엑스레이 투시 안구를 가진 소녀 나타샤 뎀키나 > 초능력/최면

사진#1
(그림설명: 몰도비아 공화국의 17세 소녀 나타샤 뎀키나)

2004년 1월 27일 영국의 런던시에서는 유명 일간지 더 썬의 여기자 브라이오니 워든이 세계 토픽뉴스에 엑스레이 투시안으로 사람들의 신체 내부를 볼 수 있다고 보도된 러시아 연방 공화국 몰도비아의 신비한 초능력 소녀 나타샤 뎀키나를 집으로 초대한 일이 있었습니다.

지난 10월 뺑소니 차에 치어 몸을 크게 다친 36세의 브라이오니는 아직 몸이 완쾌되지 않아 현재도 휠체어와 목발을 사용한다고 하는데 나타샤를 집으로 초대하여 소녀의 초능력을 직접 확인하고 싶어했다고 합니다.

사진#2
(그림설명: 브라이오니에게 다리 상처를 설명하는 나타샤)

몰도비아의 사란스크 지방에서 태어난 17세 소녀 나타샤는10살이 되던 해 처음 모친에게 뱃속에 두개의 콩들과 토마토,그리고 진공청소기가 들어있다고 말해 모친을 의아하게 만들었다고 합니다.

당시 의학적인 지식이 전혀없는 아이가 콩팥과 심장, 그리고 내장에 관해 말하고 있음을 안 아이의 모친 타티아나 블라디미로브나는 나타샤를 병원으로 데려가 검진을 받도록 했지만 아이를 검진한 의사들은 여러 실험을 통해 나타샤가 어떠한 속임수를 쓰고 있지 않다는 것은 확인했지만 아이의 초능력을 믿으려 하지 않았다고 합니다.

그 후 몸 안에 상처가 있는 사람들의 신체 어느곳이 어떻게 아픈지를 정확히 찾아낸 10세 소녀는 금세 마을의 유명인이 되었다고 하는데 그때서 부터 나타샤의 집에는 소문을 듣고 온 동네에서 찾아온 사람들이 줄을 서서 몸을 봐달라고 부탁하자 그들을 모두 도와주고 하루에 수십여통씩 걸려온 문의 전화를 받기 시작했다고 합니다.

사진#3
(그림설명: 브라이오니의 척추 상처에 관해 설명하는 나타샤)

당일 나타샤를 만나기 전 자신의 상처를 외관으로 감지하지 못하게 다리에 있던 부목을 떼고 긴 팔 블라우스와 바지를 입어 수술 자국을 가리고 벤치에 앉아 소녀를 만난 브라오니는 나타샤에게 자신의 몸을 한번 봐달라고 부탁했다고합니다.

순간 나타샤가 자신의 몸을 쳐다보자 그녀의 안구 동공이 확대되는 것을 봤다는 브라이오니는 소녀가 넋을 잃은듯 몇분간 눈을 감고 있다가 눈을 뜬 뒤 척추를 가리키며 차단물이 있다고 말하는 것을 들었다고 합니다.

사고로 척추 4군데에 심한 골절상을 입고 신경에 상처를 입은 브라이오니는 아픈 부위를 정확히 가리킨 나타샤를 보고 놀랐다고 하는데 나타샤가 여러 골절상을 입은 우측 골반을 가리키며 균형이 잡히지 않았다고 하자 또 다시 놀랐다고 합니다.

그 후 티타늄 판이 턱뼈를 지탱하고 있는 부위에 외계적인 요소가 있다는 말을 들은 브라이오니는 정확한 부위를 찾아낸 나타샤의 말을 계속 경청했다고 합니다.

곧이어 브라이오니를 가장 놀라게 한 것은 나타샤가 설명한 그녀의 다리 골절상 상처였다고 하는데 무릎 밑 다리뼈 경골과 비골이 둘 다 부러졌던 부분을 정확히 지목받으며 무릎을 구부리는게 어렵다는 말을 들은 브라이오니는 소녀가 다리에서 뼈에 영향을 준 여러개의 철제 핀들과 나사들을 봤다고 하며 이들의 정확한 지점을 가리키자 나타샤가 실제로 엑스레이 안구를 가지고 있음을 확신했다고 합니다.

