How do you react to things you can't explain

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Science has done such a good job of explaining so much of the world that we seem to have forgotten that much of life, maybe all of life, is a mystery.

Once people thought that diseases were caused by evil spirits. Now we know they are caused by bacteria and viruses. A virus is made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms, all of which are obeying the known laws of physics. Mystery solved, right? But wait ... all the atoms in the virus, and in my body, obey quantum physics. So they are particles with definite locations when we measure their locations, and they are probability waves when we aren't measuring them? They get entangled with each other and can "communicate" across vast distances instantly (not just faster than light, but instantly)?

Where does conscious experience come from? If I build a model of a brain, with all the electrical and chemical connections that a brain has, will it be conscious? How does that happen? That seems to occur outside and independently of the laws describing the physical components of a brain, yet here it is, I'm having conscious experience right now.

So how do I react to things I can't explain? With awe and humility.

I (personally) don't think concious thought is anything magical or overly special. Nor do I believe it happens outwith the physical components of the brain. But trying to understand why we have thought, by looking at the simplest electrochemical and biochemical reactions is like a more complex way of figuring out how Windows or OS X works by looking at an on-off switch.

Not going to claim to know anything beyond a tiny fraction of the field, but perspective is a difficult thing we have to try and maintain. Looking at the smallest properties (ie the quantum mechanical properties) of the brain is so massively complex that we cannot fully model or understand it as a singular entity, at this stage. The quantum mechanical properties of single subatomic particles is massively complex, applying it to atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, organs becomes exponentially complex. This is also why we have diffierent fields of research, quantum physics, classical physics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physiology, psychology, sociology. They are all part of the same package, though looking at the world on a different scale, and as we progress, the boundaries between the fields slowly fad.

I do find the complexity humbling and awe inspiring, but also use it as a motivator to try and explain why things are what they are

 

[Unprofessional]

"Sh*t Happens" because human beans tend to fornicate things up. This is the rallying cry of people who refuse to take responsibility for the things that they do.
In a similar vein, "destiny" is just people pretending that they have no control over what happens to them.
We all know people who, on the surface, seem to be hapless or unlucky. However, if you dig into their situation more, you'll find out that their situation is basically self-inflicted through a bad decision or a series of bad decisions.
As for the lightning strike incident, I had a similar experience when I was a kid. I turned and dove under a carport just before a close lightning strike. The human body can sense large changes in electrical fields and the self-preservation instinct in humans is very, very strong. Nothing mysterious to report.

 

[NML1986]

Maybe we are nothing but a dream?

Anyone remember a short cartoon called 'Rarg'?

 

[1958Bassman]

When I see things I can't understand, I tilt my head and look at them as if I were a dog, watching TV.

 

[MatticusMania]

Maybe we are nothing but a dream?

Merrily, merrily, merrily!

 

[Relic]

I've gone through various phases in my life.
There was a time when I was a firm believer in the paranormal - ghosts, UFOs, aliens, etc. I found it exciting to believe in things that go beyond our normal day-to-day. How cool is it to be able to point up into the sky at a moving light and believe that it is an otherworldly craft? It makes that boring 9-5 existence a whole lot more exciting don't it?
Then, I decided to act on those beliefs - ghost hunting, sky/UFO watching... wow, what a downer. That led to another phase when I soon realized that when one applies scientific approaches to such things, they typically crumble into a heap of horse dung and the only ones who still believe are those who really want to keep believing. I turned into a pretty hard-headed skeptic at that point.
Still, there were things that kept nagging at me.. I've had experiences occur that I could not really explain to my own satisfaction. Where I would once automatically think: "ghost", "precognition", I now just think that we're simply not capable of explaining or understanding everything. We're smart as hell as a species, but we're still limited by a brain that will forever only allow us to perceive what our brains are capable of through our 5 senses. It's just not built to go beyond that just like a lizard's brain will never understand music or a dog's will never understand trigonometry. A human brain goes far but is still limited just like every specie on this planet has it's limitations. Doesn't make a given unexplainable situation miraculous or paranormal or angelic, demonic, extraterrestrial, magic, or whatever you want to pin it down with. It just sort of "is".

 

[Eric Perry]

I just drink until I forget what I saw. Blind drunk is indeed a way to go through life.

Sure is! After this weekend, my liver is ready to hand in its 2 weeks!

Perception is everything.

Agree entirely.

I respectfully disagree...

As do I.

