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David, if you can do the name to photo test. in a 20 picture test. it could be an interesting beginning, I suggest you take twenty women all available on google or facebook and try.

Hi Jeffrey, Sorry it took a beat to respond. This weekend, when I have space and time, I'll ask a friend to lay out some pictures and names and see how I do. And I'll report back what I learn. I've been thinking about this for a while -- and I do feel we ultimately need a more rigorous experiment. But I like your idea, at least to start, of just giving it a good and seeing. Great meeting you. David

Hi Jeffrey and Gino, Earlier today, I sat down with 15 pictures and 15 names and tried to match them. It turned out to be quite a struggle -- primarily because people were very similar. For instance, I'd have descriptions like this: Shy but relatively happy on the outside Filled with frustration and anxiety Burning with rage deep down But out of the 15 people, that could vaguely describe 3 or 4 of them. So my matching ended up looking like a convoluted chart. What I concluded was that I need a bit more help designing this experiment. Ideally, rather than matching 15 names to pictures, I have a bunch of binary decisions (A or B). One would expect me to get 50% right. IF the people are emotionally different enough (happy v. sad, for instance) I hypothesize I will do considerably better than chance. Does that make sense?

David, if you can do the name to photo test. in a 20 picture test. it could be an interesting beginning, I suggest you take twenty women all available on google or facebook and try.

I would love to do that. Definitely has higher probability of success. Sent from my mobile device

Jeffrey, Just an additional thought. A vision, actually-- What if I did readings blindfolded? So I held someone's hand and felt into them. With such limited visual/tactile information, it would be a real test of my empathic abilities. It would almost validate "the sixth sense." Then maybe we could compare my ability to read people with an average person's ability to read people? Just brainstorming here... Very best, David

I don't mind anything you're saying - I am definitely not a scientist, don't claim to be, and don't know much about experiments and design. I feel like it'd be good to talk it out? I say what I can do, and somebody who knows science tells me how we can test that, until we arrive at a solution that works both ways?

I like you, I am trying to be kind, that is not science. if you make people feel better and no one is injured, all the best to you. how about being blindfolded and guessing their name. the outcome must be verifiable, not you are shy, sometimes angry other times. the trick of mentalists that do much better than that. they could take a strength finder test, and then you could take it with empathy for them, there are 100 questions see if you got more than 80 percent right.

you dont have to be a scientist to understand the concept of proof. does massage work? not a science question, but some think it does. can you prove to anyone that your intuitive abilities are repeatable, verifiable? probably not, but it's ok. with vast experience, chinese doctors can tell if someone's kidneys are working properly, the eyes are a little dull and yellow, it's not science but a pretty good predictor. the other experiment you can try if you want is hold their hands, write down what you feel, and afterwards have them choose which best describes their characteristics. I did this with 200 girls. each one had to rate the accuracy of diagnosis on a scale of 1-10. the results ranged from 3-10. however, the written diagnosis was exactly the same for each, no one liked the results. believing is more fun.

I'm confused. You did an experiment with 200 girls where you held their hands and rated them? Or that's what you're suggesting for me?