Reborn Coma Man’s Words May Be Bogus(wired.com)
wired.com
Reborn Coma Man’s Words May Be Bogus
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/houben-communication/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
4 comments
Basically "facilitated communication" means "someone else takes the guy's hand and makes it type words on a keyboard." Not an exaggeration. Right up there with homeopathy.
This is beyond outrageous. Check out the video here: http://tinyurl.com/ye9d9lp
Houben has since proven able to answer yes-or-no questions with slight movements of his foot. It’s a tremendous accomplishment, and raises the chilling possibility that, as estimated by Coma Science Group leader Steven Laureys in a Monday New York Times story, as many as four in 10 people considered utterly comatose may be misdiagnosed. But the legitimacy of interviews given by Houben and his facilitator to Der Spiegel, and shown on video by the BBC, may not be as certain.
He can answer questions independently with his foot. So why don't they ask him if he's answering for himself when he types?
He could also learn Morse code...
He can answer questions independently with his foot. So why don't they ask him if he's answering for himself when he types?
He could also learn Morse code...
I recommend the movie Johnny Got His Gun: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067277/.
Being stuck, aware like that, seems too damn horrible.
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Movie's plot: "Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death --- a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. He remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories, unable to distinguish whether he is awake or dreaming. He remains frustrated by his situation, until one day when Joe discovers a unique way to communicate with his caregivers." Pulled from IMDB.
Being stuck, aware like that, seems too damn horrible.
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Movie's plot: "Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death --- a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. He remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories, unable to distinguish whether he is awake or dreaming. He remains frustrated by his situation, until one day when Joe discovers a unique way to communicate with his caregivers." Pulled from IMDB.
Or "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401383/
Johnny Got His Gun is a good book (/movie) but I don't think it's entirely relevant to this story of the fraud of facilitated communication.