lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
- Joined
- May 20, 2003
- Messages
- 10,324
Ok so I'm guessing this could border on the territory of the Anything You've Always Wanted To Know Thread but...
This is the thread where you come to post about things you've been intrigued about and researched. Enlighten us on something we've never taken time to really think about. Biology, Quantum Physics (which I'll never quite get my mind around - I'm mathematically retarded), Geology, whatever ology does it for you (besides scientology and its ilk). Of course, feel free to discuss what's been posted (in fact, I insist).
It's kind of my reaction to having to argue in threads like the Astrology thread etc. and having my argument invalidated by someone who has never tried to understand a topic on any rational plane of thought.
So if you feel that you just have to prove to everyone that fairies exist, by all means come rationalise, just have something to cite as backup.
Anyways I'm going to kick this off with an article on Near Death Experiences (NDEs). I remember someone talking about it in the Astrology thread, and last night's episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit tackled the subject. Apparently about 18% of people who have been on the brink of death have experienced something similar, white light, surrounded by loving relatives, etc. etc.
Interestingly, about the same percentage of people experienced similar things when exposed to high g-forces and were knocked out in Air Force experiments. So supposedly it is something that is symptomatic of the brain being under stress.
Anyways I tried to research this a bit more thoroughly but the first 20 or so google hits were all for wanky spiritual sites (and my subscription to New Scientist has expired and thus my access to the database due to me being a broke loser). I did find some interesting stuff that dealt with similarites between Ketamine experiences and NDEs.
In short this is something I'm going to try to piece together a bit better when soberness is amongst my list of virtues (a short list indeed).
But for now, here's the article I was talking about. I'm not under any illusions that this is anyway related to a reputable scientific journal, for all I know it's a shitty UK tabloid feature, but it was the closest thing I could find to sounding close to reality so here goes...
^ Notice that cop out shit at the end, "spiritually neutral". That newspaper needs a new science writer. What a pussy. Ok so it's not the writer's fault. LAME SCIENTIST... Why add that postscript jerk off? Just present the facts.
This is the thread where you come to post about things you've been intrigued about and researched. Enlighten us on something we've never taken time to really think about. Biology, Quantum Physics (which I'll never quite get my mind around - I'm mathematically retarded), Geology, whatever ology does it for you (besides scientology and its ilk). Of course, feel free to discuss what's been posted (in fact, I insist).
It's kind of my reaction to having to argue in threads like the Astrology thread etc. and having my argument invalidated by someone who has never tried to understand a topic on any rational plane of thought.
So if you feel that you just have to prove to everyone that fairies exist, by all means come rationalise, just have something to cite as backup.
Anyways I'm going to kick this off with an article on Near Death Experiences (NDEs). I remember someone talking about it in the Astrology thread, and last night's episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit tackled the subject. Apparently about 18% of people who have been on the brink of death have experienced something similar, white light, surrounded by loving relatives, etc. etc.
Interestingly, about the same percentage of people experienced similar things when exposed to high g-forces and were knocked out in Air Force experiments. So supposedly it is something that is symptomatic of the brain being under stress.
Anyways I tried to research this a bit more thoroughly but the first 20 or so google hits were all for wanky spiritual sites (and my subscription to New Scientist has expired and thus my access to the database due to me being a broke loser). I did find some interesting stuff that dealt with similarites between Ketamine experiences and NDEs.
In short this is something I'm going to try to piece together a bit better when soberness is amongst my list of virtues (a short list indeed).
But for now, here's the article I was talking about. I'm not under any illusions that this is anyway related to a reputable scientific journal, for all I know it's a shitty UK tabloid feature, but it was the closest thing I could find to sounding close to reality so here goes...
Light at end of the tunnel over near death experiences
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 11/04/2006)
Some describe a journey along a tunnel towards a light. Many say the light exudes warmth and forgiveness. Others report that gazing down on themselves in an operating theatre made them certain of life after death.
Throughout history, there have been accounts of people experiencing visions on the brink of death, what are now called near-death experiences. There are dozens of books and films on the subject, even a Journal of Near Death Studies in America, and a conference planned this October in Houston, Texas.
Today, new evidence is published that backs the idea that the near-death experience is a biological experience, rather than anything to do with a larger, spiritual dimension, a glimpse of heaven, or the existence of the soul.
People who have had near- death experiences are able to slip into dream sleep more easily than those who have not had one, according to a study published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"I see it as an activation of certain brain regions that are also active during the dream state," said Prof Kevin Nelson, a neurologist and lead study author, from the University of Kentucky, Lexington.
"However, I hesitate to call it dreaming or dreaming while awake. This is the first testable hypothesis of a biological basis for these experiences."
For his study, a near-death experience was defined as a time during a life-threatening episode when a person experienced a variety of feelings, including a sense of being outside of one's body, unusual alertness, seeing an intense light, and a feeling of peace.
The study compared 55 people with near-death experiences with 55 people of the same age and gender who had not had them.
It found that people with near-death experiences were more likely to have a sleep-wake system in which the boundaries between sleep and wakefulness were not as clearly regulated, and the dream sleep state - when there is rapid eye movement - can intrude into normal wakeful consciousness.
Examples of "REM intrusion" include waking up and feeling that you cannot move - sleep paralysis - having sudden muscle weakness in your legs, and hearing sounds just before falling asleep or just after waking up that other people cannot hear.
Of the people with near- death experiences, 60 per cent reported REM intrusion, compared with 24 per cent of people who had not had near-death experiences.
"These findings suggest that REM-state intrusion contributes to near-death experiences," said Prof Nelson.
Prof Nelson said other factors supported this. Several features of near-death experiences are also associated with the dream state, for example, the feeling of being outside of one's body and being surrounded by light.
Because the brain turns off the body's ability to move during dreaming, muscles can lose their tone, or tension.
"During a crisis that occurs with REM-state intrusion, this lack of muscle tone could reinforce a person's sense of being dead and convey the impression of death to other people," Prof Nelson said.
He added that a biological explanation was "spiritually neutral". "We, as neurologists, address the how of these experiences coming about but not the why," he said.
Motherfuckin' linkage
^ Notice that cop out shit at the end, "spiritually neutral". That newspaper needs a new science writer. What a pussy. Ok so it's not the writer's fault. LAME SCIENTIST... Why add that postscript jerk off? Just present the facts.
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