Natalia Nikolaevna Djomkina

Natalja Nikolajewna Djomkina (actually: Russian Наталья Николаевна Дёмкина , also known as Natasha Demkina ; * 1987 in Saransk , Soviet Union ) is a woman with allegedly parapsychological skills .

overview

She became known as the " Röntgen girl" (Russian: "Dewotschka Rentgen"). According to her own statements, she masters a second look, which should enable her to recognize human innards. According to the mass media , their diagnoses are as accurate or more accurate than those made by doctors with medical devices. During an experiment on May 1, 2004, which was broadcast by the Discovery Channel , she did not succeed in precisely demonstrating her skills, but only achieved 80% of the necessary requirements. According to Djomkina's own statement, disadvantages are said to have been staged in advance.

The phenomenon

According to Natalya and her parents, the daughter's unusual abilities began at the age of ten. At first Natalja "looked through" friends and acquaintances, but the phenomenon got more attention in the winter of 2003/2004 when it was reported on TV. At that time, Natalia was in her final year of school. In January 2004 Natalja (together with her mother) visited London at the invitation of The Sun , where she demonstrated her skills during a live broadcast. So she also took part in an experiment organized by the tabloid The Sun. The journalist Bryony Wordan, who suffered multiple fractures in a traffic accident, reported as "experimental material".

Investigation through tests

In March 2004, the American station Discovery Channel (specializing in popular science and education programs) became aware of the girl. This time it was not journalists but the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) (then Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, CSICOP) and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health (now defunct) who deal with the experiment . In the preparation of the experiments, the professors of psychology, Ray Hyman from the University of Oregon (USA) and Richard Wiseman from Hertfordshire University (Great Britain) as well as Andrew Skolnick , who has worked as a journalist for over ten years and editor of the Journal of, participated the American Medical Association.

Structure of the experiment

The experiment was organized as follows: Natalia was asked to look at seven volunteers, six of whom had visible anomalies on x-rays (one of the participants did not have them), and on special cards with the description of the ailments in English and Russian the number of the experiment- Note the participant who had the ailments depicted on it. After the experiment, five correct results out of seven were obtained as criteria for the proof and would have been a reason for the commission to embark on further studies on the Natalja phenomenon. These experimental circumstances had been agreed with Natalja and her mother beforehand and they agreed to it. The volunteers had other special features: removed appendix after appendicitis, removed lower part of the esophagus, metallic surgical clips (brackets) on the chest after heart surgery, an artificial hip joint, removed upper lobe of the left lung and a metal sheet that covered the defect in the skull bone.

Evaluation of the experiment

As a result of the experiment, Natalja gave correct answers in four cases. The result, for which the probability of guessing was 1.8%, was classified as unsatisfactory. In addition, the diagnosis took four hours, although she had previously stated that she could make a diagnosis in a few minutes. Mind you, the experimental set-up precluded both eye contact and conversation with the participants and movement in front of their eyes, which was previously part of their "work". The test was carried out in six rounds. Before each attempt, Natalja was explained in detail (using the texts in Russian and English as well as illustrations) which defects should be paid attention to. The biggest mistake in terms of her claimed ability was that she was unable to identify the large metal plate in a volunteer's skull. Several violations of the audit were also noted. For example, Natalja showed up at a test before the scheduled time and saw two of the volunteers making their way down a long stairwell to the building where the test was to take place. This gave her the opportunity to assess her physical condition. Contrary to the original protocol, Natalja's mother was present in the test room. Natalia's friend, who acted as an interpreter, received and sent text messages over and over again during the study. The organizers of the experiment stated in their report that all correctly guessed cases belong to those whose apparent condition is more likely to be reflected in the state of health. For example, the healthy volunteer was the youngest and apparently healthiest in the group; the person who had undergone heart surgery was one of the oldest and most frail looking. In addition, Natalja mistakenly chose a volunteer for the category “person with skull surgery” who had come to the test with a baseball cap. Despite the violations, the commission carried out the testing procedure, which was based on the fact that the purpose of the investigation was not based on exposing Natalja's abilities. The results should show whether the skills of the "X-ray girl" require further study.

Natalja's reaction

The “Röntgen girl” herself did not agree with the conclusions of the commission. She pointed out that she had no experience of receiving multiple patients at the same time. She also spoke of the hostile psychological atmosphere that prevailed during the experiment. In 2004, Natalia graduated from the school who passed the unified state examination with 96 points (Russian Единый государственный экзамен, ЕГЭ;. Jediný gossudarstwenny eksamen, Je.GE) and was a student at the Medical Faculty of the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry (russ. Московский государственный медико -stоматологический университет ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/483/
2. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/sep/25/russia.health