Yesterday I talked to Jim Giles, one of the editors of Matter, a new digital platform publishing "unmissable journalism about science, technology and the ideas shaping our future."
The first story they've published is "Do No Harm," which seeks to answer the question: "Why do some people want to cut off a perfectly healthy limb?"
SITTING AT HOME in a small, somewhat rural American town not too far from the ocean, Patrick recalled the day his wife found out about his obsession. It was during the mid-‘90s. As with almost all BIID sufferers, Patrick was fascinated with amputees, so he began downloading pictures of them off the Internet and printing them out. One day his wife was sitting in front of their computer, while Patrick sat in a wingback chair. She noticed a pile of printouts. They were images of men, but “completely clothed, no nudes or anything like that.” It was an awkward moment. “She was thinking that maybe I was gay,” Patrick recalls. “I must have been crimson.” Patrick asked her to take a closer look. She did, and soon realised that the men were all amputees.I'm talking to them about possibly doing a story for Matter. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing their next piece, which sounds like it will be online soon.
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