 

[MatticusMania]

I've gone through various phases in my life.
There was a time when I was a firm believer in the paranormal - ghosts, UFOs, aliens, etc. I found it exciting to believe in things that go beyond our normal day-to-day. How cool is it to be able to point up into the sky at a moving light and believe that it is an otherworldly craft? It makes that boring 9-5 existence a whole lot more exciting don't it?
Then, I decided to act on those beliefs - ghost hunting, sky/UFO watching... wow, what a downer. That led to another phase when I soon realized that when one applies scientific approaches to such things, they typically crumble into a heap of horse dung and the only ones who still believe are those who really want to keep believing. I turned into a pretty hard-headed skeptic at that point.
Still, there were things that kept nagging at me.. I've had experiences occur that I could not really explain to my own satisfaction. Where I would once automatically think: "ghost", "precognition", I now just think that we're simply not capable of explaining or understanding everything. We're smart as hell as a species, but we're still limited by a brain that will forever only allow us to perceive what our brains are capable of through our 5 senses. It's just not built to go beyond that just like a lizard's brain will never understand music or a dog's will never understand trigonometry. A human brain goes far but is still limited just like every specie on this planet has it's limitations. Doesn't make a given unexplainable situation miraculous or paranormal or angelic, demonic, extraterrestrial, magic, or whatever you want to pin it down with. It just sort of "is".

Reading your post, I agree that most things can be explained scientifically. The one thing Ive lived with all my life that I cannot explain is premonition and its result, Deja Vu.
Maybe someone else can explain it, but I just cant... all my life Ive had dreams, not dreams as in "I wish one day for this to happen" but normal, everyday type scenarios, that weeks, months, years later actually come to pass. As I live out that scenario in the waking life it hits me. Ive lived this before, in my head. Now, Im not saying there isnt a reasonable explanation for this, but I certainly havent found one, and I just kind of accept that there may not be one.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Reading your post, I agree that most things can be explained scientifically. The one thing Ive lived with all my life that I cannot explain is premonition and its result, Deja Vu.
Maybe someone else can explain it, but I just cant... all my life Ive had dreams, not dreams as in "I wish one day for this to happen" but normal, everyday type scenarios, that weeks, months, years later actually come to pass. As I live out that scenario in the waking life it hits me. Ive lived this before, in my head. Now, Im not saying there isnt a reasonable explanation for this, but I certainly havent found one, and I just kind of accept that there may not be one.

Deja Vu itself is thinking something that just happened, has happened before. I think its generally accepted as a brain fart where your memories get a bit messed up. Something that just happened is stored in long term memory before your short term memory processes it (or something along those lines).

Not quite the same as premonition, where you are aware of the experience, some time before it happens. Though I've never experienced it, nor read any literature surrounding it.

I also believe there is an explanation for everything, but accept it may simply be out of our grasp (at least for the time being).

 

[MatticusMania]

Deja Vu itself is thinking something that just happened, has happened before. I think its generally accepted as a brain fart where your memories get a bit messed up. Something that just happened is stored in long term memory before your short term memory processes it (or something along those lines).

Not quite the same as premonition, where you are aware of the experience, some time before it happens. Though I've never experienced it, nor read any literature surrounding it.

I also believe there is an explanation for everything, but accept it may simply be out of our grasp (at least for the time being).

Is that definition of Deja Vu commonly accepted? What Ive always called Deja Vu was more or less the result of a premonition-like dream, only I wasnt aware of it after the fact. It was more like if I dream of some ordinary happenstance tonight, say a conversation between you and I for example. When I wake, I dont recall the dream, as I dont recall most of my dreams but for the extraordinairy near waking. Though, weeks or months down the line the conversation actually happens. It isnt until the conversation actually occurs that I realize Ive dreamt this before, and I can recall what will happen next, be it some movement or lines of dialouge before they actually take place. Perhaps its neither Deja Vu nor Premonition and something else entirely. But this is something that happens to me maybe a few times a year.

 

[Relic]

Is that definition of Deja Vu commonly accepted? What Ive always called Deja Vu was more or less the result of a premonition-like dream, only I wasnt aware of it after the fact. It was more like if I dream of some ordinary happenstance tonight, say a conversation between you and I for example. When I wake, I dont recall the dream, as I dont recall most of my dreams but for the extraordinairy near waking. Though, weeks or months down the line the conversation actually happens. It isnt until the conversation actually occurs that I realize Ive dreamt this before, and I can recall what will happen next, be it some movement or lines of dialouge before they actually take place. Perhaps its neither Deja Vu nor Premonition and something else entirely. But this is something that happens to me maybe a few times a year.

