The Psychic Tests

by Gary Nunn

Award-winning journalist Gary Nunn investigates psychics, mediums and astrologers to understand their uncanny power and whether it's used for good or evil.

Gary has always been a sceptic. His sister Taren, an avid believer, consults mediums to navigate a family trauma. When Gary reports a news story about a clairvoyant's link to the collapse of a huge stockbroking firm, personal questions become professional. Why do such large swathes of the population want their fortunes told? Why this need to believe? What is he missing?

So begins a two-year investigation into the mysterious, unregulated world of psychics. Gary tries some out himself, sometimes with hilarious results. He hears about their involvement in the media, the corporate world, government, the criminal justice system and beyond. As we wade further into the post-truth era, Gary unearths the unprecedented power of psychics today.
Discover the world's most spookily accurate psychics and mediums, with stories so incredible even the sceptics cannot fully explain them. Believe in them or not, they'll impact who will date you, who will befriend you, who will hire you and even who will fire you.

The Psychic Tests is a gripping, often moving examination of trust, faith and connection. Strap yourself in things are about to get weird.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

285 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun. I wished it would delve a little deeper at times, but Nunn is very engaging and funny, and I appreciated the line he endeavoured to walk here, of openness to the social and emotional value of psychics balanced with an analytical scepticism of the supernatural. Among the questions he sought to answer with this book was “Can psychics do harm? Can they do good?” and the answer to both is demonstrably yes. I don’t know if he’ll change the minds of any hardcore believers or sceptics with this one, but as a non-believer who thinks a little light astrology or fortune telling is pretty harmless, I found it an enjoyable meander through the world of mysticism. By far the best parts are Nunn’s moments of self reflection, whether he’s discussing painful family tragedy with his sister or doing tarot readings for his mates in the pub. I would have loved more of that, more of his personal anecdotes, interviews and reflections. The summaries of his wider/historical research are interesting too, if a little brief (it’s a huge field to cram into one book), but the first person stuff is definitely the most compelling.

[John Senior · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gary's next book should cover the century of "10 years to save the planet" predictions from the climate alarmists, seeing how obsessed he was about climate change deniers in this book. Gary, being a journalist, has a very high opinion of journalists and fact-checkers, an opinion I completely disagree with. Gary does present a very effective condemnation of Silvia Browne, but I'd still place her 10 levels above journalists when it comes to credibility.

The major problem with this book is that while the subject is psychics and their poor hit rate, most of the book is Gary demonstrating what a hive-mind today's journalists are operating under. Gary, no doubt, has no idea about the Jussie Smollet Hoax, the Covington Catholic Hoax, the Hunter Biden laptop, why Sergio Aguerro and Christian Ericksen suddenly had career-ending and career-threatening heart problems. He probably has no idea how many people died in the "mostly peaceful protests" of 2020.

I have had a psychic experience that has shown me they are real, unfortunately it was the only time in my life that it happened so it would be dismissed as just a coincidence by most people. I share Gary's assessment that the psychic industry has a very low success rate and some awful failures he writes about. But sadly for Gary he's part of an industry that is even worse but he still carries the belief that he's a brave warrior on the right side of history when really he'd willingly load unvaxxed Brexit voters on the train to the gulag.

If you believe that Hillary Clinton would have been a great president and the BBC dindu nuffin wrong, you'll probably enjoy this book. If however, you think the BBC and all journos are complicit in Savile and Jeffrey Epstein's crimes then you'll be massively annoyed by this book.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the humour of this, it reminded me of Jon Ronson. It's a fairly thorough investigation of psychics, mediums and astrologers.

I did find the conclusion strange a bit dissatisfying given the journey Gary recounts – despite his skepticism and recounting multiple horrible instances of psychics doing much more harm than good, he ends up arguing that psychics are a good thing (because they can make people feel better) and should remain unregulated (wouldn't want "red tape" or "stifling bureaucracy" interfering with the grifters profits, would we?).

