Why do you believe?

[Poindexter]

Some people say that they awoke to see the ghost of deceased loved one at the foot of thir bed, sometimes giving advice or simply staring back at them. Turns out there's a medical explanation called sleep paralysis that has nothing to do with the great beyond.

An episode of paralysis may cause you to be unable to speak. It can also make you unable to move your arms and legs, body, and head. You are still able to breathe normally. You are also fully aware of what is happening. An episode can last for seconds or minutes. The episode usually ends on its own. It may also end when someone touches you or speaks to you. Making an intense effort to move can also end an episode. Sleep paralysis may occur only once in your life. It may also happen many times in a year.

It can be very scary when you are unable to move. You may feel anxious and afraid. Some people also hallucinate during an episode. They may see, hear or feel things that are not there. They may even think that another person is in the room with them. These hallucinations may also appear without the sleep paralysis.

http://www.sleepeducation.org/sleep-dis ... view-facts

[zzontar]

^^ I wonder how they would know whether one was seeing a ghost or hallucinating?

[Poindexter]

^^ I wonder how they would know whether one was seeing a ghost or hallucinating?

That would be like you asking someone why your stomach is growling. They give you two choices; you're either hungry or you have the ghost in your belly.

One's a scientifically explained phenomenon, the other--not so much.

[zzontar]

^^ I wonder how they would know whether one was seeing a ghost or hallucinating?

That would be like you asking someone why your stomach is growling. They give you two choices; you're either hungry or you have the ghost in your belly.

One's a scientifically explained phenomenon, the other--not so much.

That would be like someone having a deja vu and the brilliant scientists say he's hallucinating because there's no scientific evidence it exists.

[Poindexter]

That would be like someone having a deja vu and the brilliant scientists say he's hallucinating because there's no scientific evidence it exists.

Scientists would say they have yet to pin point the cause of deja vu but only because little is known about how memory works yet. But to take the leap from "we are uncertain how the brain functions" to "it must be proof of rencarnation" is to disregard one of science's key principles -- Occam's razor...

I suspect this is where you and I will aways part ways with our conclusions of the unknown. I will always choose the scientifically most obvious explanation where as you will choose the super natural phenomenon.

I'd like to say I'm right and you're wrong but time will tell. One day we will both know the truth and while personally I hope you're right, I'm not able to suspend reason at this point to get there. In other words, like the OP, I'm still trying to understand "why you believe."

[Ka-El]

I believe but I can't explain why because it is beyond my understanding - and the more I learn about
the science of life, space and time, the more I realize just how far beyond our understanding it is.
I do know what I have experienced though, and that I'll keep to myself.

[youjustcomplain]

That would be like someone having a deja vu and the brilliant scientists say he's hallucinating because there's no scientific evidence it exists.

Science isn't about guessing at things not understood. The brilliant scientists would not be saying that the person is hallucinating without there being vast amounts of supporting evidence. That is how science works.

[zzontar]

Science isn't about guessing at things not understood. The brilliant scientists would not be saying that the person is hallucinating without there being vast amounts of supporting evidence. That is how science works.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... s-have-po/

That said, it is well known that the largest lizard predator today, the Komodo dragon, does carry a potentially lethal bacterial load in its saliva that is used to poison prey.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com ... rty-mouth/

In 1969, an American biologist named Walter Auffenberg moved to the Indonesia island of Komodo to study its most famous resident—the Komodo dragon. This huge lizard—the largest in the world—grows to lengths of 3 metres, and can take down large prey like deer and water buffalo. Auffenberg watched the dragons for a year and eventually published a book on their behaviour in 1981. It won him an award. It also enshrined a myth that took almost three decades to refute, and is still prevalent today.

Auffenberg noticed that when large animals like water buffalo were injured by the dragons, they would soon develop fatal infections. Based on this observation, and no actual evidence, he suggested that the dragons use bacteria as a form of venom. When they bite prey, they flood the wounds with the microbes in their mouths, which debilitate and kill the victim.

This explanation is found in textbooks, wildlife documentaries, zoo placards, and more. It’s also wrong. “It’s an enchanting fairy tale, which has been taken as gospel,” says Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland.

In 2009, Fry discovered the true culprit behind the dragon’s lethal bite, by putting one of them in a medical scanner. The dragon has venom glands, which are loaded with toxins that lower blood pressure, cause massive bleeding, prevent clotting and induce shock. Rather than using bacteria as venom, the dragons use, well, venom as venom.

Yup

[Opeeved]

Science dispelling myth. Funny how that works. That's what I thought about dragons too and this is the first time I've heard of it. If your point is that science doesn't know everything? You won't find a scientist that will disagree. Although that is the scientific method; to question everything until empirical evidence proves otherwise.
I do find it rather ironic that you used science to debunk science based on tools that weren't invented or prevalent yet. What kind of medical scanner? MRI, CT? (Laughing actually at the dumbed down wording there, they might as well used star trek medical tri corder)
But more to your point, which is science doesn't know everything. I'll agree with that. But you can't argue that science has dispelled sooo many ridiculous human beliefs and enlightened us as a whole- flat earth, earth centric, aether.
Essentially you've used one man to say science is dubious. When it comes to mainstream science? The weight of the worldly human intellect is in agreement, but sometimes it does take just one man to change things; thinking outside the box.

[Glacier]

Essentially you've used one man to say science is dubious.

No, I think zzontar is saying that science is not infallible because humans are involved. Humans are prone to errors, poor judgement, and corruption. The same principle applies to everything else from politics to religion. Humans corrupt religion and politics too for their own personal gain.

[zzontar]

Thanks Glace, saved me some typing!

[Opeeved]

Off topic

[Opeeved]

Off topic

[Opeeved]

Off topic

[cliffy1]

Why do you believe what? People believe all kinds of stuff: religion, politics, herbal medicine, yoga, etc. If you are looking for a specific belief in a specific god or religion, it should have been stated.
At the core of all religions are the same beliefs. No one religion has a monopoly on god or the truth. What separates most is dogma and superfluous nonsense of human origin. We have been killing each other over who is more righteous for thousands of years and nobody seems to see the ridiculousness of it. They just keep arguing and fighting. Does anybody really believe that if there is an all powerful god that it condones such wasteful stupidity? If this god is all powerful, that it needs defending by petty little minds like ours?
Just think about where we are in the Universe and how insignificant we are to the greater whole and ask yourself, "why would this god care about what I believe?" We are like quarks on a proton or electron compared to the body of the Universe. Do you ever think about the individual quarks that are on a proton in one atom of your body? I don't think so. But, Hey! If it gets you through the night to believe it does, fine. But why do so many think it is necessary to involve others in their insecurities?
My god is not bigger or more powerful than anybody else's. I do not need to convince anybody else that my way of believing is any more righteous than anybody else's. Does not believing make you smarter than believers?
We are all just passengers on a tiny rock flying through an infinite Universe at thousands of miles an hour. What you think and believe is inconsequential to the whole.