2626 FT.COM/MAGAZINEMARCH 7/82020
Observations◀by praisingtheirhostcountry.What if
arefugeemade it clearthatshe didn’t want
to be there(ie arguedagainstherself)?
Thatshe’d ratherbe at homebut had little
choice?Asylumlawyers have told me thatthis
works –officers aretaughtaprecise definition
of refugee. Arealrefugeehas no choice.
The code works,then –it’sjust thatonly
afew aretrainedinit. Forthe refugee,
thereisnotruthbeyond whatis provable.
Whereas,tothe brightyoung thingwith
apassport and avision,it doesn’tmatter
whatyoucan prove,onlythat youcan make
someone believe in the possibilityof you.
Whenventurecapitalistslistenedto
Elizabeth Holmes’ fantasiesofrevolutionising
blood testingat her companyTheranos,they
wantedtobeinvolvedinsomethingworld-
changing.Theybelievedinthe possibilityof
Holmesasachild-genius,anAmericanMarie
Curiewithadeepvoice and asolid family.
She was 19,acollegedropout withno prototype,
and she claimedtohavesolvedsomeof the
mostvexingproblemsin lab testing.Her early
interviewsshouldhave left littledoubtof her
rudimentaryscientifictraining.It didn’t matter.
By the heightof her allegeddeception
(or delusion)in 2014,whenHolmeswas
interviewed by The NewYorker’sKen
Auletta,she was practicallybroadcastingher
ignoranceof medicalscience.Aulettacalled
her words “comicallyvague”, but therewas no
uprisingfrom investorswhentheirhealthcare
revolutionarydescribed the workingsof
her inventionlikethis: “A chemistryis
performedsothat achemicalreaction occurs.”
In interviews,John Carreyrou, The Wall
StreetJournalreporter whobrokethe story,
put it down to hubris.Ithinkit was morea
caseof hoperun amok.Peoplesuspended
disbeliefto the point of naivety because
Holmeshad potential.Andshe had aligned
herselfwith“stellar”or “reputable”people.
She didn’t knowsciencebut she knewthe
code. “Nothingcan be off at acompanywhere
arguablyAmerica’s mostfamouslawyer is
guardingthe shop,” quipped Carreyrouabout
the Theranosboard member David Boies.‘Refugeescometo us withneed
but we tell themthere is no
room forhumanerror...for the
flawedhuman. Their storiesare
shornoftrivialoddities’