I know that I had planned to cover more amazing animal adaptations, but as many of you may know, the Semantink team headed over to the Phoenix Comic Convention, and I attended a few interesting panels. One of the panels that I found particularly interesting was on the topic of paranormal activity: specifically, on the topic of ghosts. The panel was a mix of skeptics and believers in the supernatural; there were paranormal researchers as well as mediums and people who truly don’t believe that there is a supernatural explanation for these occurrences. Beyond simply talking about experiences and events, there were a few clips that depicted several interesting pieces of phenomenon that had been captured. Now, here’s an issue that I think is worth exploring: how do you recreate (to prove to skeptics) something that may be a fluke occurrence or may be an experience that comes to you instead of the other way around. Personally (and I’m borrowing a bit from psychologists) I believe that there are competing realities that we all live in. Individually, there is a private reality that we all experience first hand. This reality is based on the experiences that one accumulates in one’s own personal space; usually, this personal reality is often disregarded when it does not agree with the collective reality. The collective reality is what a community decides to accept as a standard of thought that is acceptable. An example of collective reality is the strong current of thought that ran through the Victorian era that affirmed that women were inferior to men and even further, that women had no souls. Today’s collective British reality makes that thought sound ridiculous. Reality has the capacity to change according to the community that agrees upon it. If you don’t agree upon it, then you are “crazy,” “stupid,” or “ignorant.” An example of that clash is that homeless man that we’ve all seen on the street muttering to himself about the demons across the street or what not; his personal reality is clearly at odds with the collective reality. Now, in accordance with the previous posts I’ve written about, evolution may be more of an individual process than a collective change. So, a question that continuously nags at me is: is it possible to reason that some people may be more prone to evolve or adapt to ideas/thoughts/visions than that of the collective reality comprehend?

Time for the Doctor to share his own experiences with the spirits. I have had three total experiences that I feel are completely unexplainable. I really want to stress that point: I have NO explanation. Spirits/ghosts/bad-juju are just one aspect for explanation. Of course things like lucid dreaming/air pressure/loose locks/ and the like are also just as easily culpable; I don’t want to rule anything out. I’ll list my experiences, and you readers can decide for yourself.

1) Voices in the dark. As an adolescent, I would often read late into the night. Once, as I was reading, I suddenly heard whispers in my ear; it wasn’t anything distinct or any single voice male or female, it was like twenty people trying to whisper something to me all at once. It lasted for a full second or two before it went away. What do you make of it? I have no history of hearing problems, and I do not continually hear voices, but I certainly heard that whisper. Here are the options for explanations that I came up with: sometimes the inner ear creates sounds such as a tone that is heard; this could have been one of those moments. I could have some underlying mental issues that surfaced for that one moment and have not repeated themselves. And, of course, it could have been contact with the “other” plane of existence. Also, I have heard the shape of a human skull acts like an amplifier for radio waves, so it is possible that I was catching some frequency perfectly for a split second. I really don’t know what to make of it, but it was an experience that couldn’t be replicated.

2) The opening door trick. The second unexplainable event in my life occurred when I was older. The house that I lived in was a historic house and had seen many families within its walls. I had fallen asleep with my girlfriend of the time, and I awoke early in the morning with a start. I felt like something was wrong, and about two minutes after waking, the door to my room opened with such force and such speed that I jumped out of bed, fully expecting to see an intruder come in to the room. But no one entered. There was no one in the house at all. When I say that the door opened with force, let me reinforce that I heard the knob turn and the door was pushed open hard enough to hit against the rubber stopper and almost close itself again. I suppose I can’t rule out atmospheric conditions such as the wind or some mixture of the AC or the heater, but neither of those were on, and I have no idea what to make of it. It never occurred again in the house, but the last brush that I had with the  supernatural did take place in that same house in that same room.

3) Possession? Demonic activity? I had a very busy week, and I was tired. When the weekend finally came, I decided to try and take a nap. I was lying face down, on my stomach, with my face pointing away from the door. I had been on the bed for no more than a minute when a crippling paralysis crept over me. Suddenly, and sadistically slowly, I felt the mattress move as if a small person was walking on the mattress over to me, one step at a time. Though I couldn’t move, I was terrified and I was screaming inside, but I couldn’t get the words out. The steps proceeded and suddenly whatever it was straddled me right at my feet. I didn’t feel the weight of anything press down on me, but I could feel the mattress moving on both sides of me as the slow steps walked up my body. I kept trying to look behind me, to see what was clearly standing over me, but I was completely frozen. Finally, I gave up struggling internally. I figured if this is how it was going to end, then so be it. I relaxed, and I felt everything lift away. I could move again, and I spun around quickly. Of course, nothing was there. Lucid dreaming? Stealthy little ninja who paralyzed me momentarily? Or angry ghost, messing with me?

