Random Thought of the Day

Quote: rxwine

Your brain may function long enough to know intellectually that you are dead. Full enjoyment of your own death. What more could you ask for?

https://www.bustle.com/p/your-brain-may-continue-to-function-after-your-death-long-enough-for-you-to-be-aware-of-it-studies-suggest-2944724

As for this, I put it down to sensationalist reporting mostly. I would be surprised if the scientific team intended for anyone to come to the conclusion that they accepted statements from people 'brought back'* at face value. What kind of scientists would they be when skepticism about near-death experiences being unexplainable is well covered? Scientific alternative explanations are well established. The key event into making it an article was probably dumbass remarks from this Dr. Parnia, and even those probably had qualifying content that was ignored by the article. The track record of reporters generally when it comes to understanding science is terrible.

When a patient undergoes general anesthesia, where you are put to sleep, the idea is largely just to make it so that you remember nothing about the pain . It is simply a fact that the important thing is that you do not remember; remembering brings the trauma, not the pain itself . This is why it is bad news when someone accidentally wakes during procedures.

None of this upsets me particularly, not even the possibility that a mysterious type of consciousness that kicks in at death is real. I just cringe when I see bullshit conclusions and sensationalist press at work.

*brought back from states in which they should not have had consciousness

Not sure what caused all your hubbub, OG. All I got out of the article was momentary consciousness may persist a little longer. Not a particularly extraordinary claim..

Besides the fact the brain is one of those things that there is evidence it is protected as long as possible even if blood is shunted away from limbs and other organs to do so.

There have been some efforts to see if stories of patients floating above their body can be confirmed, like for instance putting sign high up on a cabinet and asking the patient what it said, but to my knowledge they never work out.

Hearing on the other may be one of the last things to go. So picking up conversation does seem more plausible. And it doesn't require "astral" bodies either, just ordinary ability.

Quote: rxwine

All I got out of the article was momentary consciousness may persist a little longer. Not a particularly extraordinary claim..

Besides the fact the brain is one of those things that there is evidence it is protected as long as possible even if blood is shunted away from limbs and other organs to do so.

The one may be related to the other. An organism's function is to live, and it is constantly doing so. therefore even when there's no way to continue living, it will still try to. If things get so bad that the heart stops, the brain "needs" to be extra alert in order to find a way to keep things going.

It won't, of course. but it's the organism's way of trying to continue living.

This also does mean people executed in the Guillotine may have been aware their heads were no longer attached to their bodies.

Quote: rxwine

Not sure what caused all your hubbub, OG. All I got out of the article was momentary consciousness may persist a little longer. Not a particularly extraordinary claim..

It is quite extraordinary, absurd really.

This needs some hubbub, though I regret appearing overwrought. I'm just saying consciousness is the first thing to go, and that it goes quite easily, and the rest of all that is complete guff.

Which is not to say that tissues are not still alive. "Dead" is a thing hard to pinpoint for all tissues, and the longheld concept, still used in medicine, that death occurs when the heart stops is quite arbitrary. I would really find it quite astonishing if the brain ceased functioning immediately after the head is cut off. There must be scientists laughing at the idea that the European Resuscitation Council are the first to discover that brain function does not cease immediately . Oh, btw, monkey heads have been kept alive for a while after decapitation - if blood supply is re-established quickly, a human brain might suffer little, who knows. Conscious in the interim? I don't think so.

If the researchers are as gullible as this suggests, I'm starting to think you could astonish them with the chicken-with-its-head-cut-off phenomenon. Dr. Parnia would be seen jumping up and down and shouting like Dr. F.?

Quote: odiousgambit

. Joran van der Sloot is who murdered her in my book

And in just about everyone else's book too.

> where are you getting all these details about his signature style?
From a former stewardess and student of linguistics who was hired to translate a massive amount of taped material, much of it drunken bar room chatter. I would not consider it the most reliable of material, indeed its quite the opposite. However, a certain language exists there which historically was the language of the poor, the escaped slaves, thieves, etc. It was realized very early in the investigation that existing translators on the island were not reliable and were definitely acting as "pipelines". So an effort was made to hire non-Aruban dwellers who were nevertheless familiar with the language.

Knowing the criminal backgrounds of many employees of her father's pipe manufacturing company, I had expected that this resource would be tapped but it appears the family never made any attempts at such actions.

Quote: odiousgambit

a while after decapitation - if blood supply is re-established quickly, a human brain might suffer little, who knows. Conscious in the interim? I don't think so.

Why not? Blood is not like an electric cord sliced suddenly in half. The blood cells are still capable of exchanging oxygen. If so, consciousness might function, if only briefly. I'm talking less time then to utter Jack Robinson but that's enough for awareness.

Life and death are indeed arbitray. In the state of Washington death is a legal issue in all other states death is a medical issue.

Cellular activity does not mean an intact conscience.

A snake's severed head will inject venom several hours after the snake has been decapitated. That doesn't make it alive it just means nerves are still able to transmit a stimulus if some idiot comes up and taps the snake's head on the nose.

I don't think anyone has investigated meaningful activity after a human's head gets severed. Its something about not having very many volunteers and those darned bioethicists. I mean.... what are graduate research assistants for anyway.

A quote that needs reviving in this age of droves of self-published books

Where's the Wizard
Has he given up on this site?
Hasn't been here in weeks
I see he pops into the WOV site on a daily basis
Maybe he is too busy with Pai Gow Tile strategy?

Quote: odiousgambit

A quote that needs reviving in this age of droves of self-published books

It used to be you were a joke if you
self published a book. Now you give
it away to all your friends like it's
a badge of honor. It's like being an
egotistical blowhard is something
to be proud of now.