5 ms·
I don't understand the title of this post. After reading the article, I don't see a workable explanation presented which accounts for the features of the phenom
by wbhart 15y ago
I don't understand the title of this post. After reading the article, I don't see a workable explanation presented which accounts for the features of the phenomenon which is described.
I recently read quite a few reports of NDEs for my own personal interest and noted something interesting. Not all NDErs report real events. In one case I read about, a schoolboy who briefly "died" at school reported seeing empty classrooms as he moved down the corridor at his school. Of course school was in and the classrooms full at the time. He knew that himself, but what he saw was different to what was actually happening. This contrasts with the reports in the article where there is apparent independent confirmation of actual details and events.
The reports of people blind from birth having what seem to be visual OBEs are intriguing (it is reported that people blind from birth do not have a conception of what it is like to see, and in fact they do not even "see black").
Even after spending some time reading about the phenomenon I was unable to draw any conclusion whatever. The reports are highly perplexing regardless of your perspective.
- kposehn 15y agoI said maybe as I was not sure of the validity of the conclusions - people here on HN are typically pretty good at cutting through the content to find whether or not it is even close to accurate or useful.
- incongruity 15y agoWhat, exactly, does the article conclude, in your opinion? (I'm genuinely asking) The strongest formulation I can come up with is: "NDE studies also suggest that after physical death, mind and consciousness may continue in a transcendent level of reality that normally is not accessible to our senses and awareness." However, nowhere in the article does the article's author offer a single/summary explanation of NDEs/OBEs, from what I saw.
- kposehn 15y agoAt the moment, all it does is provide some talking points. I'm not really swayed either way, as I don't have sufficient data to make a good conclusion (and I need to do further research into it). I'm actually enjoying some of the comments here as they're providing good insight.
- WalterSear 15y agoThe hand waving swayed me. If someone insists on speaking with no tangible data, presenting conclusions that clash with occam's razor, then I will be less likely to listen to them going forward.
- tfm 15y agoIt's a genuinely interesting read, even if it does lean on the Astonishing Particular Items Of Proof trope more than a little heavily, but the moment it got to the words "in my opinion, the answer is ..." my eyes glazeth over and skim mode began. Once an author has weighed in with their personal interpretation, the only refutations available will be ad hominem. "I'm not calling you a liar, but I can't think of a way to end this sentence."