Interesting article in Yahoo news. I don't find it hard to believe that we humans have a "sixth" sense. We are after all animals and therefore have some hardwired "instincts". It is that gut instinct that tells you not to cross the street just yet, then suddenly there is a car wreck which would have killed you had you crossed the street, or you know, without knowing why you know, that somebody is following you Of course the "instinct" doesn't work 100% of the time either, if it did deer would not be caught by the mountain lion and the mountain lion would go hungry. Then again the car accident scenario doesn't really fit into this model does it? What clues is the brain picking up on? Is it dumb luck, coincidence?
Snip from the news:
THURSDAY, Feb. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Ever get a gut feeling something just isn't quite right, and make a decision accordingly? Science is beginning to suggest those instincts may have roots deep in the brain.
Research in young volunteers points to some kind of "sixth sense" -- a mechanism in the brain that picks up on subtle clues, then sends out subconscious signals of trouble ahead.
The finding could help explain certain intuitive phenomena seen among humans. For example, in the recent Asian tsunami, aboriginal people sought out higher ground in the moments before the disaster, as did many wild animals. Could subtle changes in weather or the environment have warned them early on?
I allready knew that stuff, I don't even have a college degree.
Terry Austin
in California
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 02:42 PM
It's rather disingeneous to call a talent for intuition a "sense," especially a "sixth sense." In that context, sense means:
2 a : the faculty of perceiving by means of sense organs b : a specialized animal function or mechanism (as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch) basically involving a stimulus and a sense organ c : the sensory mechanisms constituting a unit distinct from other functions (as movement or thought)
Which intuition is not.
And it's hardly a surprise that some, even most people, have intuition.
Besides, there would be no weather indications of the coming tsunami, it was not a weather-related incident.
Mark-N-Jen
in Midwest USA
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 04:12 PM
Citizen Premier said...
Besides, there would be no weather indications of the coming tsunami, it was not a weather-related incident.
This would kind of depend on your definition of weather wouldn't it? As well as your definition of indication, would it not? If earthquakes and tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, etc... are not weather than what are they? I was a Weather Observer for the USN from 1987 to 1991. They are indeed natural aspects of the earth considered weather. As for an indicator... how's this for one? You're standing on the beach and the waves / surf is gently lapping at your ankles. When a wave comes in your perhaps five inches deep in water then in recedes before the next wave comes in so in essence you're again on dry land. Point being that you're right on the shore... with a tsunami coming, the ocean / water recedes quite considerably immediately preceding the wave. So, if you're ever standing on the shore and the ocean seems to just dissappear, if you know these facts (or actually even if you don't know that fact) you have just received an indication that a tsunami is coming! RUN LIKE HELL!!!!
Noun
1. The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure.
Not to be anal, but the movement of tectonic plates, or landslides, whichever caused the tsunami, are not related to the atmosphere.
ted2
in an abstraction of an abstraction
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 09:09 PM
If you see all the animals in the jungle running for higher ground, it doesn't take much smarts to know you should follow.
JoeSixpack Member
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 | 08:59 AM
Actually, if you see the surf recede 2-3 hundred meters, you might be inclined to draw the conclusion that when it finally DOES come back, it'll do so in a pretty bad way. Anyone who has spent any time watching waves come in at the beach can tell you that. The farther the surf recedes, the bigger the next incoming wave will be.
Aboriginies tend to be a lot more in tune with their enviroment because they don't have a lot of protection from it. No need for a sixth sense there.
Mark-N-Jen
in Midwest USA
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 | 10:45 AM
Dear Citizen,
OK if that's what the dictionary says then I guess we'll have to go with that. But someone who's on the water, in rough seas, under an otherwise OK "atmosphere" would probably beg to differ... as does the USN. I also noted that in that definition it didn't say that the list of variables was complete or all-inclusive. You really don't consider our oceans as part of our weather system? Therefore a volcanic eruption would definately qualify as weather right? Or not? It DEFINATELY effects the atmosphere. Besides weather, as we all know, isn't an exact science and is still very much in its' infancy. So how do we know absolutely that barometric pressure, previous weather, or other possible variables aren't somehow connected to plate movements. OH, that's right... because Webster didn't say so...
