I won't be in Times Square tonight when the ball drops.

and we were. Happy New Year y'all

 

I watched it from here (California ) Live web cam . the place was packed like sardines. not my cup of tea either .

 

Frottage heaven....there's always a silver lining for somebody!

 

Old dude almost gets a face full of it hahaha

 

Oh...I referenced that too...I have no reason to believe that heaven exists any more than hell / sheol might, beyond people's imaginations, but it doesn't seem to stop people from wanting to replicate their their version of it here on earth....even at the moment that the calendar flips over from one year to the next.

 

What of the ones that have died and came back? What did they really experience or see?

 

I don't think anyone comes back from brain death. Death, when the heart simply stops pumping and respiration stops for a while, that's another matter.

The brain is a complex organ, and is not beyond making weird sh!t up, if some of my dreams are anything to go by. I doubt that having a briefly comatose near death experience is any different except that the brain is probably under more stress than it might be if peacefully sleeping.

Belief in some kind of an afterlife is a prevailing feature in many cultures, and it would be hardly surprising that a brain, primed with cultural beliefs in an afterlife, starved of oxygen, and under stress is going to confabulate weird $h!t.

 

That’s dumb

 

It might be a better contribution to the conversation if at the very least, instead of issuing a flat out negation, an explanation why one believes 'it; to be "dumb" be given.

If you have a reasoned better explanation, based on empirical evidence, I'd be happy to read it.

Near-death experience - RationalWiki

Afterlife - RationalWiki

Death - RationalWiki

Edit: @oldman 11 : post in the F&R Forum....so the thread doesn't drift further

 

Major thread drift.....

Well the ball dropped without a terrorist attack but I know some of the media had a melt down because they couldn't bring their umbrellas. I did see a small report that there was a shooting at a club overseas but the media lost interest in that story quickly.

 

Pokey things probably aren't a good idea in a crowded location....an unexpected spring loaded umbrella erection may start a panic stampede...though, I guess a flapping poncho may have the same effect.

 

I bet you know about flapping dat poncho

 

The "l" in "flapping", is not a keystroke error.