On 24 Nov 2009 at 15:48, DeVolder Carol L wrote: > Might be worth a discussion in class: > > http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/783-this-cruel-farce-has-to-stop.html > > http://tinyurl.com/yaa4voc
Wow! This is huge. I had heard about the case and had even thought of passing it on to TIPS but from the news description I read there was no hint that facilitated communication was involved. Although the length of time Houben was claimed to be locked-in itself stretches believablility to the limit, I assumed this was an extreme case of what happened to Jean-Dominique Bauby (of "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"), and about which there is no doubt. To his credit, the eminent ethicist Arthur Caplan has a dissenting piece on the case on the MSNBC site but his concern relating to facilitated communication is much too restrained. Randi's outrage is the way to go. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34132340/ns/health-health_care/ Unfortunately, previous examples of other such myths (e.g. that Einstein's wife did his mathematics for him) suggest that it's now unstoppable. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
