“Let’s try some other tests. Follow my finger.” She stares blankly ahead as I move my finger back and forth. I pull a small mirror out of my bag, and move it from left to right in front of her face about a foot away. Her eyes follow their own images in the mirror. It’s gimmicky, like the $100 bill trick, but seeing eyes almost always follow the mirror. Elliott has his own unfortunate variant: he will take a Post-it note, and in small letters write GO FUCK YOURSELF on it, and then stick it on his forehead while he interviews the patient.
