Sources
Testing Natasha
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Ray Hyman is a psychologist who has specialized in the scientific investigation of claimed psychic ability, and this Skeptical Inquirer article is his account of testing Natasha Demkina, a woman who claimed an ability to diagnose medical conditions by sight. Its strength is Hyman's own long specialist standing in designing controlled tests of exactly this kind of claim, giving the described protocol real methodological weight. Its limit is that Skeptical Inquirer is an advocacy magazine for scientific skepticism rather than a peer-reviewed journal, and it reports one specific test of one specific individual, so a claim generalizing from this case to claimed medical diagnostic ability generally needs broader evidence than this single reported test.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier2
Published in Skeptical Inquirer, the magazine of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry; reputable critical commentary aimed at a general readership rather than a peer reviewed academic journal, hence the middle tier. NotesRay Hyman's skeptical magazine account of testing a claimed psychic, Natasha Demkina.
Citation
AuthorRay Hyman
PublisherSkeptical Inquirer
Publication Year2005
Source Typemagazine
Claims Backed By This Source (32 claims)
This source backs 32 claims across the atlas. As facts: 19 well-attested, 3 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 6 holds. Plus 4 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Historical Figures, 11 claims: 5 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 2 holds, 2 general references.
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Studies, 7 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 3 holds, 1 general references.
- Articles, 5 claims: 5 well-attested.
- Years, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
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