Emily Rosa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emily Rosa
|
|
|---|---|
Age 11 in 1998
|
|
| Born | February 6, 1987 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Psychologist, scientist |
| Parent(s) | Linda Rosa, Larry Sarner |
Emily Rosa (born February 6, 1987) is famous for being the youngest person ever to have a research paper published in a major medical journal. She was only nine years old when she thought of and carried out a science experiment about something called therapeutic touch. Her study was so good that it was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998.
Emily later studied psychology and graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2009. Her parents, Larry Sarner and Linda Rosa, are also involved in helping children.
Contents
Emily's Science Experiment
In 1996, Emily watched a video about Therapeutic Touch (TT). People who practiced TT said they could feel a special "Human Energy Field" (HEF) around people's bodies. They claimed they could use their hands to move this energy to help people get better.
Emily heard one of the people who helped create TT, Dolores Krieger, say that anyone could feel this energy. Other nurses said the energy felt "warm as Jell-O" or "tactile as taffy." Emily was amazed by how sure these nurses were about their special abilities. She wondered, "Could they really feel something?"
Testing Therapeutic Touch
Emily used a simple science fair board to plan her experiment. Scientists later called her plan "simple and elegant." She did her study when she was nine years old for her 4th-grade science fair.
The experiment had two parts. In 1996, Emily tested 15 TT practitioners at their homes or offices. In 1997, she tested 13 practitioners again, including some from the first group. The second part was even filmed by a TV show called Scientific American Frontiers.
Emily's study was published on April 1, 1998, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The editor of the journal, George Lundberg, said, "Age doesn't matter. It's good science that matters, and this is good science."
How the Experiment Worked
Emily's study tested if 21 TT practitioners could really feel the "Human Energy Field" without looking. Each practitioner sat at a table and put their hands through a screen. Emily then randomly picked one of their hands and held her own hand just above it.
The TT practitioners had to guess which of their hands Emily was holding her hand over. They each had ten tries. But on average, they only guessed correctly 4.4 times out of ten. This is about the same as just guessing randomly.
Some practitioners even chose which of Emily's hands they thought had the strongest energy before the test. Emily used that hand, but it didn't help them guess any better. This showed that they couldn't actually feel the energy field.
What People Thought
When Emily's experiment was published, it became a huge news story around the world. The New York Times newspaper compared Emily to the child in the story "The Emperor's New Clothes." In that story, a child points out that an emperor is wearing no clothes, even though everyone else pretends he has a beautiful new outfit. Emily's study showed that Therapeutic Touch might not be what people claimed it was.
Some people questioned the study because Emily's parents, who were against Therapeutic Touch, helped her. However, the first part of the study really was just a 4th-grade science project. The idea to publish it came later. The second part was filmed for TV, so the participants knew they were being recorded. No other study has shown that Emily's findings were wrong.
Awards and Recognition
Emily Rosa has received several awards for her amazing work:
For the Therapeutic Touch Experiment
- 1999: She was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. They named her the youngest person to have research published in a scientific or medical journal.
Other Achievements
- 2000: Emily won 1st Place in the Junior Division Earth & Space Sciences at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair. This was for her project called Geodesy: Measuring the Circumference of the Earth with Original Instruments.
- 2003: She received "The Future of Free Thought" Award from Atheist Alliance International.
TV Appearances and Speeches
Emily appeared on many TV shows, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS news. She was also on Nick News and Scientific American Frontiers.
In 1998, Emily gave a speech at the Ig Nobel Ceremonies at Harvard University. She accepted an award for Dolores Krieger, one of the creators of Therapeutic Touch, who did not attend. Emily thanked Dr. Krieger for leaving the basic research on TT for her to do. The next day, Emily gave another speech at MIT.
See also
In Spanish: Emily Rosa para niños