Some people have had no unusual phenomena occur to them. Others seem to have stories of unusual events for days. What are your thoughts? Are there any stories that you have that are unexplainable? Has anyone had a recurring event that seems to be triggered by some kind of reaction? Let me know, and I’ll see you next week when I get back on the topic of amazing animal adaptations.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you didn’t sleep? According to WebMD, the side-effects can be: “decreased performance and alertness, memory and cognitive impairment, stress in relationships, poor quality of life [you feel detached and outside the rest of the world], occupational injury, automobile injury.” Clinically, WebMD attributes this list of wonderfully dire side effects that could emanate from too long away from slumberland: “high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, obesity, psychiatric problems including depression and other mood orders, ADD, mental impairment, fetal and childhood growth retardation, injury from accidents, disruption of bed partner’s sleep quality, and [again] poor quality of life.” But is this really true? How far have people gone in pushing the limits of sleep and sleep deprivation? Let us explore.

It turns out that there are a couple of people that have gone for the world record of sleeplessness. The person that occurs the most on google searches is a San-Diego based teenager (at the time) from 1964 by the name of Randy Gardner. He went eleven days without sleep. But, if you look at the English news, the man of many sleepless nights is Tony Wright. Both of these cases underwent very stringent recording processes in an attempt to prove that the person was awake for that entire duration. This seems to be the biggest issue; is the person really awake the whole time. In particular, Tony Wright says some pretty nutty things when it comes to describing how his process of avoiding the sandman took place. A BBC article paraphrases him describing his technique: “He argues that parts of the human brain require a different amount of sleep and it is possible to stay awake and remain functional for long periods.” It is quite possible that he is on to something in that process. The brain may be able to switch to different sides in order to carry out different processes without disturbing other areas of the brain which can then “rest.” There is a fantastic article here from 60 minutes that is really long, but it carries with it a lot of what modern science believes about sleep. Ultimately, the bottom line is that modern science believes that sleep is essential. So let’s go wreck that belief.

There appear to be a couple of encounters throughout history in which people tend to get tremendous amounts of work done by somehow avoiding sleep all together or minimizing it to really, ridiculously low levels. The first case that I was able to trudge up comes from none other than Roger Ebert’s journal. Apparently, when Ebert was out touring the French countryside, he ran across a man whom he discovered did not need to sleep. He was a machinist (and clockmaker and god knows what else), and he considered sleep to be a secondary death that was performed daily. He writes about his experience (or someone republishes it for him) in this link right here. Though he denied sleeping “not a wink,” his daughter has an addition that is attached to the story that describes his sleeping habits as spastic and at most lasting fifteen minutes perhaps twice a day. Still, half an hour of sleep a day is quite an extraordinary feat if this story is true.

Another story that comes up is from a Vietnamese man named Thai Ngoc, who has apprently not slept for 33 years. He had a fever at one point and now, he does not sleep at all. He claims that he is still healthy (after all he is now 64) and he is still able to heft two 50 kg. bags down 4 kilometers of road (!?) If this is true, this is quite possibly the most bad-ass farmer dude that ever walked around. The unfortunate part is that the man seems to really resent the fact that he can not get even the slightest bit of sleep. He is a poor farmer, so I can’t really imagine that he has an X-Box to keep him busy at night, or anything of the ilk. But the case is interesting in that a fever appears to be the cause of his lack of sleep. Now, I am stretching quite a bit here, but is it possible that some microbe when correctly combined with human DNA awakens the ability in a person to overcome sleep? If so, would it be worth harvesting? Incorporating? Could you all use several extra hour’s productivity? Or would work forces then just make the word day 16 hours long? Questions for contemplation, I suppose.

