The Psychology of Psychics

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Exploring the strange and bizarre world of psychics, mediums, astrologers, palm readers, and tarot card readers. These practices are obviously fake, but many people still find them interesting or fun. Why is that? This video is a deep-dive to answer that question.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:12 - Mondly Sponsor
2:41 - Psychic Readings
11:20 - The Metaphysics of Psychic Phenomena
14:51 - It Probably Isn't Real
16:46 - Psychic Techniques and How They Work
25:07 - Why Psychics?
27:49 - Spirituality

[duncanclarke]

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[JJMcCullough]

One thing I would observe as well is the role that casual stereotyping probably plays in giving a psychic reading. Like, you’re a clean cut, well-groomed, boyish looking white guy with glasses. And they all declared you some variation of smart, orderly, shy, etc. If, say, you had been a heavyset African American woman in a colorful dress and long beaded braids I could imagine you might have evoked some different adjectives. Not necessarily bad ones, just maybe stuff like loving, spiritual, fun, and so on.

[kingkitryne]

my blind ass thought u said physics is fake 💀

[cynical_insight]

4:40 it's very funny she pronounces "pineal gland" as "penile gland"

[JREG]

First step in the Duncan going full esoteric arc??

[ZackarySmigel]

You made a solid point about many self-proclaimed psychics simply being perceptive, and I completely agree. Good ones excel at confirmation bias, telling people exactly what they want to hear. I believe people appreciate that—they want reassurance about things they hope are true. It’s human nature to seek validation for your intuition because it feels good to be right. Based video.

[sloppyjoe]

The tarot card lady seemed really genuine but the pineal gland person seemed like a straight up scam artist

[JoaoPereira-dcvi]

When I was in college I would, usually, use my own tarot cards for "guidance", not because I believed them, but because it's a outside perspective from my own

[sarat]

4:02 "I was going to say that." what a great start to a psychic reading 🤣

[MyName-frnf]

"I was gonna say that" - someone who wasn't gonna say that

[naught]

Bridging the gap between the “vibe” of tarot as it relates to spirituality, hedonistic consumerism and the need for existential sonder as a key component of life was not what I was expecting at 2 am on a Tuesday but it was what I needed.

Great video and an awesome demonstration of open minded skepticism done kindly and genuinely. Keep up the great work

[Julien_Flowers]

It’s probably a total coincidence that the colors of Duncan's shirt match his channel avatar, but I choose to believe he did it on purpose to provide visual continuity.

[mconner]

Duncan, you're seriously so good at this! The incorporation of philosophy, skepticism and science with an open mind; the visual aspect, your voice, everything is just really on point captures the curiosity of humanity in a unique way. I'm no psychic but I see you becoming a legendary YouTuber, right up there with VSauce!

Truly inspiring and thank you!

[jasonblundelldobebussing]

Things psychics once have said:

_«You raised your right arm above your head, and tarot also showed me a Chariot. That probably means you're a homosexual.»_

[TheZatzman]

I'm chilling with your grandfather's ghost, and he says, "Wow, Duncan, you are smart but also humble and down to earth. Your NPR silky voice soothes my weary spirit. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go be a farmer in the afterlife. B tier."

I liked the video! You struck the right balance between empathy and understanding of psychics (and their appeal) while remaining skeptical.

[spacebook]

This may seem blunt, but I would never go to some random person who claims they can speak on behalf of a friend of mine or family member who is dead. They don’t know a single thing about me so why would I trust what they say about someone who can’t even speak for themselves?

[raichuk]

we fr got duncan clarke face reveal before gta 6

[faiq]

Let me tell my story. I'm a skeptic but i can't help but think about how my granpa do his paranormal bullshit everytime. From my casual observation and conversations with him, he seems to possess the power of vision(remote and across time) and healing.
A lot of people almost every day would call him, for example there are people experiencing some kind of illnesses and through phone my granpa would diagnose it and tell in detail what the causes and what they do lately that could possibly be the reason, then he will suggest the cure, such as drinking certain combination of herbs or chanting prayer to a glass of water. Usually later the same people would call my granpa again and tell him that they've been cured. Some of the cases can be cured instantly, which is very odd to me. Another thing is vision. My granpa can predict whether a person will die or not(usually when that person is dying), if yes when, and my granpa will tell the exact day or time. There was one time i was with him when a relative from different city asked my granpa whether her father will be dead, my granpa put of the phone, call her back after a few seconds, tell her that her father will be dead in less than an hour. A few minutes in and she called my granpa back while sobbing...
My granpa's vision is also very useful to find lost or stolen items...works every time.

Ofc, the most common questions like why he doesn't use his power for winning a lottery for example, has been asked, his answer is he doesn't want to use his power for that, he tried it, it works, he got some money from it, but he said for him it's an abuse of power and irresponsible.

Until now I'm still searching for a possible answer to this phenomenon. I don't believe it but I've seen it myself

[WastedScoundrel]

Right, I did not expect you to look like that.

[Graviticus]

Excellent video, but "meaningless"? Science doesn't deal with meaning. It just simply is. The meaning of all of this stuff is entirely subjective. It's a lot like art in that way.