We live in strange times. A school shooting overshadowed on the news by a case of a woman who is brain dead and should be allowed to die. One would have to live under a rock to escape reading and hearing about this one.. The only real news story here is that our government just made a really bad precedent by intervening in this case. I suppose state rights are for mere decoration and grandstanding takes precedence to constitution.
There is another news worthy item hidden in this messy story. One Dr William Hammesfahr. News stories like this one have been popping up left and right each inevitably quoting the "world renowned, Nobel Prize nominee in medicine". That made me wonder, how can it be that a neurologist of such standing as to be nominated for a Nobel Prize (no small achievement) is all but ignored by not only courts but also his own colleagues? This question let to a google search and in about 15 minutes, me, a programmer with too much time on her hands, was able to discredit the good doctor. Why is the news media even quoting this person?
You too can follow the bread crumbs and see the credibility behind the opinions.
Doctor Hammesfahr has a website, his own neurological institute and an impressive list of services. What he doesn't have is even one published peer-reviewed article in a medical journal. How does one receive a Nobel Prize nomination without ever being published? Good question! One doesn't.
According to the Nobel Prize FAQ the nominees are kept secret for 50 years. That means the nominees don't know they're nominated. So how did our doctor find out? He has a letter to prove it! From the Nobel committee? Well.. no.. from his local congressman to the Nobel Committee recommending Hammesfahr's nomination for the "Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine". No, there is no such thing as a Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine.
Feeling sick yet? All those journalists quoting the doctor (who's doing the talk show circuit right now) and referring to his Nobel Prize nomination are really referring to a letter from a Florida congressman who can't even distinguish between the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize for achievement in the field of Medicine. And all it took was a 15 minute google search. Way to go "journalists".
In case you're still wondering if a letter like that has any validity as a nomination.. it doesn't. Here is a list of people who can nominate someone for the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine. A congressman is not on the list. This "nomination" means about as much as if I sent a letter to the same committe recommending Steve Friedl for the Nobel Peace Prize in Windows Reinstalling.