[Miss H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Psychic Tests is absolutely brilliant. I read it in about 3 days because I couldn’t put it down. As a sceptical millennial, I’ve noticed the seeming rise in people interested in tarot cards, psychics, astrology, etc. and haven’t really understood why people are so drawn to it. I found it so intriguing to look through the author’s lens of “what value does this have for people”? Some of the stuff in this book boggles the mind regarding how deep the rabbit hole goes in terms of the power that some psychics and mediums have over people’s lives, including how they run businesses and make hiring and firing decisions. It’s also a really personal account from the author who wanted to understand whether using psychics and mediums was helping a grieving close family member, and if there’s a role to play for (often women) who are ostracised from mainstream religions. It’s also delightfully written, and I’ve laughed and cried reading this book. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, this is a real deep dive into how and why so many people use mediums and psychics today. I’ve recommended this book to multiple people.

[Valentyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Я так і не зрозуміла, про що або ж для кого (окрім власної родини та кола друзів) була ця книга. Класно, коли будь-яке есе на тему «якою маячнею я займаюсь» можна профінансувати і видати у тираж.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well balanced and amusing look at psychics and people who use them. It focuses a lot on what draws people to psychics and deals with both believers and sceptics. This makes for an interesting read and although there is no firm answer to the question of whether psychics are real or not. Both arguments are enjoyable.

[Майя Ставитская · Rating 3 out of 5]

Australian journalist Gary Nunn survived his father's death quite calmly, and then to say that when a person purposefully kills himself with alcohol for many years, eventually drinking himself to death alone, it is unlikely that it will turn out to be an ancient tragedy. However, we are all different, and Gary's sister Taryn suffers from a guilt complex, plunges into depression, begins to turn to mediums and clairvoyants in the hope of hearing that dad is well There and he does not keep his heart on the children. And this kind of prompted Gary, an adult man and an openly gay man, to figure out how the world of fortune tellers and fortune tellers really works. Well, the starting point is no better or worse than any other.

The author called his investigation, which he conducts from the standpoint of a skeptic, "The Psychic Tests", but the book came to the Russian market under the catchy title "Battles with Psychics", a reference to the famous show on TNT. The book is actually built as a series of tests that check the predictive accuracy of the world of psychics, mediums, clairvoyants, tarologists. Each of the fifteen chapters is called a "Test for ..." Among the test parameters of the media, politics, criminal investigations, grief, love, money, even apostates - people from among former psychics who move into the camp of whistleblowers (which, however, does not prevent them from returning to the psychic).

During the research, Gary managed to dig up a lot of interesting things about the structure and structure of this business, at the top of which are such aunts, leading their TV shows and unsinkable despite all the mistakes. Well, for example, because Kim Kardashian, at the beginning of the pandemic, tweeted a quote from the book of predictions of the same Cynthia that in the 20th year, a deadly virus with a high mortality rate will come into the world from nowhere, under the influence of which people will suffocate. "This disease will subside as suddenly as it began," The tweet was immediately reposted by millions of users. And that the same clairvoyant predicted the arrival of aliens in 2016, well, who could be interested in that, really?

Interestingly, while remaining in the position of a skeptic, he took a mini-course in tarology and started a divination session for his friends, warning that it was all for fun. However, the predictions of the drawn cards came true.

Экстрасенсорное
Есть, друг Горацио, на свете такие вещи,
Что и не снились нашим мудрецам.
Австралийский журналист Гэри Нанн смерть отца пережил достаточно спокойно, и то сказать, что когда человек целенаправленно на протяжении многих лет убивает себя алкоголем, в конце концов допиваясь в одиночестве до смерти, вряд ли из этого получится сделать античную трагедию. Однако все мы разные, и сестра Гэри Тарин мучается комплексом вины, погружается в депрессию, начинает обращаться к медиумам и ясновидящим в надежде услышать, что папе Там хорошо и он не держит сердца на детей. И вот это как-бы сподвигло Гэри, взрослого мужика и открытого гея, разобраться, как на самом деле устроен мир гадателей и предсказателей. Что ж, отправная точка не лучше и не хуже любой другой.