We must be related....
One of my personal "mysteries" is precognitive dreams. It happens to me on a fairly regular basis but it's typically more timely to the situation (usually day or two later, maybe a week at most), and it's usually just the most mundane thing. Like, I'll dream that I'm driving and spot a turtle in the road. The next day I'll be driving and suddenly start to think: "holy cow this stretch of road looks just like the dream last night...." and, yep. There's a turtle. It's almost as though I can predict what's going to happen next due to the familiarity of the "event".
Or I'll dream about a particular person who I haven't spoken with in years, and that very same person will friend me on FB, or phone me out of the blue. It's freaky and I cant explain it. Maybe it's selective memory -where you simply remember things a certain way so that they appear to be coincidence when they happen, or maybe it is just simple, basic coincidence, or maybe it's just the bizarre "non-time" theory where everything that will ever happen or has happened IS happening all right now, but we simply perceive it in a linear style as that's all we're capable of..? Who knows... in the end, does it really matter?

 

[MatticusMania]

or maybe it's just the bizarre "non-time" theory where everything that will ever happen or has happened IS happening all right now, but we simply perceive it in a linear style as that's all we're capable of..? Who knows... in the end, does it really matter?

Yes, the Kurt Vonnegut proposed Tralfamadorian theory.

Does it really matter? No not at all, but it is one quite interesting unexplained phenomena. So it goes.

 

[1SHOT1HIT]

We must be related....
One of my personal "mysteries" is precognitive dreams. It happens to me on a fairly regular basis but it's typically more timely to the situation (usually day or two later, maybe a week at most), and it's usually just the most mundane thing. Like, I'll dream that I'm driving and spot a turtle in the road. The next day I'll be driving and suddenly start to think: "holy cow this stretch of road looks just like the dream last night...." and, yep. There's a turtle. It's almost as though I can predict what's going to happen next due to the familiarity of the "event".
Or I'll dream about a particular person who I haven't spoken with in years, and that very same person will friend me on FB, or phone me out of the blue. It's freaky and I cant explain it. Maybe it's selective memory -where you simply remember things a certain way so that they appear to be coincidence when they happen, or maybe it is just simple, basic coincidence, or maybe it's just the bizarre "non-time" theory where everything that will ever happen or has happened IS happening all right now, but we simply perceive it in a linear style as that's all we're capable of..? Who knows... in the end, does it really matter?

Um, you and Matticus need to quit hogging and pass that thing, this all sounds exciting and I want to hit it too.
Puff puff pass guys. Puff puff pass. Sheeeeesh!!!!!

 

[slobake]

I've gone through various phases in my life.
There was a time when I was a firm believer in the paranormal - ghosts, UFOs, aliens, etc. I found it exciting to believe in things that go beyond our normal day-to-day. How cool is it to be able to point up into the sky at a moving light and believe that it is an otherworldly craft? It makes that boring 9-5 existence a whole lot more exciting don't it?
Then, I decided to act on those beliefs - ghost hunting, sky/UFO watching... wow, what a downer. That led to another phase when I soon realized that when one applies scientific approaches to such things, they typically crumble into a heap of horse dung and the only ones who still believe are those who really want to keep believing. I turned into a pretty hard-headed skeptic at that point.
Still, there were things that kept nagging at me.. I've had experiences occur that I could not really explain to my own satisfaction. Where I would once automatically think: "ghost", "precognition", I now just think that we're simply not capable of explaining or understanding everything. We're smart as hell as a species, but we're still limited by a brain that will forever only allow us to perceive what our brains are capable of through our 5 senses. It's just not built to go beyond that just like a lizard's brain will never understand music or a dog's will never understand trigonometry. A human brain goes far but is still limited just like every specie on this planet has it's limitations. Doesn't make a given unexplainable situation miraculous or paranormal or angelic, demonic, extraterrestrial, magic, or whatever you want to pin it down with. It just sort of "is".

+1 I agree, there are things that we just don't understand. To limit the universe to what we can understand would make it very small indeed. UFO's? Paranormal? etc ... To me UFO stands for unidentifyed flying object and it means just that nothing more, nothing less. Of course I always enjoy a good tale about someone meeting Elvis on a UFO.

 

[Relic]

Yes, the Kurt Vonnegut proposed Tralfamadorian theory.

Does it really matter? No not at all, but it is one quite interesting unexplained phenomena. So it goes.

