So; we are hearing about this canoeist gone missing for 5 years.
One thing that I haven't heard from reporters yet, is any kind of medical or scientific support or opposition to his story.

Just how can amnesia in a situation like this work.
Could he have gone day by day for five years not knowing anything in addition to not remembering both long term and short term information?

I would think that the person should be well aware of what has happened since the incident, or was in full facility until the recent memory loss.

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Could he have gone day by day for five years not knowing anything in addition to not remembering both long term and short term information?


NO!

He's just been arrested by the police on insurance fraud charges, apparently he was living in Panama with his wife on the proceeds.

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But you're sure the astronauts are lying; you just don't seem to know what they're lying about. jayutah

I suspected that (since they apparently have enough to arrest him)... but, it's not being discussed or reported whether the story is even possible (or why).

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/homepage/int...es/7128816.stm

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But you're sure the astronauts are lying; you just don't seem to know what they're lying about. jayutah

That still doesn't address the viability of amnesia as an alibi (no matter how useless that alibi would be).
Yes; overwhelming evidence exists to the contrary, but nothing on the nature of how amnesia can work.

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Sorry I missed your point a little, have not got clue how he thought amnesia would help him

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But you're sure the astronauts are lying; you just don't seem to know what they're lying about. jayutah

I suspect the suspect might have been suffering from cinematic amnesia, from watching too many movies about bogus fictional amnesia.

Wikipedia: Amnesia

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That is certainly an interesting story. I suggest we wait for a little more information, before we decide what happened, though.
As in the whole world forgets what they were doing?

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his wife has admitted to fraud and knows that she will have to pay the insurance money back she is talking to her solicitor and returning back to the uk soon. they didnt live that far away from where i live here in the uk, there is also a photo of them both in panama smiling for a picture to go on the web! it makes me wonder why he turned up to say im back, did their money run out and wanted to sell his story for more cash?

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i wonder if he'd submit to a simple test to see if his memory returns..
offer to hit him over the head with a hammer- which we all know cures amnesia- and see how fast he starts remembering things.

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Probably just needs a steady dose of this:

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I'm trying to remember - isn't it one hit for cause, two hits for cure? How many is it to have a circle of tweeting bluebirds flying around your head, again?

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Depends on what particular strain of coyote you are.

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I seem to be missing something here. The “evidence” they have on him is a photo from a tabloid? I didn’t see where his wife admitted it was fraud. It seems like y’all are being a bit hasty in condemning this guy. I’d expect seeing you in the mob trying to lynch Little Joe Cartwright, even though it was his stunt double that did it.

Have any of you had amnesia? I have, twice. It is a really strange feeling. Both times were due to drugs given during surgery. I am told that in the latter case, I functioned normally and talked normally for about 7 hours before I found myself sitting at my computer wondering how I got there. It is downright spooky.

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Reality: What a concept!……………………..><Ç(((Ç°>

Anesthesia doesn't count! I had two major operations in five days and except for disconnected fragments and some weird dreams (i was on a morphine drip) I remember nothing about what happened for about a week. My brother says I was somewhat cogent, although a little loopy.

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I agree though. I've seen some leaping to conclusions going on here in the thread.
KaiYeves also commented on it.
I think that even the links to the articles are vague and grossly uninformative. I was wondering why he was even arrested at all. Usually an arrest means they are definetly being charged for a crime. Yet the articles say they arrested him for questioning. And what's up with him walking into a police station?

The whole thing is too vague at this point to form any solid opinions yet.

Doesn’t count? Doesn’t count for what? Amnesia is amnesia. In any case, my amnesia was not from anesthetic. I was awake during the procedures and the amnesia was probably caused by the Demerol or valium, and lasted long after the drug was gone. As I said, I was awake and acting normal, according to witnesses. No slurred speech, no loss of motor control, totally normal.

BTW, I don’t react well to general anesthesia, so the last 5 operations were done with a saddle block and a little calming medicine like valium. I watched my own appendectomy (in the big light reflectors) and three knee operations (on the monitors and also actual). It was fascinating.

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Doesn’t count? Doesn’t count for what?


Eh,...mmm,....No use it's all gone

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But you're sure the astronauts are lying; you just don't seem to know what they're lying about. jayutah

WOW.

I can't even stand seeing the syringe sucking out my blood during blood examination , more so a surgery procedure.

Years ago when I did some nursing training in mental health, there was a patient who presented with this type of 'global' amnesia- where it continued for some weeks - he didn't know who he was, or his family, his history, could not draw the most basic shapes, and did not recognise many everyday items..turned out that he did not suffer such a rare condition at all, poor man was definitely suffering, but it was a kind of denial, he just wasn't coping with his life at that time, rather than caused by some physical injury. or a chemical/drug thing.
I recall the experts of the day saying that it would have been an extremely rare condition if it were real.