Свое расследование, которое он проводит с позиций скептика, автор назвал "The Psychic Tests"(психотесты), но на российский рынок книга попала под броским заглавием "Битвы с экстрасенсами", отсылкой к известному шоу на ТНТ. Книга в действительности выстроена как ряд тестов, проверяющих предсказательную точность мира экстрасенсов, медиумов, ясновидящих, тарологов. Каждая из пятнадцати глав названа "Проверкой на..." Среди тестовых параметров СМИ, политика, уголовные расследования, горе, любовь, деньги, даже отступники - люди из числа бывших экстрасенсов, которые переходят в стан разоблачителей (что, впрочем, не мешает им возвращаться к экстрасенсорике).

В большинстве случаев известные экстрасенсы ожидаемо ошибаются в предсказаниях куда чаще, чем дают верные ответы и в целом скорее шарлатаны, озабоченные загребанием денег на человеческом горе, неуверенности и прочих негативных вещах, заставляющих обращаться к ним - понятно, что тому, у кого все хорошо, не придет в голову обратиться за советом сомнительной точности. Не страшно, если клиент получает за свои деньги немного утешения. Хуже, когда обнадеживающие или наоборот - лишающие надежды слова говорит авторитетный человек "от балды". В книге приводится случай с некоей ясновидящей на топовых позициях, которая ведет собственное шоу на ТВ и берет по $700 за сеанс, дама сказала матери, что ее пропавшей дочери нет в живых. Женщина безоговорочно поверила и за год зачахла от горя, а через два года ее дочери, которую похитил маньяк, удалось сбежать.

За время изысканий, Гэри удалось нарыть много интересного об устройстве и структуре этого бизнеса, наверху которого такие вот тетеньки, ведущие свои телешоу и непотопляемые несмотря на все ошибки. Ну, например потому, что Ким Кардашьян в начале пандемии твиттнула цитату из книжки предсказаний той самой Синтии, что в 20-м году неизвестно откуда в мир придет смертельный вирус, с высоким уровнем смертности, под воздействием которого люди будут задыхаться. "Эта болезнь утихнет так же внезапно, как началась" Твитт тотчас репостнули миллионы пользователей. А что та же ясновидящая предсказывала прилет инопланетян в 2016, ну кому это может быть интересно, на самом-то деле?

Т��кие люди с космическими гонорарами в топах бизнеса, генералы армии, рядовые которой довольствуются куда более скромной платой в 10-30 долларов или сидят на телефонных линиях по два бакса за звонок. Хотя, если в особенно депрессивные ночи сервис обрабатывает сотни звонков, на круг организатору выходит вовсе неплохо. Мое доверие к телевизионным экстрасенсам подорвано собственным опытом. После очередного сезона телебитвы я написала ясновидящей, которая работала, используя в качестве инструмента астрологию и говорила, что у нее есть собственный обучающий курс. Я думала, что она будет давать задания, пришлет методичку и пособия, станет общаться по скаю и в процессе энергетического взаимодействия - ну, вы понимаете. Но вместо этого она или тот, кто отвечал от ее имени предложили перевести $200 и необходимые знания придут ко мне во сне.

Потому училась я у практикующего астролога, у которого была своя методика и пособия, и он давал много практических заданий, и рекомендовал хорошие книги, и подтверждаю, что хорарная астрология довольно точный предсказательный инструмент. К чести автора, он не ставит хиромантию и астрологию в один ряд с экстрасенсорикой, хотя и не исключает элемента шарлатанства в них полностью. Но тут, - говори Нанн, - они используют при интерпретации знания своего канона, лишь дополняя их психотехниками.

Занятно, что оставаясь на позициях скептика, он прошел мини-курс тарологии и затеял сеанс гадания для своих друзей, предупредив, что все это для смеха. Однако предсказания вынутых карт сбылись.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Strap yourself in - things are about to get weird.’ Nunn’s concluding line of the introduction sums up this book well. The author explores the world of psychics, mediums, tarot card readers, astrologers etc, examining why some people choose to consult them, and whether they have the powers they claim to have. At one point, he even does a course in tarot card reading and does readings for acquaintances. I howled my way with laughter for much of this book, and at times found it hard to put down. The writer admits he is a sceptic; however, he does not dismiss outright fortune tellers, recognising that they fill a void for some people. Being a sceptic, Nunn places fortune tellers on the same trajectory as faith leaders - a claim that people of faith would reject. However, on balance, this book is worth a read.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. What a disappointment. I kept waiting for the self professed skeptic and journalist to actually properly delve into any of the excellent points he kept hovering around the surface of, but it never happened. He almost lost me with a paragraph to the effect of "yes they can have major effects on people's lives, families, relationships and emotions, but even worse than that, they can lose corporations money!". What got me to nope out in the end was the claim that skepticism of psychics is inherently misogynistic. Fuck that noise.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost gave up on The Psychic Tests after the prologue and 'Chapter 1: The Sister Test'. Not because of the book itself but because it's true that academia ruins reading for pleasure. The whole point of my getting back into non-academic books was to temporarily relinquish the obsessive analysis needed of every sentence to do philosophy.

