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From: palmer@uw-june (David Palmer)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Evidence for the soul?!? - (nf)
Message-ID: <849@uw-june>
Date: Mon, 9-Jan-84 12:17:47 EST
Article-I.D.: uw-june.849
Posted: Mon Jan  9 12:17:47 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Jan-84 05:49:10 EST
References: <4797@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Organization: U. Washington, Computer Sci
Lines: 30

<>
    [From Steve Tynor]
    I know this sounds silly, but a friend insists that she read "somewhere"
    that "reliable" experiments have been done to show that the body unaccountably
    loses weight when it dies.  She seemed to think that this might be 
    evidence for the existance of the 'soul'.  

In the back of each issue of the journal NewScientist (a well respected
weekly science news magazine) there is a column called "Ariadne", a
humorous column written by someone named David Jones.  Usually, it has
a description of a new invention designed by his mythical friend
"Daedalus".  These inventions (none of which are meant seriously) start
from established scientific principles, and become bizarre.

One of these inventions centered on the problems of detecting the soul,
on entry or egress from the body.  Daedalus did calculations which show
that in order to encode a unique identity, you need a particle in with
a mass-energy in the UV range.  He suggested that photodetectors be
placed in bordellos and terminal wards of hospitals to detect the
emission and absorption of such particles.

He also mentions a third-hand anecdotal report of a weight loss, (I
think it was aproximately 3 grams) of a dying person.

I do not know when this column ran, but it is included in the highly
recommended book "The Inventions Of Daedalus, a compendium of plausible
schemes".  I don't know the publisher (I do not have my copy with me),
but it is well worth the ~$10 price.

                        David Palmer