Ghost Stories: The Science Behind Sightings

[rashore]

Ghost stories have been around as long as there have been stories themselves. The idea of apparitions from the spirit world goes back to the very beginnings of written history, and probably even farther back in oral traditions. A recent CBS News poll concluded that nearly half of all Americans believe in ghosts, and 22 percent say they have seen or felt the presence of a ghost.

And yet mainstream science has long been clear and unequivocal: There is no scientific evidence of a supernatural explanation for ghost sightings. So how do we explain those incidents when rational people sincerely believe they have seen or felt a ghost? What are some of the scientific, non-paranormal explanations for the phenomenon of ghost sightings?

http://news.discovery.com/human/life/the-science-behind-ghost-sightings-131030.htm

Thought this was a fun article to share.

[Brian Topp]

Ghost stories have been around as long as there have been stories themselves. The idea of apparitions from the spirit world goes back to the very beginnings of written history, and probably even farther back in oral traditions. A recent CBS News poll concluded that nearly half of all Americans believe in ghosts, and 22 percent say they have seen or felt the presence of a ghost.

To read and watch the video :http://news.discovery.com/human/life/the-science-behind-ghost-sightings-131030.htm

[sinewave]

The problem is some people trust their perception implicitly. They believe everything they see, hear, or feel is a perfect representation of reality. The fact is human perception is amazing but very flawed. Everyone of us, every day experiences a few perceptual miscues. Most are small so we barely notice them. Things like misinterpreting the meaning of a comment, misjudging the height of the last stair, seeing movement out of the corner of the eye happen to most people at one time or another. There are many, many more. If you pay attention, you may catch yourself having a miscue moment. If you really want to scare yourself, write down every perceptual miscue you notice. Include what you thought happened and what really happened. Of course you will have to be honest with yourself and admit the miscue. I have cats so one that happens to me, is I see my cats when they are not really there. It is mostly my expectation of them being in their favorite places. My brain automatically puts them there sometimes. Cat owners know what I am talking about. When a cat I had for 22 years died, I saw him sleeping or sometimes walking around the house for nearly a year after. I was used to seeing him, Maybe I wanted to see him. Maybe both but it happened regularly. Don't implicitly trust your senses. They will lie to you more often than you will want to admit.

[Kahn]

Magicians count on this.