Interesting article. Any thoughts?
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_63 ... theadlines
Paranormal belief may be down to brain chemicals
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Rev. Lovejoy
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This "small swiss study" sounds like "debunking" work to me. Heck, ANYONE would see things that weren't there if they had enough Dopamine in their systems.
I wonder how this study would explain skeptics alongside "believers" all seeing a UFO at the same time? I ask this, because This very thing happened to me. We ALL saw this brilliant, white, oval flying unbelievably fast along the river bar when I was a little girl and there were some stone cold, skeptics in the bunch.
I wonder how this study would explain skeptics alongside "believers" all seeing a UFO at the same time? I ask this, because This very thing happened to me. We ALL saw this brilliant, white, oval flying unbelievably fast along the river bar when I was a little girl and there were some stone cold, skeptics in the bunch.
This was a poorly designed, small-size study that proved nothing either way. It's too bad they published results now instead of waiting until they had a much better data base derived from several large, well-done studies. This mess is generating a lot of hot air among the debunker crowd and we just don't need that.
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eliza_nightvoice
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With the pressure on for researchers to "publish or perish" becoming more severe, question any of these reports that reach the press. Try to get back to the original article. From reading the abstract, one paper I wanted to use in a for a Masters level psych course was really great to prove my hypothesis, until I read the entire paper. The study was conducted of a sample of 10 college age males. Small sample + no diversity in the sample group = big dud!
I do feel that what some call the gift or the sight, has a brain chemistry basis and that it would appear to be genetically transmitted. Humm... a good idea for a master's thesis
I do feel that what some call the gift or the sight, has a brain chemistry basis and that it would appear to be genetically transmitted. Humm... a good idea for a master's thesis
Come to think of it, everything that we do comes down to brain chemistry don't it??? What I wonder is why the Psychic or Telepathic ability is so heavily debunked. There are people in positions of extrordinary power that utilize these so-called fake powers.
Perhaps the "debunkers" are the frontmen for people who want the ability for their own little clans and want the rest of us to tow the line and believe that the mud is all we will ever know. Why else would people try so hard to prove the nonexistance of these abilities?
If there is no threat from them, why even go to the trouble to debunk them? Perhaps there is a worry amongst certain groups that enough people will start questioning their "indoctrination" concerning telepathy and other powers and unite their minds.
Ridicule warns both ways!
[This message has been edited by lutefisk (edited 27 August 2002).]
Perhaps the "debunkers" are the frontmen for people who want the ability for their own little clans and want the rest of us to tow the line and believe that the mud is all we will ever know. Why else would people try so hard to prove the nonexistance of these abilities?
If there is no threat from them, why even go to the trouble to debunk them? Perhaps there is a worry amongst certain groups that enough people will start questioning their "indoctrination" concerning telepathy and other powers and unite their minds.
Ridicule warns both ways!
[This message has been edited by lutefisk (edited 27 August 2002).]
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eliza_nightvoice
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A one-person "study" is touted as explaining OBE's.
"The Swiss researchers mapped the brain activity of a 43-year old woman who had been experiencingseizures for 11 years. They implanted electrodes to stimulate portions of her brain's right temporal lobe.The temporal lobe, which includes the angular gyrus structure, is associated with perception of sound,touch, memory and speech.
When electrical stimulation was applied, the patient reported seeing herself "lying in bed, from above, but I only see my legs and lower trunk." She also described herself as "floating" near the ceiling. . .
"We do not fully understand the neurological mechanism that causes OBEs," conceded the study's lead researcher, neurologist Dr. Olaf Blanke at the University Hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne in Switzerland."
Here's the link
Well, at least Dr. Blanke doesn't want to draw definative conclusions from his "findings." But, then why did he publish it in the first place?
[This message has been edited by eliza_nightvoice (edited 18 September 2002).]
"The Swiss researchers mapped the brain activity of a 43-year old woman who had been experiencingseizures for 11 years. They implanted electrodes to stimulate portions of her brain's right temporal lobe.The temporal lobe, which includes the angular gyrus structure, is associated with perception of sound,touch, memory and speech.
When electrical stimulation was applied, the patient reported seeing herself "lying in bed, from above, but I only see my legs and lower trunk." She also described herself as "floating" near the ceiling. . .
"We do not fully understand the neurological mechanism that causes OBEs," conceded the study's lead researcher, neurologist Dr. Olaf Blanke at the University Hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne in Switzerland."
Here's the link
Well, at least Dr. Blanke doesn't want to draw definative conclusions from his "findings." But, then why did he publish it in the first place?
[This message has been edited by eliza_nightvoice (edited 18 September 2002).]