7 ms·

Shanti Devi

27 points by givan 12y ago

xutopia 12y ago
I'm always impressed by how this comes back. This is an extraordinary claim and it does not have extraordinary evidence.
thegeomaster 12y ago
It's a curious story, however, we need to take all into consideration. How reliable are the sources that reported what she was saying as a child? How reliable are the sources that reported what happened upon her arrival in Mathura? How reliable is testimony from her teachers, parents and even Kedarnath Chaube himself? Did someone have something to gain by exaggerating or making up facts? I think that surely there could be another explanation (apart from reincarnation), but the reincarnation hypothesis is hard to disprove in any case. I wonder if there is some academic research rigorously looking into the exact circumstances (I reckon this is an interesting subject, so I guess someone at least tried to do that).
darkxanthos 12y ago
Ive heard of a similar story second by my ex wife about her cousin when he was three. The short version is they both walked into a liquor store one day and her cousin recognized a woman as being from a construction site where she worked. He started discussing details with her that a three old just wouldn't know. After the fact my ex would ask him questions about his "past life" after enough prodding he'd become visibly uncomfortable and sad about talking about his death. Once he turned five or so he stopped remembering. I've always wanted to believe, and given its second hand nature and the credibility of the source I count it as weak evidence at best. Obviously nothing even close to proof, but I've always found these stories intriguing since then.
kang 12y ago
http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/17700 http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/17700
fatjokes 12y ago
I've seen some pretty convoluted justifications as to why certain posts belong on HN. I suspect one for this post will rank among the best of them. To those swayed by its supposed evidence, I would suggest this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Improbability-Principle-Coincidences-Miracles/dp/0374175349 http://www.amazon.com/The-Improbability-Principle-Coincidenc...
- xtrumanx 12y ago
  Lately I've only seen one justification used for off-topic content; this line from the guidelines > anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity Could be used to justify practically anything.
bobosha 12y ago
This is a fascinating documentary on this topic about a scottish boy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvbEQytuQk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvbEQytuQk

27 points by givan 12y ago

I'm always impressed by how this comes back. This is an extraordinary claim and it does not have extraordinary evidence.

thegeomaster 12y ago

It's a curious story, however, we need to take all into consideration. How reliable are the sources that reported what she was saying as a child? How reliable are the sources that reported what happened upon her arrival in Mathura? How reliable is testimony from her teachers, parents and even Kedarnath Chaube himself? Did someone have something to gain by exaggerating or making up facts? I think that surely there could be another explanation (apart from reincarnation), but the reincarnation hypothesis is hard to disprove in any case. I wonder if there is some academic research rigorously looking into the exact circumstances (I reckon this is an interesting subject, so I guess someone at least tried to do that).

darkxanthos 12y ago

Ive heard of a similar story second by my ex wife about her cousin when he was three. The short version is they both walked into a liquor store one day and her cousin recognized a woman as being from a construction site where she worked. He started discussing details with her that a three old just wouldn't know. After the fact my ex would ask him questions about his "past life" after enough prodding he'd become visibly uncomfortable and sad about talking about his death. Once he turned five or so he stopped remembering. I've always wanted to believe, and given its second hand nature and the credibility of the source I count it as weak evidence at best. Obviously nothing even close to proof, but I've always found these stories intriguing since then.

kang 12y ago

http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/17700 http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/17700

fatjokes 12y ago

I've seen some pretty convoluted justifications as to why certain posts belong on HN. I suspect one for this post will rank among the best of them. To those swayed by its supposed evidence, I would suggest this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Improbability-Principle-Coincidences-Miracles/dp/0374175349 http://www.amazon.com/The-Improbability-Principle-Coincidenc...

xtrumanx 12y ago
Lately I've only seen one justification used for off-topic content; this line from the guidelines > anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity Could be used to justify practically anything.

bobosha 12y ago

This is a fascinating documentary on this topic about a scottish boy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvbEQytuQk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvbEQytuQk