th? Close?”
“You’re closer with your mum than you are your father.”
“Do you know who Tim is?”
Total:
Accurate: 10
Inaccurate: 16



Further Reading on Waye Isaacs and Psychic Readings Live:
The Daily Shift
TV3 distances itself from Psychic Wayne TV broadcast
Psychic Readings Live Controversies
“Psychics” take advantage of vulnerable people on national TV
Con artists working on national television

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I like this Brian Byrne guy. We all know this Psychic crap is just that....crap! But giving this "Psychic Wayne" a fair chance and being totally honest about what he got right and wrong shows it's not completely one sided. This guy's even crap at cold reading and he's managing to make money as a tele-psychic? It's just not on. Sometimes I think the people who buy into this stuff and spend money on it almost deserve to have their money scammed from them for being so stupid but I know people who buy into this crap within my own family! It drives me mad!!! Keep up the good work Jon! Expose these evil scumbags!

JD said...

Make sure to check out the "Further Reading" links too about this guy and the show, its completely bogus

Unknown said...

I did, these guys are awful. I hope that footage of them channelling the Fresh Prince is still on YouTube. Can't check while I'm at work. That poor unemployed woman, isn't it awesome that she's gonna be fine after all? There she was worried about not finding work and there was nothing to be concerned about. So good to know she'll find a job and become really successful! She might as well stop looking for a job, one's obviously about to fall into her lap. How could it not? Psychic Wayne says so!

Anonymous said...

I always have to laugh when psychics start asking the questions rather than relating answers. They are the ones who are supposed to know, after all.

When listening to a reading, one should take note of how many questions the psychic asks as he or she tries to gain information or be steered in the proper direction. People are simply not aware how much they tell the psychic, who then regurgitates the information back to them. Their use of common themes also stands out: lost loves, money problems, someone with the initial "J" etc. Their quick re-direction when they are flat out wrong is also another device to take note of.

How anyone can fall for these psychics is beyond my understanding. I got a reading once from a woman who was 100% wrong and ended up asking me if she should relocate to another part of the country! As it was an event for charity, I let it slide but it still illustrates how inaccurate psychics can be.

JD said...

If you find the Fresh Prince video please let me know as would love to see that

JD said...

People fall for it because they are desperate, vunerable and gullible.
Anyone can be fooled by a magic trick, but what makes it worse is when they are told the magic trick is real magic.

If you dont know how the trick is done, then of course it will seem real

Unknown said...

Jon have you seen Tim Minchin's beat poem - Storm? If not check it out it's awesome, I reckon you'd love it. A part of it is dedicated to the wholse Psychic, Astrology, Tea leaves, people that speak to god, spirit healers and other such unproven crap

Anonymous said...

Psychic Wayne and the Fresh Prince: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oqJUP3Djyc.

JD said...

Thanks for that, very funny, will post this as a stand alone piece!

Anonymous said...

I've read with Wayne before in the past. He was spot on in communicating with my father who had just passed away. I was not on video, but Wayne knew I was in my father's office, he also described where my father left the trust to the color of the folder. We had been looking for days. After the read we went to where Wayne guided us and it was there, so maybe Wayne has been off, but he most definitely was not off when I had that read. He helped immensely!

JD said...

Hi
I can say with the utmost confidence and authority, that you were conned by Wayne Isaacs, He used known methods to trick you.

I am so confident in my assertion, that if you provide me a recording of the reading I will put forth a 100% guarantee that I can show you exactly how he did it.

I am that sure I am right about him.

So you willing to show me the recording?

The problem with readings like the one you had is that you forget all the misses, you forget all the fishing, and all the help you give him, in nearly ever case I have ever examined, the recording simply does not show what the victim claims.

Now anyone can tell a wonderful anecdote of an amazing reading, but they are all worthless unless a recording is available.

Its like me describing an amazing magic trick, but then not having a video of it. Should anyone really believe my story? Of course not.

So come on, make this old skeptic happy, show me a reading and let me show you exactly step by step how he conned you.

And after that I will even help you get your money back from him

Unknown said...

don't trust him ! paid for a session and he read my message and then blocked me !! Wayne Isaac is a scammer !

Unknown said...

Hes a scam artist on Oranum and Purple Ocean. Not good to play with ppl hearts and emotions, big karma...

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