Jan 28, 2010 - 02:53 PM

By Tony Saxon

OSHAWA -- How come psychics and astrologers never tell you you're going to meet the goat of your dreams?

That's just one of the questions posed by Guelph professor Christopher diCarlo, who spends a good chunk of his academic career scientifically debunking psychics and the paranormal.

"Some people would obviously be into bestiality. Wouldn't they know that?" joked diCarlo, who makes no bones about his disdain for psychic fairs, such as the annual Psychic Expo that makes its annual sojourn to Guelph this Friday through Sunday at the Best Western Royal Brock Hotel and Conference Centre.

While perhaps a little crude, Mr. diCarlo's point is that psychics can't really read your mind or see your future. They read your body language, pay close attention to what you say and feed off the information they learn about you. Then they tell you what you want to hear.

"I welcome skeptics ... and am not afraid to show what I can experience," Colleen Cook, one of the featured psychics at this weekend's fair, wrote in an e-mail response to questions raised for this story.

"I am also not afraid to say the truth of when I do not know or feel or see. Therein lies the truth."

Ms. Cook wrote she started using her gift around age seven or eight. She said she has obtained a doctorate of divinity and a doctorate in holistic medicine.

"I am a seventh-generation clairvoyant, thus knowing at a very early age about the ability and gift I was given. Much like someone born into a foreign family and having to learn about their heritage and language, (that) is how I like to best describe what was handed down to me."

Ms. Cook has made several predictions for Guelph in a news release promoting this weekend's event. Among them:

- A large corporation will acquire property in Guelph that has "something to do with electrical" and employ more than 300 people.

- "The people of Guelph will become curious about what happens after the recycling is gathered ... Great ideas will lead to more work for fellow residents and the resulting cottage industry will add to the personal feel of the city."

- "More people will begin shopping closer to home as the shopping patterns of the residents attract more box stores.

If psychic readings were all for fun, Mr. diCarlo wouldn't have a problem with it.

"My main concern is basically that of nondisclosure," said Mr. diCarlo, an assistant professor, whose course offerings at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, include one on critical thinking. "They're letting people believe they possess specific types of powers, which they don't. It's a perfect recipe for exploitation and fraud."

He said psychic fairs like the one coming to Guelph will have a sign somewhere that says "for entertainment purposes only." But, diCarlo said, that is to prevent customers from suing for fraud if their readings don't come true.

"If psychics told customers 'I have no powers, but for $40 I'll give you some pseudo therapy and entertainment,' then that would be fine. Just don't say you have these powers when you don't."

Psychic ability "is a gift in different forms that all of us have," Ms. Cook wrote. She also said "no other person can control our thinking as we in fact know what we want to believe and accept."

Mr. DiCarlo is also a member of the Centre for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, an organization whose aim is to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims."

He said psychics use the same techniques to give readings. They do research in advance when possible, they take physical clues off the customer, create a psychological profile and, most of all, "get you to talk about yourself."

They then use that information to tell you things you want to hear.

"Love, jobs, money, health and family. Those are the biggies everybody wants to talk about," Mr. diCarlo said. "They build up a profile and they're very good judges of people and very intuitive.

"The more info they get, the more chances they can take with their guesses."

He does contend that some psychics and ghost hunters actually believe they have powers. He even invited one into his class to address the students.

"I'm more than happy to give them the opportunity to demonstrate that what they do is real and give them an opportunity to prove me wrong."

So far, he said, no one has.

The Psychic Expo runs from noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.