사진#4
(그림설명: 브라이오니와 대화를 나누는 나타샤)

검진이 끝난뒤 나타샤에게 자신의 차 사고에 대해 알려준 브라이오니는 나타샤로 부터 무척 잘 회복되고 있다는 말을 들었다고 하는데 소녀는 자신의 능력을 엑스레이 투시라고 부르지 않고 '의학적 시력'이라고 부른다고 합니다.

몰도비아에서 매일 오후마다 오랫동안 진료를 받기 위해 예약하고 기다린 사람들로 부터 적은 돈인 400루블(16,455원)을 받고 그들을 도와준다는 나타샤는 자신의 특별한 능력이 보통 소녀들 처럼 친구들과 놀고 공부를 하는 정상적인 일상 생활에아무런 방해를 주지 않는다고 말했다고 합니다.

앞으로의 꿈이 의학적 시력 능력을 활용하여 다친 사람들을 치료하고 돕는 의사가 되는 것이라는 소녀는 현재 학교에서 공부도 잘하는 우등생이어서 올해 말에 시행될 국가시험에서 좋은 성적을 받을 수 있을 것으로 기대된다고 합니다.

사진#5

사진#6

Natasha Demkina (wearing red) poses for photos after taking
CSMMH-CSICOP's test of her claimed medical psychic abilities at the City College of New York on May 1, 2004. CSMMH and CSICOP were invited by the roducer/director of the Discovery Channel program and Ms. Demkina to scientifically test her claimed powers.
케이블TV 디스커버리채널은 나타샤가 미국 뉴욕에서 자신의 능력을 입증하는 모습을 담은 '투시력을 가진 소녀'를 14일 오후 10시에 방송한다. 이 프로그램에서는 나타샤가 실제 인간의 신체 내부를 볼 수 있는 능력이 있는지, 어떤 연유로 그런 능력을 갖게 됐는지를 알아보고 자신의 재능과 유명세에 책임을 다하고자 의대에 진학하는 나타샤의 모습도 지켜볼 수 있다.


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Natasha Demkina,
The Girl with Very Normal Eyes

ONE hundred and nine years ago, many scientists reacted to the claims of German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen with skepticism. At first, they didn't believe his discovery of mysterious "x-rays" that allowed doctors to see inside of people's bodies. But when the skeptics put his claim to the test, they quickly were convinced about one of the greatest discoveries in physics and medicine.

Now comes a girl from Saransk, Russia, who claims to have a form of x-ray vision that allows her to see inside of people's bodies on a cellular level and to make medical diagnoses more accurately than physicians. (See http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=8184&cid=5&cname=Asia and http://groups.msn.com/Mindtalk/itspossible.msnw.)

Widely hailed in Russia as "the girl with x-ray eyes," 17-year-old Natasha Demkina traveled earlier this year to England and to the United States to convince skeptics that her x-ray vision is as real as Roentgen's. A program prepared for the Discovery Channel documents Demkina's trip to New York to demonstrate her powers to a team of skeptical investigators they had invited to test her claims.

The program, already broadcast in Europe in September, is expected to be aired in the United States before the end of the 2004. However, it has already outraged Demkina's supporters, who are accusing the investigators of "plotting to discredit" and "ambushing" the young psychic. (See http://www.victorzammit.com/articles/natasha.html.)

They are angry because the test failed to find evidence of any ability other than one commonly used by palm readers, astrologers, and other fortune tellers to impress their clients, the investigators say.

"Our study was only a preliminary test designed to see if Ms. Demkina has an ability that warrants more carefully conducted scientific study," says Andrew Skolnick, executive director of the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health (CSMMH), in Amherst, NY.

"Ms. Demkina's claims are much more astounding and revolutionary than were Roentgen's," he adds. "If true, their impact on science and medicine would be far greater. Unfortunately, the results of the test provide little justification for further study. We found no evidence that Ms. Demkina can see inside of people's bodies on a cellular or any other level."

Skolnick designed the test with help from Ray Hyman, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, in Eugene, and Richard Wiseman, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. Hyman, who proctored the test, and Wiseman are fellows of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). The two have much experience in testing people who claim to posses paranormal powers. Skolnick, an award-winning medical journalist, served as an associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association for nearly a decade.

