Monday, October 28, 2013

Spontaneous Human Combustion and UAP

Hi all,

I have been catching up with some old issues of the English magazine "Fortean Times" from my local library. I always look forward to the "UFO Casebook" column by Jenny Randles.  The July 2013 column was no exception. Jenny's work is always thought provoking.

In the column, Jenny mentions that she is working, with colleague Peter Hough, on "...an e-book version of an investigation that we carried out into the mystery of SHC (spontaneous human combustion) and the ensuing debate over potential natural and more extraordinary causes that might explain what occurs in these cases." (p.31). The column looks at a possible relationship between their SHC idea that some people can generate vast amounts of static electricity, and experience an electrochemical "overheating," and certain UAP events.

Examples:

Jenny cites some examples:

1. Halewood, Merseyside. A man saw a white "balloon" near his face and his skin began to tingle. His arm experienced "goose bumps" and his hair was standing on end.

2. Loch Raven Dam. 1958. Car stoppage case. Witnesses felt sensation on their faces while UAP present. Red coloured faces similar to sunburn.

3. Risley, Cheshire. 1978. Witness to a "glowing white mass" had his radio receiver "explode" and he received sun burnt fingers. Plus his watch stopped.

4. Changi, Singapore. 1953. An orange ball travelled through a house. It passed the fridge, which overheated. Switched off lights glowed a dull orange, until the ball left.

Hypothesis:

"...I am suggesting that we apparently have accidentally discovered some science that illuminates the physics of UFO encounter cases in which an energetic UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon) or atmospheric phenomenon forms spontaneously and introduces change into the surrounding atmosphere or into a susceptible human who comes into close proximity." (p.31.)

Jenny suggest that:

"Perhaps people who are "super carriers" may prove to be especially prone to undergoing hyper-reactive close encounters, whereas others would just report seeing a light in the sky." (p.31.)

Australian cases:

I checked my Australia wide catalogue of UAP events and a quick review revealed the following cases which might relate to Jenny's hypothesis.

1. Childers, Queensland. 1969. "Sombrero-hat" shaped object with a glow, was seen by a family. They also heard a noise like a swarm of bees. The hair on the family member's heads and arms stood up as the object left. (North Queensland Register, 18 Jan 1969.)

2. Pinnaroo, South Australia. 1972. A woman's hair stood on end during the time she drove passed a grey-white oval shape, with lights on, which hung, seemingly only some 30 meters off the ground. (Personal investigation by this author.)

3. St. Helens, Tasmania. 1974. A car stalled after a brilliant light lit up the area. The car's occupants experienced a vibrating noise; painful electrical shocks to their bodies and a chocking smell. The adult in the car suffered a numb right side to her face and found a five cent sized red mark above her right eyebrow. In addition, her arms and fingers were badly swollen by the next day. (Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre investigation.)

4. 60kms from Melbourne, Victoria. 1994. Four women in a car saw a large orange light near their car. Getting out they saw a large, diamond shape. One of the women was charged with static electricity. (Women's Day magazine, 26 Dec 1994.)

Have any Australian blog readers cases which they can add to this list?

Has the Loch Ness monster migrated to north Queensland?

Hi all,

A recent photograph from  Queensland has created a bit of a stir. Check for yourself at the link below:


http://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/a/19578903/has-loch-ness-monster-migrated-to-nth-qld/

Has any blog reader any further information?

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Out-of-body experiences on tap

Hi all,

The 22nd June 2013 issue of the "New Scientist" magazine (Vol. 218, Number 2922) carries an article titled "Donate your heartbeat for an out-of-body experience." The text reads:

"A live video of your body appearing to pulse in time with your heartbeat can trigger an out-of-body experience. We can identify with a virtual body in a different location to our own if we are fed conflicting information via senses such as vision and touch.

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Lausanne wondered whether the experience could also be triggered by playing with signals from within our own bodies - interoception. They asked 17 people to stand wearing a headset which showed themselves being filmed from behind, so that they essentially saw their own back 2 metres in front of them. Software created a halo effect around the virtual body, with the halo flashing either in time with their heartbeat or slightly out of step - although volunteers were not told this was the case.

After 6 minutes, the volunteers closed their eyes and were guided backwards. They were then asked to move to where they felt they had been standing.

Participants performed well when the halo flashed out of sync with their pulse. But when it was in sync, they moved close to the position of their virtual body. This suggests their feeling of being "anchored" within their own body had been altered. (Psychological Science, in press.)

"Thomas Metzinger of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, is impressed. "It tells us that human self-consciousness is anchored in interoception in a much stronger way then people have acknowledged before."

For more on interoception click here.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

"Missing fingers grow as phantoms"

Hi all,

I haven't posted on this blog for some time, as my main interest, namely looking at Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) has occupied my time (take a look at my blog at http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.) However, after reviewing the material on this Anomalies blog I hope to post here more frequently.

I found the following item in "New Scientist" Volume 215, number 2877, 2012, page 14.

"A woman with two missing fingers has grown them back - albeit as part of a phantom limb.

The woman was born missing two fingers on her right hand.

Aged 18, she has the hand amputated after a car accident. She later began to feel that her missing limb was still present, and that the phantom hand had short versions of the missing fingers.

Paul McGeoch and colleagues at the University of California, San Diago, slowly trained her to feel that all five phantom digits were full (Neurocuse, DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2011.556128)

"The deformed hand was suppressing the brain's innate representation of her finger," he says. The innate representation kicked back in again after the accident.

Comments:

To read more on recent research on phantom limbs please take a look here.

I find this a fascinating area, which continues to expand the idea that the human brain is plastic, that is it can reform and change. For more on brain plasticity click here.

The possible connections to out-of-body-experiences and even abductions, have been explored elsewhere, in previous posts on the ufo blog. Please take a look at:

Quirkology

A sense of presence

Alien hand syndrome

Am I really here?

Sense of self returns