The ten unsolved mysteries of the mind and brain

Here is a article discussing the ten unsolved mysteries of the mind and brain

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/unsolved-brain-mysteries

Sceptical about sceptics’ $2m paranormal challenge

Sceptical about sceptics’ $2m paranormal challenge



Challenges achieve very little in the world of the paranormal – apart from gaining dubious publicity for those who issue them. In fact, challenges thrown down by believers and sceptics virtually cancel themselves out.

A new and sceptical NZ$2 million (around £750,000) challenge was recently thrown down by a New Zealand organisation targeting the four mediums who star in the TV series Sensing Murder – Kelvin Cruickshank, Sue Nicholson, Scott Russell Hill and Deb Webber (above, left to right). But it has rightly been castigated, not by believers but by a website devoted to reality TV.

It reveals (21 September 2007) that “the folks at Immortality, under the pseudonym ‘atheist’, have written to four of the psychics from Sensing Murder inviting them to participate in their challenge and prove their psychic ability under controlled conditions. The prize is NZ$1 million to the psychic, with a further NZ$1 million on offer to charity.”

“Atheist”, however, is hardly an open-minded investigator. Referring to the psychics’ alleged ability to communicate with the dead, he or she declares: “I claim that you are a liar and can do no such thing.”

“So who,” wonders www.nzrealitytv.com, “are Immortality and do they even have $2 million? It’s a darn good question, and it doesn’t do their credibility much good that their online forum for discussing the $2m paranormal challenge links to an online community discussing horse racing.”

In fact, Immortality’s website is anonymous. It has no contact details, nor does it reveal who are the people behind it. But www.nzrealitytv.com has dug deep and discovered that it is registered to Charman Consulting Ltd of Botany/Golflands, and the named owners/employees are Alan Charman, his wife Rhonda Charman and Dave McClure.

“This seems to be an eclectic business which boasts a recruitment business, personal loan referrals, accommodation for the rugby world cup, psychological profiling and charity,” says he website. Eclectic, it adds, could also be interpreted as “people who dabble in anything they think they can make a buck from”.

The Charman Group says it is committed to helping people “in circumstances less fortunate than ours” and the companies in the Charman Group “sponsor young Kenyan children, to ensure that they have access to water, education, medicine and food”.

A laudable ambition. But then it then offers “details of children currently being sponsored”.

“Yep, it’s blank,” says www.nzrealitytv.com. “Apparently they were too busy with the gee gees. Another black mark for their credibility.”

Finally, showing much more level-headedness than the sceptical challengers, the reality TV website concludes:

“We do agree that it would be interesting to watch the Sensing Murder psychics operate under controlled conditions. Although the producers state that the process was laid bare to self-professed sceptic Nigel Latta, it can only be an objective test of the psychic’s abilities if the independent observer sets the environment and conditions.

“Perhaps next time a police officer could conduct the test without telling the producer or camera crew the name of the individual or the crime being investigated?”

As for the people behind “Immortality” it says: “A sceptic might wonder whether [they] have a spare $2 million to splash around. We say show us the money!”

It’s a timely reminder that the challenges issued by sceptics are seldom what they claim to be. Which is why neither the Sensing Murder mediums nor any other psychics are likely to respond

The Riddle You And I By Five For Fighting

love this new song called the riddle [you and i] by five for fighting this song got me thinking a lot. I listen to it a few times so far.

it has a lot of relevence to what we discuss on here the big questions like why are we here? is there life after death? does god exist? is there free will?.


The Riddle (you And I)

There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summers
But before he died, I asked him

Wait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, come over me

He said,

"Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see... You will see."

Then he said,

"Here's a riddle for you
Find the answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I..."

Picked up my kid from school today
Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me

He said,

"Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child seems to know this song
So play with me, come play with me"

And hey dad
Here's a riddle for you
Find the answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

I said,

"Son for all I've told you
When you get right down to the
Reason for the world...
Who am I?"

There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see

He said... You're looking for a place I love you free...

The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is high over me
Something comes over me

I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you free
I love you freely

Here's a riddle for you
Find the answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...


This part of the song strikes me the most

There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see

Ms. Briteny Spears, The Backstreet Boys And The Spice Girls Back On The Music Scene

Oh boy she's back honestly I don't mind her singing at least some of her songs. Her debut song is Gimme More here album is coming out in November. It makes you wonder though how long this will last? I mean she may go back a date another guy or maybe Justin Timberlake who knows at this point only tell will tell.

Another used to be popular but not somemuch so is the Backstreet Boys now down to 4 members with there new song inconsolable. By the way there new album it's going to be released on October 30th.

