Beware experts outside their range of expertise

The Star (1 June 2008) - Dr. Paul Dorian, a cardiologist at St. Michael's Hospital, said: "To turn deadly, officers must shoot at close enough range for the weapon's two metal darts, barbed like fishhooks, to land next to, or right on, each of the victim's nipples, where the electricity from the Taser is most likely to disrupt normal pulses in the heart." [LINK]

Ah, no. This statement displays a lack of understanding of basic electric circuit theory. Which is not surprising since Dr. Dorian is a cardiologist.

The placement of one barb (or dart) would certainly be somewhat critical, but the placement of the second barb would be much less critical. Or, there would be multiple possibilities for the positioning of the second barb.

By way of example, imagine that you live in Toronto, and you'd like to go for a Sunday afternoon drive that passes through the downtown business district. So, the critical factors are: 1) where you start out, and 2) the initial direction that you head. But once you get past the business district, then whatever subsequent route or distance becomes inconsequential.

Another example (perhaps even more clear): If a lightning bolt strikes you on your head, it really doesn't matter if the bolt goes to ground down your right leg, or down your left leg. Your head still gets the full impact either way.

It would be similar for the path(s) that the taser current follows through the victim's body. Provided you have one barb in a dangerous location, then the location of the second barb has some effect, but it is not critical. There will be a large number of locations for the second barb' position on the victim's body that would support the same current path in the vicinity of the first barb.

This is perfectly in accordance with electric circuit theory.