Quote: Original post by benryves

Quote: Original post by nilkn
The comments on this rendition of the story seem to suggest that the story has been exaggerated due to controversy surrounding facilitated communication. I wish I knew more about medicine to get a good grasp on all this.

I'd take any comments on Daily Mail articles with a pinch of salt. That said, I do agree that the news footage did look a bit suspect - but I'm no medical expert.

Well, James Randi has come out and declared the whole story a cruel farce. The guy is best known as prominent skeptic of the supernatural who has had his money where his mouth is for the last half a decade.

Like you, though, I'm no expert, so I've no clue how to call this one.

@ Fen

Basically, the link you gave me to James Randi's site was something that I was thinking about. Whether or not the boy was actually communicating or not.

It is interesting...

Quote: Original post by shuma-gorath
To build on what's been said, this phenomena is most common among red-haired individuals.

This is true. Red headed men and women react differently to anesthesia than other individuals. It's unclear why, but it's been shown that for some drugs they need up to 30% more, while others they need 20% less than the average patient.
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I would like to see the research paper, instead of the news releases, but I haven't found a link yet, even though the paper should be free. The man's doctor, Dr. Laureys, is respected by his peers and has produced peer reviewed material. He also performed tests where he showed objects to Houben objects alone and then with the aide, correctly identified the object. (Of course, this wasn't a double blind test).

Smart men are the easiest to fool, but I am not yet ready to dismiss this story yet. The media has a very good track record of over-exaggerating scientific claims and it has shown too little evidence to make a judgment.