Last week the wires were ablaze with news about the man in Belgium who had apparently been in a coma for twenty-three years, only to emerge from it to tell the world that he had been conscious and aware of his surroundings the whole time!
How horrifying! How shocking! How shameful for the medical community! How...waitaminute.
I first heard about this story on the radio, on NPR, and it sounded pretty unbelievable. The next time I saw it it was accompanied by a photo showing the man in a chair and a woman holding his hand.
Uh-oh. Facilitated Communication. It's a hoax.
Facilitated Communication is one of those things like dowsing or Essiac that its proponents will swear up and down is real and legitimate, but which come circumscribed by so many caveats and restrictions that apparently only someone with highly specialized training - and someone who believes - is capable of doing it right. I don't have time to go into details right now, but some simple research will let you know both the brad strokes and the details.
Turns out I'm not the only one who got this impression. James Randi posted his analysis at the James Randi Educational Foundation website:
This Cruel Farce Has To Stop!
This story seems to have fallen off the radar. News cycles being what they are, this is more likely because the world has simply moved on, and not because people have seen through this hoax. So perhaps we will never know what will become of this man in Belgium and his family. I hope he continues to receive legitimate treatment, and no one is allowed to exploit him for their own selfish purposes.
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Daryl Sznyter
5 years ago
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