john_e

excreationist :
I've since read that the problem with memory is mostly recall, there being evidence to sugest that people can remember rather a lot under hypnosis or electrical stimulation, which does back up what you've said.

http://www.santafe.edu/sfi/education.../wuensche2.pdf

That's another theory on the brain/genetics. I'll say nothing more on the subject, otherwise the thread will have been thoroughly hijacked, but there are two basic choices: the materialist view, wherin the energy is lost as heat, or some kind of seemingly pseudo-scientific things going down.

Duck!

Yes, weird shit happens to people every day. And not all of it is easily explainable. However, the way I look at the supernatural or paranormal is this...

If (for argument's sake) there were absolutely no alien abductions, angelic visitations, ESP, psychic powers, fulfilled ancient prophecies, reincarnation, etc., I would still expect people to believe in and report having these kind of experiences. Why? Because people sometimes hallucinate. People sometimes believe things they want to be true. People sometimes see patterns and bizarre coincidence where none exist.

This is not to say that you can dismiss all supernatural or paranormal experiences or anecdotes merely because a lot can be given natural everyday explanations. But the fact that a lot of so-called supernatural experiences can be easily explained away puts the burden of proof on the people who are promoting the supernatural or paranormal view. It's their responsibility to explain why certain cases CANNOT be given natural explanations.

The fact that loads and loads of people have weird experiences and attribute supernatural causes to them is not good enough for me to suppose that any of them are right. It's the quality of the evidence that should convince you of the truth of an idea, not the mere quantity of anecdotal evidence for it.


Duck!