So, totally a Me problem. But I didn't see that at first. I was annoyed that the titular 'Tests' just seemed to be Nunn visiting a random batty old psychic with his sister. I didn't care about Melanie's big green eyes. I was even grumpy that mediumship and astrology were also going to be lumped in along with psychics. I wanted a methodology, a clear-cut rationale, and a procedure. I'm so glad this book doesn't do any of these things.

People will probably react to this book based on their pre-existing beliefs. If you're a sceptic, Nunn is far too generous. If you're a believer, he's a critic and a killjoy. But for me - an agnostic researcher in secular mystical experiences navigating the grey areas of belief - I thought he walks the delicate tightrope brilliantly by always returning to the humanity of the 'problems' raised by psychics, mediums and astrologers. The main question Nunn asks here is fascinatingly pragmatic: not, 'are psychics real', but, 'what do psychics do?' Some bring down corporations; some give a widow permission to be open to love again. There are countless examples of the immense variety of impacts psychics have, and, with warmth and curiosity, Nunn balances the conversation between benefit and harm.

But the fundamental vein flowing through it all is deeply human: a need for connection, comfort in devastating situations, and for answers. I don't believe in anything, but countless times I wished I did so all these things might be within reach, however vaguely. That desire, beyond cold hard reason or scientific evidence, is driven by a deeper need, and Nunn demonstrates that skilfully.

The Psychic Tests is a fun and heartwarming read, but the questions it raises are also extremely important in a post-truth world where a tweet is assigned a terrifying degree of validity for the sole reason that it was shared by a reality TV celebrity. This may be the first time I've ever made a list of friends to recommend a book to. Already impatient for the next from Nunn.

[Nessmiester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book, easy to read and a lot of the stories were interesting. My biggest issue is the lack of depth covered in the negative examples. While they are discussed, the focus of the book is more stories of small time individuals who believe in their abilities or are doing minimal harm - people the author had direct interactions with. That's great, and a good read. The harmful side of psychic/medium world (such as their involvement in big business and the lives they can ruin) is mentioned a number of times but not really delved into. This was particularly noticeable towards the end of the book and in the conclusion. The information/data might not exist - especially noting this is information people are less likely to share. By the end it seems the author had fun and just vagued on or no longer cared about the bad. Overall, interesting memoir style of someone looking into a world they weren't interested in previously. I wouldn't say it was a hard hitting investigation - but I certainly learnt new things and enjoyed the read.

[Isabelle Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

CHECK TRIGGERS BEFORE READING

The Psychic Tests follows a journalist as he investigates the world of psychics and how they impact our lives, decisions and thoughts. What he finds is both informative and interesting.

I've owned this book for about three years but for some reason kept passing it up. Maybe it was because I got busy or just because I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it. Either way, I am glad to say that this book was an interesting and enjoyable read.

Gary himself approaches the topic with a personal and reflective writing style, one that is almost reminiscent of having a conversation with a friend at a local coffee shop. Every topic he discusses is treated with respect and without the judgement that is sometimes placed on individuals who engage in psychic or 'supernatural' hobbies.

Each example he uses is well researched and I overall feel this book provided me with an enthusiastic view of psychics and the art of intuition.

This was a lovely read.

Happy reading!

