How Mentalists Read Your Mind The Art Of Cold Reading or Mind Reading | Page 67

in their childhood hobbies and they often do. For a woman in her 30s I would certainly suggest that babies had been in her thoughts," Dr Christopher French of Goldsmith’s College in London adds to this: "People generally have a pretty poor grasp of the laws of probability, For example, how many people would you think you would need in a room for there to be a 50-50 chance that two of them would share the same birthday? A common reply is around 150, in fact it is 22. If people don't appreciate the chances of an event occurring naturally they may reach for a supernatural explanation where none is needed." Professor David Marks of Middlesex University stresses the omnipresent confusion between short and long term probability that fools people into looking for psychic explanations for striking coincidences in life, such as having a dream about something which then happens. "Let's say that in an ordinary day you can remember 100 distinct events," he says, "which means, if any one can be paired with any other, then there are 4,950 possible pairs every day, or 17,820,000 possible pairs in ten years. Now the fact that a few of those are striking is hardly the basis for a scientific revolution." Since you will need some form of cooperation from your client, you start by confirming him, making him feel at ease, flattering him a bit, using his name, creating rapport. Next, you need to establish yourself as a psychic. You know that not everything you will say will be correct. Therefore, prepare him by telling that what you feel is not always 100% accurate and ask them to help you to correctly interpret the signs that you are sensing. This stage is referred to as “the set up”.