Actually, I used Smarterchild! And I wouldn't call a huge landslide "weather," whether (aha) or not it's related to the atmosphere. I can't see how it would be, anyways.
So there!
Will you two quit bickering. and Citizen, lay off the pot.
Mark-N-Jen
in Midwest USA
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 | 03:03 PM
Citizen,
Smoke all the pot you want man... it makes for interesting conversations and opinions at the very least.
So if landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions (or did you concede on that one?) aren't weather... what would you call them?
BTW - Whatever dictionary you use doesn't matter, language is used differently by many in many places. Not to mention that language is constantly changing and evolving... not trying to provoke you here, just bullshit with ya a little, but I wouldn't consider it gospel just because you got it from a dictionary. Like for instance, if your dictionary is say 2 years old would you deny the existence of the word "blog" just because you couldn't find it in your bible?
Also, back to the original point I was trying to make... no sixth sense involved with the animals or natives leaving for high ground as there were definately "indications" they just went unheeded by most.
Yeah, if I see a fifty foot wave comming in, My sixth sense tells me "Hey, you dumbass, get outa here, theres a fifty foot wave infront of you".
If it wasn't for my finally tuned instincts and spelling skills, I would have swallowed too many marbles as a child.
I personally think looking at the aboriginal people surviving the tsunami was a bad case study. More than likely there are tribal stories which tell them what to do should the waves suddenly go way out. That was the purpose for many legends and myths within different cultures.
As for having a "sixth sense", have any of you ever had a time when the hair on the back of your neck stood straight up and you didn't know why until you turned around to find someone staring at you or following you.. It is a real feeling, a sense that doesn't work through what we would view as normal means (eyes, ears, etc).
Try this experiment next time you are out at the mall or any other public place. Pick someone out of the crowd and stare at them. Eventually they get very nervous and begin looking around for the cause of the "feeling" they are having. It can be quite entertaining. Oh, just be sure you don't pick out someone who may decide to kick your butt for staring at them or their significant other!
I definately know to what you're refering and do indeed believe that we don't know our abilities / capabilities entirely. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a sixth or even seventh sense. Because I don't believe that scientifically you could rule them out any more than you could prove them. Take your example for example. Especially at this point in mankinds evolution. My point was that I didn't believe there was a sixth sense involved in the aboriginal / animal fleeing story due to the fact that there were plenty of indications that the tsunami was coming. Like you said, perhaps they had been warned through their culture, and whether or not you call the warnings weather... there were indeed indications. It was just a matter of whether or not you recognized them. The animals acted on the indications instinctively and I believe native peoples (of most places) are far more in tune with nature than the beligerent Western Civilization. Perhaps instinct itself is the sixth sense... maybe we should apply for some grants???
PS - If you're so interested in following a dictionary Citizen... please use yours to look up that word you used in your last post. You know, that word "alot". In case you're not in the mood, let me fill you in. Alot is not a word in the English language. Look all you want, you won't find it. Like I said, language is used differently and always changing...
Let me give you all a simple experiment, this isn't me just trying to be funny either.
It works like this:
Lets say you are driving down the road, and you hear a train. You don't see a train yet, but you know it is there because of the sense of "Hearing"
If you smell food comming from a house, all though you can't see it OR hear it, you know there is food, and even what kind it is. That sense tells you. Your body will even react to it, you get hungry.
Then we have this sixth sense, It is used for something we can't smell,see, hear,touch, or taste, BUT, why is your body reacting to something???
If very few people knew how to smell, they would think you were crazy for being able to sniff out food.
I'm rambling...but remember, your body reacts to all senses. Just think about it.