The simple test was designed to avoid the problem of determining if Ms. Demkina's "diagnoses" are wrong, without having to sacrifice human subjects and conduct an autopsy on them, Skolnick explains. During her usual "readings," Ms. Demkina looks at a person from head to toe and provides a long list of abnormalities she says she sees, while questioning her subjects about those "problems."

This process is similar to the "cold readings" used by astrologers and other psychics, Hyman says. With so many guesses, she's likely to get a hit -- which will be touted -- while the misses are explained away or simply ignored. There's simply no way to prove such readings right or wrong without controlling for all the tricks that psychics are known to use. In addition, by observing their subjects' reactions, psychics pick up clues to guide the rest of their comments. The result is that most subjects come away swearing the psychic was amazingly accurate.

So the simple test that CSMMH and CSICOP proposed required Demkina to examine seven volunteer subjects and to find which ones had six different previously confirmed medical conditions that are easily seen on an x-ray.

The six target conditions included a surgically removed appendix, a surgically removed lower section of the esophagus, metal staples left in the chest following surgery; an artificial hip joint; a surgically removed upper section of one lung; and a metal plate covering a removed section of the skull. A seventh subject had none of those conditions. (See http://www.csmmh.org/demkina/appendix.htm.)

"Ms. Demkina and her supporters claim she can see abnormalities on a cellular level and that her diagnoses are 100 percent accurate," Skolnick says. "So this test should have been a cake walk for her. She only had to look for six abnormalities and we told her exactly where to look for each. She didn't have to scan their entire bodies. And we only required her to correctly match at least five of the seven conditions to have us conclude her abilities are worth examining with a more carefully controlled study. Despite the ease of this test, she matched only four correctly, which all parties had agreed prior to the test would be a failing score."

Demkina's supporters are accusing the investigators of changing the test rules at the last moment, to make the young psychic fail. Not true, say the investigators. All the test rules were provided in writing to the program's director/producer and to Demkina five days before the test was conducted. "Only after everyone agreed to the written protocols did we agree to travel to New York City to meet with Ms. Demkina and conduct the test," Skolnick says. (See http://www.csmmh.org/demkina/demkina.protocols.doc.)

No test rules were changed other than ones that Demkina requested, he adds. For example, Demkina was allowed to talk to her teenage friend throughout the test so she would feel more comfortable, even though that was forbidden by the rules. She also was permitted to communicate with unknown persons using a cell phone, despite the fact that it could let her obtain information about the targeted medical conditions. Despite these and other concessions, Demkina and her supporters now are claiming the test conditions were too unaccommodating and "unfriendly" for her to be tested fairly. (See http://www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk/index.php?act=print_article&topic_id=2782.)

Demkina's most dramatic failure in the test was her inability to see the metal plate and missing bone in the forehead of one of the subjects. "She spent some four hours looking at the seven subjects and she still couldn't see the metal plate that anyone can find by simply touching the subject's forehead," Skolnick says. "That's utterly inconsistent with the claim that she can see abnormalities down to the cellular level and that she never ever misses."

Despite allowing Demkina to ignore rules designed to prevent her from gathering information through non-paranormal means, she still did not pass the preliminary test. "That's why I think this test, as preliminary as it was, will likely close the chapter in this case," he concludes.

"Above all, I hope no more people will be scared into having expensive and invasive medical tests done on them -- as a well-known TV doctor in England did after being 'diagnosed' by Ms. Demkina," he says. [See http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2495316.] "Getting an unfavorable horoscope from your astrologer is one thing, but getting 'medical readings' from a psychic may prove hazardous to your health."

More detailed articles on Natasha Demkina's claimed abilities and what the CSMMH-CSICOP investigators found will be published in the January/February 2005 issue of the Skeptical Inquirer and a future issue of The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.

# # #


For more information contact:

Kevin Christopher
Public Affairs Director
Center for Inquiry
PO Box 741, Amherst, NY 14226
(716) 636-4869 x218
kchristopher@centerforinquiry.net

ⓒ 2004 CSMMH All Rights Reserved

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