[VAB (OP)]

Hi Chris,

Could you kindly give your views on this?

I note the scepticism about ghosts etc. Why are they called ghosts and not perhaps people from another era?

Has anyone ever thought that perhaps they are visible, but the mind rejects the idea out of social norms that ghosts do not exist? Therefor, you will not admit to yourself that you may have seen someone from another era or world? There are are other dimensions; and not all humans only use 3% of their brains....

Thanks

[SteveFish]

The skepticism is due to the fact that there is no evidence for ghosts. Why suggest another explanation for something that can't be demonstrated.

[Don_1]

Yep, I agree with Steve there. Simply re-branding makes no difference. Ghosts are either caused by a trick of the light of a figment of the individual's imagination.

[JP]

An interesting idea, and it's a bit more science-fictionish than the usual explanation that ghosts are the souls of dead people, but it still has major scientific problems. 

Has anyone ever thought that perhaps they are visible, but the mind rejects the idea out of social norms that ghosts do not exist?

An interesting idea, but then these ghosts also don't show up on film or other scientific instruments that don't involve a mind. 

There are are other dimensions;

There's no scientific evidence for other dimensions, though some theories do use them.

and not all humans only use 3% of their brains....

Humans using only a small percent of their brains is also a myth.  We use pretty much all of it, just not all at once.

[Geezer]

An interesting idea, and it's a bit more science-fictionish than the usual explanation that ghosts are the souls of dead people, but it still has major scientific problems. 

Has anyone ever thought that perhaps they are visible, but the mind rejects the idea out of social norms that ghosts do not exist?

An interesting idea, but then these ghosts also don't show up on film or other scientific instruments that don't involve a mind. 

There are are other dimensions;

There's no scientific evidence for other dimensions, though some theories do use them.

and not all humans only use 3% of their brains....

Humans using only a small percent of their brains is also a myth.  We use pretty much all of it, just not all at once.

JP,

So, you're saying we should dismyth most of this then?

[CliffordK]

There are are other dimensions;

There's no scientific evidence for other dimensions, though some theories do use them.

Consider your basic 3 dimensions (N/S; E/W; Up/Down), or (X,Y,Z) which of course, are generally mapped on to a sphere that is spinning in space, while orbiting the sun, while orbiting the milky-way, while traveling through the Universe.

However, back to our 3 dimensional view of the world (X,Y,Z), in many cases it is advantageous to define a 4^th dimension for a study.

For example, I could define TIME as a 4^th dimension (X,Y,Z,T).

Now, If I'm tracking the movement of organisms, multiple organisms might occupy the same (X,Y,Z) space, but at different times (X,Y,Z,T).

It is possible to come up with unique interpretations of time&space.  However, in our planetary frame of reference, time progresses at a constant rate. 

So...  looking at my (X,Y,Z,T) space, there would be nothing surprising about multiple people in the same place, but different times.

Even with a camera (long exposure rate, or multiple exposures, or a video camera), I might see multiple people walking through the same place, at different times, or one person being at different places at different times.

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/2000/elisofon/elisofon17.html

[JP]

Geezer: Short answer--yes.  If you want a scientific explanation for ghosts, this doesn't hold up.

CliffordK: You're right--time is a dimension, and it's not too hard to concoct ways to see back in time.  I think the poster was getting at the idea of a ghost as a "person" that appears and that you can interact with, but which leaves no physical evidence behind.

[CliffordK]

I suppose my point is that one can come up with multiple "Fourth Dimensions".  And, once defined such as TIME, then they have little mystery.

Theoretical Physics and Quantum Mechanics can come up with a lot of unique ideas, such as the parallel universe idea.  And Hollywood comes up with unique interpretations of such (as in Star Trek Mirror Mirror).



Or, what happens if time was out of phase as in Star Trek Time's Arrow Episode on Devidia II.

 [ Invalid Attachment ]

However, there is no real representation, or justification or a phase-shifted time.  Why would one think that anything would actually exist "out of phase"?

Now, when you look in a mirror, say 1 meter away, you're not actually seeing your face "real-time", but rather a delayed representation of your face about 7 nanoseconds previously.  But, this is merely admitting that it takes time for an image to arrive at our eyes.

Anyway, while we can think of time as a dimension, or a continuum, there is no evidence of phase shifted time, or that there would be any representation of what we see in the present outside of the present (other than what we can represent with images such as photos).

[VAB (OP)]

Hi Clifford,

Interesting interpretation; but I do believe that the essence still lies in human kind's ability to 'see' or just learn to consciously observe. Anything is possible if you know that it can be done, and then also, if it has already been done.

You are clearly aware of the delayed reaction from the instant of sight to the actual interpretation or recognition by the brain; many people will argue that this is the ghost that is being seen. The irony is that the 'people' that I happen to see quite regularly, are not known to me and when I, for instance, (only natural) look again to make sure what I am seeing, the person is gone. Most people I know don't move that fast! I know the whole idea annoys many people out there; but so be it; you either learn to observe the world around you or remain in the dark forever... 

Usually in the daytime or when a bad car accident has occured while I'm driving the people will appear. I guess they just need to be told to go to the light; which is what I usually say to them. Usually works. As for the others, I don't believe that they mean any harm; perhaps a warning or maybe a guardian angel - who knows?

I'm sure I'm going to get lots of silly and nasty remarks on this one, but perhaps it will make a few 'blind' observers wake up!

Cheers.

 

[Geezer]

It sounds as if you really are seeing these people. Have you ever tried to take a photograph of them? If your eyes detect them as an external optical effect, I would think a camera would also record their presence.

[CliffordK]

A lot of people believe they've seen ghosts, or have ghosts interacting with them in their house, although, for example, auditory sounds can often be traced to other phenomena. 

For example, I can leave the basement door at the bottom of the stairs open.  About the time I get to the top of the stairs and around the corner into the living room, I'll hear a door slamming.  The sound would seem to carry from a different part of the house, so it too a while to isolate a draft with respect to the basement door.

Dreaming is a unique phenomenon.  You can have daydreams, or night dreams, or just running thoughts in one's head.  It is not uncommon for the elderly to confuse dreams and reality, or to misconstrue memories. 

Hallucinations might be an intrusion of dreams into reality.  Often drug induced, but I would assume some people can experience them without drugs.  Whether or not hallucinations are pathologic would depend in part on one's reactions to them.

Certainly it could be difficult to reconcile your experiences with the views of a "non-believer".

If your visions cause harm or duress to yourself or others, or pose a danger when driving, then talk to a psychiatrist.  If not, then I will not judge what you truly believe to have seen and experienced.