Live Fortune Telling
by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 12:18 PM EDT
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PrintLet me just say that the ad on this site for "live fortune telling" with a fee quoted, very much offends me.
What's with that John? You're in favor of gullible people being scammed by such cretins?
You'd figure that the average person around here is above that, but based on the "Who'll Win the World Series" thread, I'm not so sure.
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it OFFENDS you?
besides, who cares if most people think the Red Sox are going to win?
Chilling Out
And yes it does offend me. I don't think crap like that should be advertised on a site like this.
first of all, i know
and second of all.....??????
people shouldn't be allowed to sell fortune telling? it should be an illicit good? or else tightly regulated?
or you just believe in the censorship of all items that either offend your sensibilities, no matter if other people like them or not?
because that last one is what it sounds like. and you know what type of attitude that sounds similar to?
i'll assume you can answer that one for yourself.
by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Scams
To me, this, astrology, and numerology are preying on gullible people in much the same way as phone scams and e-mailers from Africa.
Would you be in favor of an ad that asked people to send $300 to a bank account somewhere in Africa so that their inheritance could be released?
there's a difference....
people get something out of seeing a fortune teller, whether what they get is pleasure/peace-of-mind or an actual accurate picture of the future.
after their gone, many are happy they did, and would do it again. thus, they received a product, and it was worth their money.
would a scammed person (who sent their $300 to a bank account in africa) feel the same way?
by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Scammed
As far as the person buying the "product", well.......
well, what?
or do you believe the perfect world is not one that revolves around people being happiest, but rather using their money most efficiently?
what theory of philosophy supports what you're saying?
what harm has been done?
as i see it, the person maximized utility, and, best i know, nothing morally questionable has been done.
by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Morally Questionable
first of all....
second of all, I'm still not sure what moral outrage has been committed.
you can't sell something you personally don't find valuable? so are, for example, Ford car dealers "outrageous" for selling a car they think doesn't drive well? or is it necessary for an Apple salesman to believe Apple products are a better value than PCs?
or you can't laugh at customers -- so that it would be "morally questionable" for a Haagen Daz employee if he sold ice cream to a bunch of overweight customers, and then laughed that these people kept coming back for more when, clearly, they need to go to the gym/eat less fattening food?
or is any exploitation of "gullibility" unacceptable? if so, shouldn't ALL advertising be banned?
by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
State of Mind
Do you really think that anyone knows something about the future of another person?
Do you really think there are true psychics?
I can't remember the name, but there is a site that has a standing one million dollar offer to anyone who can prove they are "psychic" under controlled conditions.
Not one such "psychic" has even attempted to win the million dollars, because they know they are frauds.
What would they be doing other than laughing at the absurdity of the people phoning in?
a lot of things
they could be happy to have made another dollar and made it through another day while performing their daily job -- just like most other people, who make a salary off jobs they don't necessarily have any deep belief in
some of them may believe they have some level of insight -- you can't say tons of people believe irrationally in what psychics say, but no psychics believe irrationally that they have these abilities
and if their thought is "sucker," so what?
does it become morally reprehensible if i sell you a piece of art i made, just because i don't think the piece is very good? my judgment of its value shouldn't affect whether or not you're getting satisfaction out of the piece, which is all that you can ask for when you spend money.
by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Getting Satisfaction
It's like people who blow most of their salaries on slot machines or bingo. I know it's a free country and people should be able to chose their sources of entertainment, but don't you have to draw the line somewhere?
These fortune telling places are raking in the cash, and I'm reasonably sure that the people frequenting them are not for the most part very wealthy.
slot machines....
there's nothing addictive about fortune telling. nothing. people go back on their own volition (as far as we understand the term) because they value the product.
if you think it's a bad product, fine. but it's a bad product in line with buying, for example, name-brand T-shirts -- many people would tell you it's a hoax, and you're wasting your money. other people are satisfied with the product, even if it's not clear objectively what they received for their cash.
also, on another point, i know a lot of quite wealthy people who spend exorbitant amounts on fortune tellers. not that the target audience isn't necessarily the less well off individuals (especially widely advertised ones), but it's hardly exclusively the case.
by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions
You must be an interesting person to know
And about those wealthy individuals....
Live Fortune Telling
Fortune Teller: Dude, if I knew that, do you think I'd be wasting my time running this crappy scam?
Client: What about my keeper list for next year? Can you help me with that?
Fortune Teller: Huh?
that WS thread was
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Dream Analysis
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Numerology
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Reaching Beyond
Connect with loved ones who have crossed over to the other side.
Astrology
A group of 30 are taken into a room, and each are given their horoscope/personality analysis. After reading it they are asked how accurate it was.
Everybody rates it as very accurate. They are then told that every single person got the exact same thing.
WHO CARES!!!!
Free Ride
That's you
Is it just me?
well
I believe it's nonsense. But then again I believe many religions are nonsense.
BUT I also believe in those rights that allow each their faith. It sounds like you don't.
Fortune Telling
As far as I can tell, this is still a democracy. You vote by not clicking on the site (which apparently you may have screwed up already)
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