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From: osbook@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (osbook)
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.misc
Subject: Re: NDE's in childhood
Message-ID: <2244@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU>
Date: Mon, 24-Nov-86 20:30:47 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.2244
Posted: Mon Nov 24 20:30:47 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Nov-86 00:07:25 EST
References: <2303@bucse.bu-cs.BU.EDU> <6931@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Reply-To: osbook@sdcsvax.UUCP (osbook)
Organization: U.C. San Diego
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Xref: mnetor sci.med:317 sci.misc:97

In article <6931@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> dcohen@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU ( ) writes:
>In article <2303@bucse.bu-cs.BU.EDU>, gasp@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Isaac Kohane) writes:

>> From: AJDC Vol.140 p 1110 (Nov. 86)
>> quote from an article.. "...electrically stimulated, produce
>> the sensation of being outside the physical body...."
...
>   This is probably the most sensible explanation of NDE's I've seen
> yet.  The only thing that puzzles me about it is ...  Why should
> it be useful to devote a chunk of brain circuitry to creating
> hallucinations of leaving the body? ...

We know that dreaming is important; perhaps the temporal
lobe contains mechanisms for producing out of body experiences and
these mechanisms have some important use during dreams.
(virtual experiences, so to speak).

In a teleological sense, these experiences were never meant to be
used in virtual mode, only in real mode.

Maybe it is important that, as we dream, the experiences must
seem real, or they won't have the desired effect.
However, when we have a virtual experience while awake (drugs, etc.)
it can seem real even though we know we are not dreaming. 

Thus, because of the limitations of our brains, we can find it difficult,
at times, to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Which is:
  1) probably a useful trait in an evolutionary sense
  2) why we need science (and rational, skeptical thinking)

Harley Hahn