Ghosts (Just read this)

[ReB]

So me and my friend were talking about ghosts, and we are both atheists. We were trying to come up with explanations other then the fact that people who say they have seen ghosts, are mistaken, or crazy. I came up with the conclusion that when a person dies, they still have energy in them, correct? Even to carry out that last brain function even when the heart stops beating. As we all know, energy can not be destroyed. So I think, that if the energy was not released through heat, where would it go? I think that somehow this energy was formed into what some people thought are, ghosts. What do you guys think? How did the energy escape, and/or form into something else? And please, if there already is a scientifically proved explanation on how energy escapes a corpse, please just explain it and dont go full douche on me, I'm 15. Thank you.

[downbeatplumb]

Ghost stories are just that and have no more basis in fact than anything else 'supernatural'.
Things that are atributed to ghosts can usually be found to have a better explanation.

I saw a programme a while ago, (whose name escapes me hence no link), that gave the example of a supposed ghost in the grounds of a nunnery, that appeared in a certain place every year at the same time. there were photos of it and everything.

So a team of investigators went there. looked at the spot and found..........a drain that had a cloud of midges above it.

Ignorance and self delusion are what make a ghost sighting. Not ghosts. Unless of course someone has solid evidence for some.

[Norfolk And Chance]

If ghosts were a real phenomena, would they have to be supernatural?

[Blam!]

I can't say if the existence of ghosts are based on phenomena, considering the lack of evidence, content and scientific knowledge over of our natural ability in influence/control energy.

[Norfolk And Chance]

I don't believe in ghosts because there is no evidence that proves them. And with the amount of mobile phone cameras that bilions of people have these days, surely the chance of catching a ghost on film has increased dramatically - yet still nothing? Conclusion, ghosts aren't real.

However, now I've stated my non belief, I'd like to point out that over the years one or two anecdotal ghost stories have caught my attention. One thing I've noticed it that claimants never seem to claim they have interacted with the ghost, almost as if having a "live conversation" with a ghost is not possible.

This makes me wonder, if there are actually ghosts (again I don't believe there are) would they be even spirits with consciousness? Therefore paranormal? Ghost stories usually revolve around a historical figure doing the same thing over and over, and the ghost is not aware of the observer. I wonder if we ever did find proof of ghosts, they'd not be supernatural at all but maybe, if you like, a sort of recording of an event in a location, that pops up from time to time. Like a video recording imprinted on a small rip in space time.

[The Grand Nudger]

You could try to find an explanation for ghosts that re-defined them as something that wasn't magical. Of course you wouldn't have a "ghost" by the time you were done. Ghosts aren't an unexplained phenomena. They're very well explained, very well described. Just so happens that the explanation is magic, the description is fantasy.

[Welsh cake]

So I think, that if the energy was not released through heat, where would it go? I think that somehow this energy was formed into what some people thought are, ghosts. What do you guys think? How did the energy escape, and/or form into something else? And please, if there already is a scientifically proved explanation on how energy escapes a corpse, please just explain it and dont go full douche on me, I'm 15. Thank you.

Yes. Its all to do with fundamental concepts in physics, namely the second law of thermodynamics that deals with entropy. Algor mortis takes place after the termination of biological functions. Body temperature gradually declines until it matches ambient temperatures or that of the surrounding environment of where the corpse should be.

Whereas the matter itself undergoes the processes of autolysis (cell destruction/self-digestion) and decomposition (body temperature will rise again as this happens obviously), resulting in the decaying metabolic breakdown of organic materials into simpler forms of matter and ultimately spread out over Earth's biome.

This is all academic. There is no scientific evidence for Ghosts, just sad and desperate belief systems in some kind of afterlife or faith in rebirth.

The only stumbling block our scientific understanding has on death has been its definition. Its describing the state where something has actually ceased, in this context, "life". Therefore, the definition of "life" simultaneously defines "death". Here lies the problem, it's still a challenge for scientists and philosophers to define the process where objects can self replicate, undergo signalling and self-sustaining processes concisely and unambiguously.

If we do discover a way in which energy itself, and no longer the brain, supports the consciousness of the former-living being - their personality, thoughts of memories so that they do survive biological death, it merely shows that reality is far more complex than we can currently fathom. However it is extremely unlikely.

[Erinome]

I once went on a ghost hunting mission with my ex boyfriend, and some friends. This was before I became an atheist, or even gave a shit at all. All night long people would scream, and claim they saw something. I screamed too because it was freaking me out. I never saw what my friends saw. I never felt anything icy cold reach out an grab me, but their hysteria convinced me that I must have sensed something supernatural at play.

Fast-forward two years, and I have already pretty much unwound religion from my brain, and I am lying in bed working on supernatural claims. So, I think about that night. I could honestly admit to myself that I hadn't seen anything, but I had to be sure. I threw on a jacket and drove an hour away to the same house where my friends and I had ghost hunted. I crawled in through the broken basement window, and did a full walk through, before taking a seat in the middle of the floor. I screamed out, trying to provoke whatever entity that had showed themselves to my friends. I called it names, I shouted how big of a pussy it was, and you know what happened next?

Absolutely. nothing.

This doesn't prove that ghosts don't exist, I know that. To me it proved that when more people are gathered together, feeding off each other's fears, and playing off of each other's queues, things can seem real. It also helps if you want it to be true. People assume they're always in control of their own minds, but in just assuming that, you've lost some control already. When I told one of the friends that went with me on the original trip what I experienced when I went alone, they started making all sorts of excuses for the fucking ghost, such as, "It knew you didn't believe in it, so it didn't mess with you." .

Oh, so ghosts are fucking mind readers now?

I have to say, she did sum it up perfectly, whether she realized it or not. It helps the illusion if you're already convinced it's real. It helps the authenticity if there are others with you who are longing for the same experience.

I don't know if ghosts are real, but I don't believe in them, personally.

[Aegrus]

Apparently, certain frequencies of sound can interefere with human vision and create murky, gray distortions. As human minds have evolved to try to find patterns or shapes in what they see, sometimes people see these passing murky shapes as resembling people.
Don't ask me for sources, I have no idea where I read that.

I personally don't believe in ghosts.

[Blam!]

I know this coming message has nothing with the topic here, but I have to say it...

Aegrus. I noticed the quote of your signature...



....Nice one!