Another used to be popular is the Spice Girls who have announced there reunion as well.

TALES OF THE OUIJA

TALES OF THE OUIJA

Using a Ouija board is one way to try to communicate with the dead, as this article tells.

Mystifying and sometimes terrifying experiences
THE OUIJA BOARD continues to be a source of fascination, experimentation and concern among paranormal researchers and the general population. Our article on The Ouija Debate drew responses from readers who related their own experiences with the "talking board." Most of the stories were of a negative or frightening nature. (To be fair, however, people who have had a benign or neutral experience with the board would be less likely to respond.)

Rasputin's Ghost

Those who experiment with the board often claim to contact spirits, some of who divulge their names. The identity of these spirits is usually impossible to verify. Once in a while, a spirit claims to be a well-known or historical figure – or even the devil himself.

Such was John M.'s experience.

"When I was about 11 or 12 years old in the late 1960s," John says, "I had a friend who claimed that he had a Ouija board where sometimes the planchette [the board's heart-shaped indicator] would move about on its own if he left the board out at night. Naturally, I was skeptical, having never seen a Ouija board that did much of anything. As kind of a joke, I told him to bring it over one summer afternoon and we'd try it. Sure enough, as we started asking it questions, the planchette would move about very rapidly and provide answers, or sometimes it would just point to yes or no. Since the movement was so fast for the pressure I was applying to the planchette, I was convinced my friend was moving it himself, but every time I asked, he denied it. Nevertheless, we were having fun and continued to ask questions.

"At some point I finally asked, "Who are you?" and the board spelled out S-A-T-A-N. I just looked at my friend and laughed, now even more convinced that he was the one doing the spelling. So then I asked, "What's your last name?" and the board spelled out R-A-S-P-U-T-I-N, which meant nothing to me, but I wrote it down. After we were done, I looked up Rasputin in the encyclopedia and was stunned to see that a man by that name lived in late 19th century Russia, and was feared because of his supposed occult powers. Knowing my friend, his age, and his level of intellect, I became convinced right then and there that the Ouija was for real and that my friend had not spelled that name out."

Even if the Ouija is capable of contacting the spirit world, is it likely that the spirit of Rasputin would speak to two teenage American boys? Or was some other entity just playing a scary trick?

The Ouija Strikes Back

On rare occasions, use of the Ouija has triggered physical manifestations and psychokinetic activity. Darryl D. claims that he and his friends were assaulted by something during a Ouija session.

"When I was about 14 or 15 years old, I had a Ouija," Darryl says. "My friends and I would gather in a basement at my friend Doug's house. We would turn the lights off, light some candles and sit around an old table that was in the house when his grandpa lived there. (His grandpa committed suicide in the kitchen.)

"One night when we where using the Ouija, a gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew out all of the candles.

"Another time, some girls came over to Doug's house and we started using the Ouija. We started to see strange shadows walking around the basement... and then it happened: the candles went out and we all heard this horrible scream. After we got the lights turned on, we noticed that one of the girls, who was sitting on a couch watching us, had blood coming from the back of her neck. The necklace she was wearing had been ripped from her neck and was laying on the floor about 10 feet from where she was sitting. She had two small charms on it; we found one inside of a small crawlspace under the stairs and the other was outside laying on the concrete in front of the back door. I have not used this Ouija since this happened."

I think anyone who experienced this would also put the Ouija safely away.

If, as it is claimed by some, that the Ouija can contact beings from unknown planes of existence, couldn't they perhaps give us information about winning the lottery or some other lucky numbers? Undoubtedly, this has been attempted many times. Clift S. says he tried it.

"Back in 1969, I was living in Tacoma, Washington, managing an apartment house," Clift tells us. "One night I used the Ouija board to see what I could find out. I didn't know what spirit I would get, if any. After awhile, it started to move, so I asked who it was, and the pointer spelled out DAD. It scared me.

"I never messed with it again until 1971 when my brother came to Tacoma to live. I was betting on horse races, so his daughter, who had a Ouija board, suggested we should see if we could find out the numbers of the horses who would win the first two races at Portland Meadows racetrack. So my niece and I used the Ouija, and it said the numbers would be 2 and 6 in the first two races.

"My brother, his wife, my niece and I drove to Portland to play these numbers in the daily double. Well, the horses came in 6 and 2 in the first two races – just the reverse of what the board said.

"I don't know if my niece has the board anymore, but I do believe you shouldn't use the board because it will either cause you harm... or make you do foolish things like we did."

The Ouija gave Clift the right answers, but not in a way that was useful to him. Was this the act of a prankster spirit?

