|
Rom Houben
Rom Houben is a comatose Belgian man who was claimed to have the ability to type through facilitated communication, a scientifically discredited technique. Houben was comatose and in a vegetative state for 23 years after a near-fatal automobile accident, but whom according to several of his caregivers, was conscious and paralyzed during the entirety of his hospital stay. In 2010, the claim that Houben was able to communicate was rejected when communication could not be replicated with a different facilitator and by hiding the object to be identified from the view of the facilitator. Background Houben was diagnosed with total locked-in syndrome by Belgian neurologist Steven Laureys in 2006 with the help of modern brain imaging techniques and equipment.Kate Connolly (23 November 2009).Car crash victim trapped in 'coma' for 23 years was conscious. guardian.co.uk. It was claimed that he could communicate by typing into a keyboard with his right hand supported by a communication fac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Facilitated Communication
Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique that attempts to aid communication by people with autism or other communication disabilities who are non-verbal. The facilitator guides the disabled person's arm or hand and attempts to help them type on a keyboard or other device. There is widespread agreement within the scientific community and among disability advocacy organizations that FC is a pseudoscience. Research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC, rather than the disabled person. The facilitator may believe they are not the source of the messages due to the ideomotor effect, which is the same effect that guides a Ouija board. Studies have consistently found that FC is unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object). In addition, in numerou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Right To Die
The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without the will to continue living, should be allowed to end their own life, use assisted suicide, or to decline life-prolonging treatment. The question of who, if anyone, may be empowered to make this decision is often subject of debate. Religious views on suicide vary from the Hindu and Jain practices of non-violent suicide through fasting (Prayopavesa and ''Santhara'', respectively) to considering it a grave sin, as in Catholicism. Ethics The preservation and value of life have led to many medical advancements when it comes to treating patients. New devices and the development of palliative care have allowed humans to live longer than before. Prior to these medical advancements and care, the lifespans of those who were unconscious, minimally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1963 Births
Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove River, Sydney, Australia. * January 2 – Vietnam War – Battle of Ap Bac: The Viet Cong win their first major victory. * January 9 – A total penumbral lunar eclipse is visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and is the 56th lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 114. Gamma has a value of −1.01282. It occurs on the night between Wednesday, January 9 and Thursday, January 10, 1963. * January 13 – 1963 Togolese coup d'état: A military coup in Togo results in the installation of coup leader Emmanuel Bodjollé as president. * January 17 – A last quarter moon occurs between the penumbral lunar eclipse and the annular solar eclipse, only 12 hours, 29 minutes after apogee. * January 19 – Soviet spy Ghe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clever Hans
Clever Hans (German: ''der Kluge Hans''; c. 1895 - c. 1916) was a horse that was claimed to have performed arithmetic and other intellectual tasks. After a formal investigation in 1907, psychologist Oskar Pfungst demonstrated that the horse was not actually performing these mental tasks, but was watching the reactions of his trainer. He discovered this artifact in the research methodology, wherein the horse was responding directly to involuntary cues in the body language of the human trainer, who was entirely unaware that he was providing such cues. In honour of Pfungst's study, the anomalous artifact has since been referred to as the ''Clever Hans effect'' and has continued to be important knowledge in the observer-expectancy effect and later studies in animal cognition. Pfungst was an assistant to German philosopher and psychologist Carl Stumpf, who incorporated the experience with Hans into his further work on animal psychology and his ideas on phenomenology. Spectacle Duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Standaard
''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Socialist Flemish daily ''De Morgen''. In recent years De Standaard has renounced its original ideological ties. History and profile In 1911, Frans Van Cauwelaert founded ''Ons Volk Ontwaakt'', the weekly journal of the Flemish Catholic student organization. In 1914, Van Cauwelaert, Alfons Van de Perre, and Arnold Hendrix formed a publishing company, ''De Standaard N.V.'' ("The Standard, Incorporated": the Standard Group). Their goal was to publish a conservative, Catholic, Flemish daily newspaper in Brussels, to be called ''De Standaard''. The motto of ''De Standaard'' was ''Alles voor Vlaanderen - Vlaanderen voor Kristus'' ("Everything for Flanders - Flanders for Christ"), abbreviated ''AVV-VVK''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universities by numerous organizations and scholars. While the university dates its founding to 1740, it was created by Benjamin Franklin and other Philadelphia citizens in 1749. It is a member of the Ivy League. The university has four undergraduate schools as well as twelve graduate and professional schools. Schools enrolling undergraduates include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School, and the School of Nursing. Among its highly ranked graduate schools are its law school, whose first professor wrote the first draft of the United States Constitution, its medical school, the first in North America, and Wharton, the first collegiate business school. Penn's endowment is US$20.7 billio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Novella
Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement as a host of ''The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'' podcast and as the president of the New England Skeptical Society. He is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). Early life and education Novella was born July 29, 1964 to Joseph Novella and Patricia Novella née Danbury. He was raised in New Fairfield, Connecticut and has four siblings. Novella considered becoming a lawyer prior to attending college but decided to go into medicine as a teenager. As an undergraduate, he pursued premed and science. In 1991, Novella earned a medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He spent the first year of residency at Georgetown University Hospital/Washington Hospital Center in internal medicine. He completed his residency in neurology at Yale–N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neurologist
Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves. Neurological practice relies heavily on the field of neuroscience, the scientific study of the nervous system. A neurologist is a physician specializing in neurology and trained to investigate, diagnose and treat neurological disorders. Neurologists treat a myriad of neurologic conditions, including stroke, seizures, movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, autoimmune neurologic disorders such as multiple sclerosis, headache disorders like migraine and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. Neurologists may also be involved in clinical research, clinical trials, and basic or translational research. While neurology is a nonsurgical specialty, its corresponding surgical specialty is neurosurgery. Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Randi
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Rodrigues 2010p. 271/ref> He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87. Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', famously expo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PZ Myers
Paul Zachary Myers (born March 9, 1957) is an American biologist who founded and writes the ''Pharyngula'' science-blog. He is associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM)PZ Myers Biology Faculty from where he works in the field of . He is a critic of and the |
Arthur Caplan
Arthur L. Caplan (born 1950) is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and the founding director of the Division of Medical Ethics. Caplan has made many contributions to public policy including: helping to found the National Marrow Donor Program; creating the policy of required request in cadaver organ donation adopted throughout the United States; helping to create the system for distributing organs in the U.S.; and advising on the content of the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, rules governing living organ donation, and legislation and regulation in many other areas of health care including blood safety and compassionate use. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he repeatedly stepped into controversy by universally criticizing those who were not fully vaccinated. Referring to them in a CNN appearance, he asserted, "I'll condemn them. I'll shame them. I'm blame them ... We can penalize them more, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Association On Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is an American non-profit organization focusing on intellectual disability and related developmental disabilities. AAIDD has members in the United States and more than 50 other countries. History The AAIDD was founded in 1876 by Édouard Séguin, and is the oldest professional association concerned with intellectual and developmental disabilities. AAIDD advocates for the equality, dignity, and human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and for their full inclusion and participation in society. It is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC. The name of the association has changed five times in its history, reflecting the changes in thinking about the condition known today as intellectual disability: * 1876: Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feebleminded Persons * 1906: American Association for the Study ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
