3 ms·

What I don't get is that in the medical specialist's report it is stated that 'the consensus was that the patterns of injuries that had so far been noted (refer

What I don't get is that in the medical specialist's report it is stated that 'the consensus was that the patterns of injuries that had so far been noted (referring to 'similar to what might be seen in patients following mild traumatic brain injury or concussion') were most likely related to trauma from a non-natural source.', and yet Petrie, not having examined the patients somehow is convinced its all due to mass hysteria and nocebo effects, his domain of academic interest?

tptacek 9y ago
It's not just this source; the FBI also formally reported to Senate Foreign Relations that there was no evidence of any "sonic attack". The FBI had medical professionals examining the patients directly. That's presumably the story behind the timing of this story.
- yorwba 9y ago
  It's also totally possible for the actual reason to be neither a targeted attack nor mass hysteria. The FBI's conclusion is evidence against the attack scenario, but it doesn't specifically elevate the hysteria hypothesis over everything else. I prefer to remain skeptical of diagnoses that are advanced by someone with no actual patient contact and appear to be geared more towards self-promotion (talking to the press) than helping the patients.
- gandhium 9y ago
  So what caused 'mild traumatic brain injuries'? Mass hysteria?
  - tptacek 9y ago
    Yes, or, more specifically, stress. Mild TBI is diagnosed primarily through patient-reported symptoms, and is notoriously hard to confirm with imaging.
    - kahnpro 9y ago
      Exactly. People working overseas, under stress, start experiencing symptoms and read about these "attacks" happening. And start freaking out that maybe they're a victim too.