...on TV. Okay, there's plenty of other things to not bother with on TV too. But the show, The One, is up against The Simpsons. It's a no brainer.
I had started to write a detailed post about “The One”, but the show is so credulous and poorly done, I can’t be bothered. I also can’t be bothered to explain the background of this show – read it from the link above.
All I’ll say is the obvious flaw is they should have seven non-psychics doing the tests with the seven psychics. (Even better if it's double blind and no one knows who is a "real" psychic and who is a fake.) If the psychics beat the non-psychics hands down – there you go. Without a control group, the tests are essentially meaningless. Moreover, because it’s TV, they do a test only once. That isn’t even close to being methodologically sound. I could use it as a test item in my science classes. “Q1: Identity two flaws in experimental design that essentially make ‘The One’ complete BS.”
They should have also employed a magician to perform cold-reading etc. They could have even just explained cold reading. Oh Richard, I hope the pay was worth it. (Then again, someone had to do it I suppose…)
The last thing I’ll point out is Daddo’s introduction:
So who’s certain?
Richard has put himself in a no-win situation. No chance to explain cold-reading, confirmation bias, probability, controlled experiments, all the while having to try and sound “open-minded” and not cynical (a word Daddo interchanged with skeptical at least once), or even worse, “baffled”.
My only hope for the show is the producers have secretly used a magician as one of the psychics… That would be awesome. However, my psychic said I was due for an unluckly second half of the year, so I don't like my chances.
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Update: I think The Chasers need to deal with this show.
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Update 2: As much as I like Richard Saunders, I think "The One" needs Criss Angel as a judge.
I had started to write a detailed post about “The One”, but the show is so credulous and poorly done, I can’t be bothered. I also can’t be bothered to explain the background of this show – read it from the link above.
All I’ll say is the obvious flaw is they should have seven non-psychics doing the tests with the seven psychics. (Even better if it's double blind and no one knows who is a "real" psychic and who is a fake.) If the psychics beat the non-psychics hands down – there you go. Without a control group, the tests are essentially meaningless. Moreover, because it’s TV, they do a test only once. That isn’t even close to being methodologically sound. I could use it as a test item in my science classes. “Q1: Identity two flaws in experimental design that essentially make ‘The One’ complete BS.”
They should have also employed a magician to perform cold-reading etc. They could have even just explained cold reading. Oh Richard, I hope the pay was worth it. (Then again, someone had to do it I suppose…)
The last thing I’ll point out is Daddo’s introduction:
Good evening. How would you like to live in a world where a chosen few could solve our greatest mysteries [well, why haven’t they already?], or know things about you, you barely knew yourself [and, how are to verify they are not just making it up as they go along, or more likely, making obvious generalisations?]. Or do we live in that world already? You see, a lot of people think we do and others are [long pause] quite certain we don’t [note the skeptics are already painted as being the “certain” ones]. Do you have an open mind [straight after the “certain” skeptic]? Are you up to challenging your beliefs? This is the search for Australia’s most gifted psychic [note the presumption…]. Welcome, to The One.Then the cat was let out of the bag when Daddo asked the psychic judge: “You know this works?” To which she replied: “Yes, I know this works.”
So who’s certain?
Richard has put himself in a no-win situation. No chance to explain cold-reading, confirmation bias, probability, controlled experiments, all the while having to try and sound “open-minded” and not cynical (a word Daddo interchanged with skeptical at least once), or even worse, “baffled”.
My only hope for the show is the producers have secretly used a magician as one of the psychics… That would be awesome. However, my psychic said I was due for an unluckly second half of the year, so I don't like my chances.
_________
Update: I think The Chasers need to deal with this show.
________
Update 2: As much as I like Richard Saunders, I think "The One" needs Criss Angel as a judge.