By asking that what I mean is that, (I believe at least), that there are things that can't be explained because we are not capable of understanding the explanation. Therefore I sometimes wonder if we should not just accept it as that.

Um, you and Matticus need to quit hogging and pass that thing, this all sounds exciting and I want to hit it too.
Puff puff pass guys. Puff puff pass. Sheeeeesh!!!!!

lol!! passing your way dude

 

[1SHOT1HIT]

lol!! passing your way dude

I thought you'd never offer, next time I'll just bring my own.

On a more serious note;

I know exactly what you mean, I'm not one to buy into all the mystical powers, fairy tales, supernatural figures, religious stories, or Karma stuff.

But I've experienced enough weird stuff to know that we as people don't have it all figured out just yet, not even close I'd say.

The whole de javu stuff, I've had plenty of moments like that I can't explain, and most were unquestionably something that somehow someway I've definitely experienced before.

I've even had dreams that were so incredibly real I've spent days trying to figure out what did or didn't happen and what may have just been mind tricks.
I vividly remember as a kid dreaming about a comic book that was in a bush getting rained on, it was always this same thick bush in the front yard at my grandmothers house.
I had this comic book in reality for a few weeks and it had just vanished one day.
For 8 years of my childhood I dreamt about that thing and that bush.
And several times, against my skepticism, looked as best I could in that bush for it, but I could never get to the middle because it was very thick and it was one of those prickly type huge bushes.
Then after 8 years of psyching myself out about it.
My grandmother had my uncle cut down the bush as she was redoing her landscaping in the yard.
I waited patiently for my chance to see it from the underside where I could look in there and finally put this stupid dream to rest.
And there it was still vividly colored barely wrinkled from the elements of sitting in there 8 years. Literally in amazing condition considering the time it sat there.

I still have that comic book up in the attic til this day. I'll never part with it because it's a reminder that the mind is an amazing thing and is capable of things we may never understand.

If I get a chance I'll grab it and post a pic

Edit: FWIW I did not put the comic book in the bush, to this day I have no idea how it got there or how I knew it was in there, all I knew was that my dream was too real and often to avoid looking. I can't explain how or why but something let me know it was there.

 

[LSquared]

Maybe someone else can explain it, but I just cant... all my life Ive had dreams, not dreams as in "I wish one day for this to happen" but normal, everyday type scenarios, that weeks, months, years later actually come to pass. As I live out that scenario in the waking life it hits me. Ive lived this before, in my head. Now, Im not saying there isnt a reasonable explanation for this, but I certainly havent found one, and I just kind of accept that there may not be one.

I have had that exact thing happen many times. Not regularly, but has happened over decades. And not ever associated with anything dramatic or exciting. Kind of like a portion of my life playing from my memory a few seconds BEFORE it happens.

It used to weird me out

.

 

[MatticusMania]

It used to weird me out.

It never weired me out much, most likely because the events were always so mundane.
Had it happened with someone big, or consequential, it'd probably have a more dramatic efffect on me.

 

[LSquared]

It never weired me out much, most likely because the events were always so mundane.
Had it happened with someone big, or consequential, it'd probably have a more dramatic efffect on me.

I used to figure that it had to mean something, that it somehow NEEDED to be related to something important.

 

[Jools4001]

A spooky thing happened to me last week. Logically speaking, it's no more than coincidence but still had me shaking my head in disbelief.

A few weeks ago some idiot (me) put a screw through a water pipe while putting down some new flooring in the bathroom. I had to take down a big patch of the kitchen ceiling because the plaster was saturated and so I could get to the leak to fix it.

Fast forward to last week and with everything now dried out I decided to strip back the rest of the ceiling and replace it with new plasterboard.

As often happens when I'm working on the house a tune popped into my head that I couldn't shake, so I was humming and whistling it as I worked. Even as I was humming away I was thinking to myself "wonder why this particular tune popped up, I haven't heard it for years". It was one of the melodies from Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring.

So I'm stripping back the ceiling and I'm staggered at how much debris is in the void between the kitchen ceiling and the bathroom floor, lots of dust and dirt of course but also stuff that makes you wonder how it ever got there. Old disposable razors, empty toothpaste tubes, even an empty shampoo bottle how on earth do these things get there ??? No idea.

Anyway, I pulled down one of the last pieces of old ceiling, getting the usual showering of dust, dirt and debris and in amongst all this an old cassette tape fell to the floor. I went down the stepladder to pick it up and was left wide eyed and open mouthed as I read the Deutsche Gramaphon label...it read "Leonard Bernstein - Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra - Appalachian Spring"