Ouija Answer

The board isn't always a prankster. There are many cases in which the Ouija provides real, verifiable information that is not known by the participants. Andrea's experience is a compelling one.

"Two friends and I were talking about Ouija boards, and whether or not we believed in them. The two friends were firm believers in the board and its powers, but I was skeptical. Having a Ouija board myself, yet never using it, I decided to bring it to our next gathering and give it a try.

"At my friend's apartment we turned down the lights, lit a candle and went to work. Within a minute the planchette started to move. One friend asked if there was a spirit that wished to communicate with us. The planchette went to the word YES. Starting to think there was something to this, I had a question for this spirit. I had a brother my family lost touch with over two years ago. I asked if the ghost knew where he was. It answered YES. It spelled out quite clearly a street name in British Columbia, Canada.

"After finishing our session with the board and thanking the spirit, I searched the Net and found out there was one listing for this street in B.C. within the Fraser Valley, between Vancouver and the U.S. boarder. Upon searching the city's phone book listings under my brother's last name – there he was, plain as day. Having a very unusual last name, I knew it was him instantly. I tried the number, and it was his voice on the other line! I was stunned.

"Maybe there is something to Ouija. I don't know. The two friends knew I had a brother, but never met him. They also did not know my maiden name in order 'fix' the board's answer. I have no explanation except that I guess spirits do exist."

The reason many paranormal investigators advise against using the Ouija is that they believe it can open doors to realms that should remain closed. Ken M.'s cousin and friends learned this lesson the hard way.

"This happened on a hot August night in 1971 in the town of Lodi, California," says Ken. "Some people are more successful at conjuring up spirits than others with a Ouija board. Carol, my cousin who swears by the story, had quite a history of contacting both benevolent and malevolent spirits.

"On this particular night, Carol and her friend were at Carol's house with their boyfriends. Soon after they began, the planchette took on a life of its own and told them there was a robbery in progress at a nearby McDonalds. Everyone was quite skeptical.

Then the Ouija went on to describe the vehicle driven by the culprits: a station wagon, and that it was urgent. "Help, please help!" it spelled out.

"The men decided that the situation was too good to pass up, and just before they left, they told the women to not open any doors except for them. They drove off leaving the women with one shotgun and a box of shells. As their headlights pulled out of the driveway, Carol and her friend were terrified by a loud growling noise coming from the back door. Terrified, they braved enough energy to venture back to the door and were greeted by a loud scratching noise. As soon as they heard this, they scrambled back to where the shotgun lay and pumped shells into the chamber.

"As they got the shot gun loaded, a knock was heard at the door. Carol pulled the drape back and was relieved to find her boyfriend and his friend standing there. Full of terror, they let them in. They told the men what they had just encountered and what they had just heard at the back door. Still skeptical, the men went to the back door to investigate.

"They found the door was shut but when they opened it, they found long deep scratches along the door frame. Carol told me that she and her friend threw away the Ouija board that night."

Did the Ouija give false information just to get the men out of the house so it could terrorize the women? Scarier still, what would the women have encountered had they opened that back door?

The Jena 6

Recently there has been lot of talk about the Jena 6 six black students one of them assaulted a one student now however before that there was the white tree incident.


The "white tree" incident

At Jena High School, about 10% of enrolled students are African Americans and more than 85% are white. Early reporting asserted that students of different races seldom sat together, although this has been disputed.[6] According to early reports, black students typically sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large tree, referred to as the "white tree" or "prep tree", in the center of the school courtyard.[5] On September 22, 2007, however, the AP reported that the "white tree" was no such thing, and that according to teachers and administrators at the school, students of all races had sat under it at one time or another.[6]

During a school assembly on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman student asked permission from the principal to sit under the "white tree".[7] According to the recounting of events given by U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, a Bush appointee who is himself black,[8], the question was posed in a "jocular fashion".[9] The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted."[7] The freshman and his friends then sat under the tree.[10]

The following morning, nooses (reports differ whether there were three[5] or two[6]) were discovered hanging from the tree. It has been reported that Jena's principal learned that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion, that the board of education overruled his recommendation, and that Superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed with the overruling. It was initially reported that the punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.[5][11] According to the Associated Press, however, the three students were isolated at an alternative school for a month, and then spent two weeks on in-school suspension.[6]

The school superintendent was quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat against anybody."[12] Black residents of Jena claim that this decision stoked racial tensions that led to subsequent events.[11] However, a black teacher described seeing both white and black students "playing with [the nooses], pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them."[6]

According to U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, the FBI agents who investigated the incident, as well as federal officials who examined it, found that it "had all the markings of a hate crime." However, it wasn't prosecuted because it failed to meet federal standards required for the teens to be certified as adults.[13]

In late July 2007, U.S. Attorney Donald Washington noted that of the more than 40 statements taken regarding the assault, none mentioned the noose incident.[9] LaSalle Parish District Attorney J. Reed Walters stated there was no linkage between the noose incident and the beating. "When this case was brought to me and during our investigation and during the trial, there was no such linkage ever suggested. This compact story line has only been suggested after the fact."[13]

So should one of the boys get charged for assault? Yes i think so.

