SCIENTISTS SEE THROUGH RUSSIA''S GIRL WITH X-RAY VISION
When German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen annonced that he had
discovered an invisible form of radiation that could make
photographs of the bones and organs inside the human body,
many scientists wrote it off as a hoax. But his discovery
changed the face of medicine.
Now ,a teenage girl from Saransk, Russia, claims to have
X - ray like visison, which lets her see inside of human
bodies, and is able to make diagnosis that often are more
accurate than those of doctors.
Widely hailed in Russia as " the girl with X - ray eyes",
17 -year-old Natasha Demkina has growing following of
patients, doctors, journalists, and others who are convinced
her powers are real.
Dr.Hyman, professor emeritus of psychology at the university
of oregon and Dr Wiseman, Professor of psychology at university
of Hertfordshire, UK , have extensive experience in testing
people who claim paranormal powers.
Based on preliminary research, suspected Natasha may be using
a remarkably simple but convincing technique called "cold reading",
which is commonly used by psychics, astrologers, and other fortune
tellers.
Natasha scans her patients from head to toe and describes a long
list of abnormalities she says she sees.
When Natasha gave a reading on one of the test patients, she
disclosed several facts that neither the patient nor his physician
knew. And the only way to verify these problems was through autopsy.
so a simple test was designed that would eliminate the possibilities
of using cold reading to fish for correct information and to prevent
Natasha from making diagnoses that could not be disproved with out
an autospy.
Six volunteers with different medical
conditions that showed up on X -ray
and one normal subject were chosen. Natasha was handed six test cards,
each with a description of a target medical condition.
Natasha claims she can see abnormalities down to the cellular level
and her mother says her readings are 100 percent accurate.
So the test - which required her to match at least five of the target
medical conditions to the correct subjects - should have been a breez.
yet she only matched four of the conditions correctly.
Natasha''s most dramatic misdiagnosis was her failure to see a large
metal plate covering a missing section of skull in a man who had
a large brain tumour removed. Instead, she indicated that she "saw"
tal plate and missing skull section in a man who had a normal
skull.
Writer........... Deccan chronicle
Daily News paper. dated February 1, 2005