I was just thinking of getting his latest book, thanks!

My dad used to see aliens all the time, talk to them and "experience" them. Very vivid hallucinations that often times did not just involve seeing them but touching them, smelling them etc.

He would describe the texture and feel of their hair. And sometimes he would have public hallucinations where things did not just happen privately. Other people would agree with him because they felt they saw it too. Fascinating stuff. I think this is what religious ephiphanies are made of.

A simple "giggle" test for anyone claiming near-death experiences are "evidence":

Are you saying that a brain starved of nutrients and oxygen works better than one that isn't?

Other gems:

Why do people who "see God™" always see the one they've been taught to expect?

"Why do people who 'see God™' always see the one they've been taught to expect?"

Do they?

Are you saying that a brain starved of nutrients and oxygen works better than one that isn't?

Are you saying they don't? perhaps the thought of imminent death brings a certain clarity of thought?

(tho I won't volunteer for any empirical testing)

Was he hallucinating? The article I read said all brain areas capable of producing a hallucination were not working. Brain stems don't provide visions. Brains have some plasticity, but as a general rule if the area responsible for X shuts down, other areas are not immediately going to take over that job.

I've yet to hear of anyone seeing streets of gold, Rad, which is what christians would have been "taught" to expect.

When I saw that recent Newsweek cover, I thought the magazine had jumped a tankful of sharks.

>> "Why do people who 'see God™' always see
>> the one they've been taught to expect?"

> Do they?

The appearance and propagation of our culture's ideal of men from outer worlds as diminutive, large-headed and large-eyed almost precisely tracks Hollywood's exploitation of that archetype as entertainment, and of the market penetration of automated entertainment generally.... Creatures from outer space are almost never depicted as 'bison-esque', or 'codlike'. When you're selling something to someone, it's always easier to build on a foundation of earlier sales pitches. Saves time.

I had a St Bernard who in her later years had epiliptic seizures. I think she saw them coming because she would always get under the same queen sized bed (which was the only one high enough for her to get under). That bed would bounce up and down just like in The Exorcist, and once or twice I tried to get on her to sort of shield her, which was useless. She would stop, foaming at the mouth after a few minutes, and...

After she came out of the seizure, she was like a puppy again for about 20 minutes or so, running and jumping on all the furniture and wanting to play chase. I've always thought it was just a natural mechanism of the brain to flood the distressed mind with dopamine or seratonin or such. But I don't know.

Oh- and one other thing. She would release a hormonal smell that skunks would envy.

When I saw that recent Newsweek cover, I thought the magazine had jumped a tankful of sharks. -- DaveG at December 13, 2012 6:51 AM

It has. Starting in 2013, NewsWeek is going all digital.

The article I read said all brain areas capable of producing a hallucination were not working.

No, he claimed the visions occurred during the period when he was comatose but it's likely that they happened as he was regaining consciousness. Like a dream, the visions felt like they lasted longer than they did.