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, informative and humourous look into the world of those with "the gift". I would have liked to hear more anecdotal stories, but this was a fairly non-threatening glimpse into the territory. It never claimed to be anything more than one man's journey to try to understand how and why others seek to find meaning in other worlds, and I think that was part of the book's strength, in that it was conversational and accessible, but also contained some decent self-reflection and didn't try to make fun of people. I feel the author genuinely was curious and open to learning more, despite himself being a sceptic. I liked it, and can understand Nunn's intrigue - I have been doing more reading about tarot, psychics, witchcraft and the like lately, as an attempt to find answers and to learn more about the world around me. I can relate to Nunn's reflection around how grief can cause people to seek outside of traditional belief systems to find solace. I don't know if I really believe in it all, but I do find it interesting. I've had a few of meetings with psychics, and while mostly they were totally off the mark, a couple of their insights were pretty much spot on. Definitely an enjoyable read!

[Charmaine Ohl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very heavy read compared to my normal fiction tastes. But it is well written and interesting to read, finding out the roles psychics play in everyday life, without us knowing most of the time. As a sceptical person writing the book it doesn't gloss over the negative trying to convince you it is all real, but it also isn't heavily negative trying to convince you of fakes.
However it never really got to a "point" merely shifted to a different topic way too often, and it really stayed on the reporting/news/VIP people a little too much. I think a bit more of personal experiences should have been explored for a fair overview.

[Granny Weatherwax · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to reading this but it all fell a bit flat for me. I thought that it may be a little little less biased than it was, but Gary really seemed to skim over anything negative and concentrate on the pro-psychic anecdotes. I would have enjoyed this much more had it been more even handed. The parallels drawn between believers and religious believers were interesting and accurate though.

[Nez · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
It's such an interesting topic, but Gary's disdain for all things psychic was so obvious, even though he pretended he was impartial, so it kind of ruined it for me. I would have loved more court cases or businesses that used psychics to make decisions; I find this the most delicious of subjects. Fancy losing 61 million dollars of your clients' money because you relied on a psychic - pretty shocking.

[S W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoiler alert of sorts --- I loved this book but felt the title is misleading.

I had hoped that there were actual tests involving psychics but alas not really.

The psychic hypothesis, the psychic puzzle etc etc more fitting then the name itself.


May lead to dissapointment if you like myself expected more psychic reading antidotes or test descriptions.

Fantastically written otherwise.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting and even-handed approach to exploring the world of psychics, mediums and skeptics from a open-minded, humanist/agnostic journalist’s perspective. It covers the people who claim to have psychic “gifts”, the people who visit psychics and why, and also looks at the skeptic community, in both an historical and contemporary context.

[Bryce Stansfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gary is at their best when writing about their experiences: The psychic readings they got, their time with their sister, and their brief foray into tarot card reading.

Where they really flounder, however, is their analysis. It's kind of shocking that statements such as non-western cultures not being analytical somehow got to print, all in the pursuit of whitewashing psychics...

[Olga Vlasenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

местами было очень забавно и интересно читать, узнала про экстрасенсорное поле Австралии и Великобритании. я бы не сказала, что открыла для себя что-то вау-новое, но мне приятно, что не одна я одержима концепцией экстрасенсорности и тем, что интерес к экстрасенсам означает для людей в разные исторические периоды

[Jessica Mudditt]

This is a fun book (by my friend!) and Gary approaches the topic with an open mind and the rigour of investigative journalism. He really puts himself into the story, which makes it fun and engaging.

[Spike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Awesome. Such an engaging writer with a clear and present voice.

I have no interest in psychics and would never have picked this up, but it was this months book club book and i enjoyed it thoroughly. Highly recommend!

[Kier · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars

maybe a low 3?

when I first picked this up at the thrift store I had assumed this was a fiction book, after the first chapter or so I figured out quickly that it was not! despite that I still (semi) enjoyed this book but it kind of lost me towards the end

[Simone Elsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and informative journey through the psychic world. I still sit on the fence … but with my legs dangle to the believers side.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, funny and fab. With less references to Trump this could have been one of my favourite reads of the year. Haven't we heard enough about that guy?

[Sofya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Но кто будет участвовать в новой битве сильнейших????? Drop the cast

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun exploration of the impact of psychics in recent and contemporary life.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this