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Re:I was an astrologer – here's how it really works (2019) by nkrisc on Saturday May 15, 2021 @01:45PM (#27167300)
People think they're special, we're not. Whatever a palm reader says about one person could probably be equally true and accurate for a thousand other people too. There's billions of people in the world, we all have similar experiences, since many of us live in the same countries, in the same cities, with the same culture, and all do the same kinds of things with the same kinds of people.

Obviously I have no idea what she said to you, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are at least 10 other people out there who could have heard word for word the same thing and thought it was about them specifically.

Re:I was an astrologer – here's how it really works (2019) by michaelt on Saturday May 15, 2021 @02:41PM (#27167770)
Why stop at statements that are only true for a thousand people?

Your post tells me you have a dry sense of humour that makes connections quickly, which sometimes leaves you making jokes that go right over the heads of others. That means when the urge takes you, you can be the life of the party - despite the fact you can be shy, especially around new people.

I can also tell you're naturally a bit disorganised - the kind of person who has unsorted photos on their phone, and that you hang onto notes to yourself that are significantly out of date. But you pride yourself as an independent thinker, and don't accept others' statements without satisfactory proof.

Re:I was an astrologer – here's how it really works (2019) by nkrisc on Saturday May 15, 2021 @02:49PM (#27167830)
It is pretty impressive how personal that feels even when it is as broad as it is.

Because you basically did describe me perfectly. Well, me and millions of other people too. Guess I’m not that special after all.

Re:I was an astrologer – here's how it really works (2019) by david422 on Saturday May 15, 2021 @03:23PM (#27168083)
There's a Derren Brown clip where he gets a group of strangers in a room, gets to know them for an hour, and says he's going to give them each a personalized "reading". He takes a few hours, writes up a few pages for each of them and gives them to them.

They read them, and most of them get pretty emotional describing how specific it is to them and how much it's affecting them.

But the trick is, he gives the exact same reading to every person.

We don't see what the reading is, but I've always thought- what if everybody in the room really does share enough human experiences that a reading (somewhat generic enough) really does cover almost everybody in the room.