Ghostly presence explained?
 

Interesting.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29939672

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

it still seems odd to me that in this day and age, the non-existence of 'ghosts' requires an actual study for proof.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

The general consensus that ghosts don't exist is only a belief people have at the moment - it's estimated that over a person's lifespan 50% of "scientific facts" will be disproved. So at the moment experiments will indicate ghosts are not real but in the future who knows.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

they can't keep changing their minds - this is a binary question. Do ghosts exist? Yes or No. for hundreds (or thousands) of years people thought Yes. Now we have a proven No. it's probably as far as it will go.

When you consider that we are so insignificant in the grand scheme of things (e.g., just living it out on a spinning rock on space, which could easily be wiped out at any moment), it's surely pretty obvious ghosts do not exist. what is much more likely is a human being's need for the belief in some kind of transcendence - the need to believe there is something more after death. death is, after all, quite final. it's hard for us to imagine or conceptualise nothingness. when in reality, we will simply be in the same place as before we were conceived in the womb - and that is that our consciousness will not exist as the neurons that fire in given orders to create our personality, our consciousness, will cease to fire and thus, so will the essence of what we are - who we are. we are nothing more than a mass of chemical reactions and electrical impulses that react to external and internal stimuli. however you want to dress it up, that really is all we are.

It might seem to some quite unthinkable or bleak, but that really is the reality of it. we're only hear for a short time. enjoy it.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

I'm not saying that they do. It may well be likely that they don't however perhaps we don't yet have the technology to detect or communicate with them.

My comment is more aimed that those who say they only believe in scientific fact and what science can prove (or disprove).

---------- Post added at 20:54 ---------- Previous post was at 20:52 ----------

That isn't the reality of it at all - it's just what you believe.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

no, it's fact - no activity in the neurons, no person. the brain is the hub of who and what we are. aside from any given physical feature, the brain (or more accurately, the mind - which is an abstract construction within the brain) defines us. if the brain stops working, the consciousness which we refer to as the person, or personality, also stops. the brain is everything to the mind and body.

many, many studies (feel free to use google - I'm sure I don't need to search for anyone here) whereby a subject's neural pathways have either been inhibited or damaged (induced, naturally or accidentally) show results whereby functionality of the body, the mind, or both, are noticeably affected - usually negatively. We also know that stopping the neural activity completely in the brain, either through starving the brain of required resources, or by damaging the brain so that the pathways are completely broken, will result in death.

surely, you are not denying these facts?

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

Really it isn't - it's just current scientific thinking, going on what we know *now*. Given how little we know about the brain it's entirely possible something else happens to our consciousness that present science has no knowledge or understanding of.

I doubt ghosts exist but I'd rather people kept an open mind given how science ends up wrong about a great deal of things over time.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

so what do you think happens when the neurons stop firing?

as for science's knowledge of the brain and it's functions, we actually know a great deal. granted, not everything, but a lot has been documented, studied and proven/dis-proven. and just because we might not understand a construct of the mind, doesn't mean it's some kind of magic! historically, I know that blaming the paranormal for things we couldn't explain was the done thing, but surely not these days - now we know to study and learn, not dismiss and call it magic....

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

No idea, I'm not a scientist.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

you don't need to be a scientist. you just need to read the findings of the studies they do.

as I said, Google will help you find an awful lot of information. there's some fascinating stuff out there. it can potentially answer a lot of questions without ever resorting to 'magical' dismissals. it will also pose more questions, which is why studies continue. there are many theories that have been confirmed or dis-proven and many more yet to be. I can recommend a starting point for you if you like? You can download a 5 part podcast from the Reith Lectures recorded by Radio 4 given by a neurologist by the name or Vilayanur Ramachandran found HERE. really, really informative. let it open your mind, before it dies!! ;)

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

...or you can Google the "half-life of facts".... ;)

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

will that also include blaming the currently unexplainable on magic?

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

What the hell are you talking about?

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...rs/AZKnddo.gif

don't worry.

Re: Ghostly presence explained?
 

Apologies if I wasn't following your straw man.