Of course there many more incidents involving the Jena six could it be racial backlash? I think it could well be.

Minnesota men find travel niche in haunted places

Minnesota men find travel niche in haunted places





Matt Erickson stepped into the third-floor motel room with several other wary travelers just before midnight. Some turned on digital recorders to capture "electronic voice phenomena," known to aficionados as EVPs. Others snapped photos, seeking the fleeting image of a spirit.

Erickson's throat began to constrict. "I started coughing and choking, but as soon as I left the room, it stopped," he said. "Then I found out a guy had committed suicide in the room by cutting his own throat."

Strangely enough, that was exactly the kind of thrill Erickson hoped for during his vacation in Warwick, R.I., last December. The carpenter from Thief River Falls had joined 85 people from around the country for the unusual weekend, which was organized by two Twin Cities men who have staked a claim on a heretofore unexploited travel niche: Group ghost hunting.

Dave Schrader of Circle Pines and Tim Dennis of Burnsville are leading groups as large as 220 people on trips to haunted hotels, spooky cruise ships and, this year, an abandoned prison.

Their booming paranormal vacation business didn't happen in a vacuum. In the past three years, TV lineups have become rich in supernatural offerings. At the moment, at least a dozen shows serve up ghosts, hauntings and mediums in one form or another.

It was against this backdrop that Schrader and Dennis started their online weekly radio show in January 2006.

In the span of a year, weekly two-hour broadcasts of "Darkness Radio" made them celebrities among fanciers of otherworldly mystery. The show features interviews with the stars of the TV shows, along with demonologists, mediums and authors.



The locations include the Queen Mary cruise liner, docked in Long Beach, California ; the La Quinta Inn in Warwick, R.I., reputedly haunted by former guests who committed suicide there; and the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., famous as the setting of "The Shining." Travelers pay between $180 and $250 to attend the weekend events, not including transportation or lodging. Schrader and Dennis pay TV celebrities and paranormal experts to give talks and join in on nightly ghost hunts. So far they've run four trips and have four more scheduled in 2007. Trips to haunted castles in England and a former insane asylum in Kentucky are in the works.

"We've been blown away by the numbers," said Schrader. "For the first trip to the Stanley last year we sold out in three weeks: 220 tickets. We have 240 paid already for the next one."

The success has led Schrader, 39, to close his small marketing firm to focus on Darkness Radio and the travel business. Dennis, 36, works as the operations manager for the Davidson Media Group, which owns two radio stations in the Twin Cities. Dennis produces the show, which streams live from 10 to midnight on Sunday nights at www.darknessradio.com.

Schrader and Dennis said they have had experiences that make them curious about what happens to people after they die and that make them open to the idea of hauntings.

"I count myself as a skeptical believer," Schrader said. "But not every bump in the night is a ghost; sometimes it's just the pipes knocking."

A lot of other Americans share the Darkness Radio perspective: The most recent Gallup Poll to examine the issue (June 2005) reported that 37 percent of Americans believe in haunted houses; 16 percent are unsure. and 46 percent don't believe in them.

That so many Americans are believers isn't surprising to Jason Hawes, costar of Sci Fi's reality show "The Ghost Hunters." Hawes is a star attraction on many of Darkness Radio's trips.

"There's always been an interest in the paranormal, but it wasn't always something people talked about," he said. "All these shows have given people permission to admit their experiences and talk about them."

Those who have taken the vacations aren't shy about sharing their stories.

Tracy Petsuch, a property manager from Coon Rapids, took one of the trips to the Stanley Hotel. She collected an EVP (and played it for a reporter; behind a lot of static, a ghostly voice seems to be saying "call me dead man"). She also heard footsteps running up to her hotel room door. When she opened it, no one was there. "I just say it's fun," she said. "I can't blame someone else for not believing because nothing happened to them."

Matt Erickson, the carpenter who went to Rhode Island, said the best moments of the trip were sharing meals and downtime with the celebrities from "The Ghost Hunters" and "Darkness Radio."They're all real down-to-earth guys," he said.