Leonardo DiVinci is a person that apprently slept a total of two hours a night. He was alleged to take fifteen to twenty minute cat naps (or power naps to some) every four hours he was awake or so. Also in that line of sleep patterns are Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson, and Nikola Tesla. Now, these are commonly accepted work-a-holics, and the doubt that I can cast on their credibility lies solely in the fact that this information comes from journals that benefit with the promotion of a tireless American work-ethic. Other than that, they may in deed be very true. The missing detail in these men is how they were able to achieve this effect. The Vietnamese guy at least underwent a fever that seems to have transformed him. Were the above men effected by the same virus? Did they share the symptoms of the same disease? They were both reputed to follow a similar sleep regiment. Some ancient Kung-Fu and modern Tai’Chi practiconers were said to be able to get away with as little as two two-hour naps during the evening and early morning. It is also possible that they were able to achieve a sleep like state without administering any outward sign which scientists call “microsleeping.” In other words, it is possible that while you were blathering to them about something important, they were dozing and dreaming in a very short space. So what is the verdict? Why is it that some people need to get sleep or else suffer dire consequences and some people crave sleep but do not need it at all? From the information I am picking up, it seems that it is a combination of genetics and biology. There does seem to be some group of people that try different sleep schedules to boost certain performances. But ultimately, I still feel that the amount of sleep we need is specific to an individual.

I feel that a sort of introduction is in order. First, let me introduce myself as obscurely as possible. I feel that in some ways, there is some comfort to the anonymity that one has on the internet. Of course, being a voice in the dark has its  own implicit set of moral obligations and responsibilities. I will uphold those responsibilities by giving credit where credit is due and setting forth the large disclaimer that this site does not offer any sort of attempt to present hardcore facts. This site sets forth a conversation. I am a student (not a real Ph.D. or at least not yet), and I am a lover of learning. What I find interesting is the kind of information that we deem worthy or acceptable, and the kind of information that we deem ill-founded or illogical. This is really at the heart of the kind of content you will find in these posts. Herein, I am offering a view (supported by others when appropriate) of the paranormal. Of course, the paranormal covers quite a large amount of territory to discuss. I am open to any avenue of discussion; I feel free to explore anything from mythology, religious beliefs, ghosts, astronomy, astrology, technology, and pretty much anything else that is perceived as that which is beyond or outside the normal.

Obviously, the above comment has its own assumptions, specifically the problem of what one defines as “normal.” I will venture to define the normal as whatever a group of people or society encounter regularly and have incorporated into their practices and routines. Thus, whatever a group of people does in the course of daily survival will be considered normal while everything else would be paranormal. Clearly, discrepancies are possible between what one group considers normal and what another might consider the paranormal. The utilization of specific technologies, cognitive practices, and daily rituals define the “normal” for a civilization.

Essentially, I am expressing that the paranormal is not just the varied bumps in the nights, or the stories told in the dark around campfires at unnerving hours when our imaginations are at their most aroused; the paranormal is that which is beyond the limits of our everyday understanding. The paranormal is comprised of elements that are found in the everyday experiences we have in which the laws that we so rigidly adhere to in our lives are broken or otherwise turned on their heads, and the opposite shown to be true: the impossible made possible. The official title of this blog is “Cognitive Alchemy,” and this is what I wish to try and accomplish. I feel that there is a movement in recent days that tries to explain the mystical, supernatural, and paranormal in scientific terms. A popular television program like “Mythbusters” (Discovery Channel) highlights this move toward secularization. Essentially, I feel by exploring these issues in text and online-discussion, we can try to make comprehendible the incomprehensible; we can strive to turn gold into lead.

An avenue that most people do not consider when they hear the word “paranormal” is the role that technology plays. There is a fantastic quote that comes to us from Arthur C. Clarke on the topic of technology; he states, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I don’t know if the modern man can truly appreciate the complexity of perceptions that occurs when a group of technologically advanced people encounter an inferiorly advanced group. A scenario that highlights what I am saying may have been played out during the settling of this country. Imagine a native-American who has no idea what a rifle, bullets, or a horse, are. Suddenly, our poor native-American encounters a mounted cavalry rider who shoots his rifle, killing his comrade. How much of this sight would the native-American understand? Would he even see the action? Or would he just know the result? This is just one example of a conflict of technology. Likewise, how would the cavalryman possibly understand the cognitive technology utilized in a spirit-vision? Could the cavalryman even see the visions as omens and divine interferences? Or would he just know the result? There are many different kinds of technologies and magics and the beauty of Arthur C. Clarke’s quote is that it shows the intimate relationship between the two; essentially, Clarke reminds us that magic is technology, technology is magic.

Hopefully, I have given you a little glimpse of the kinds of material that I will be covering throughout this blog. Next week, I’ll take a look at mind-reading.