# Afterlife Belief Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290 "2011-08-19T06:03:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/41 "2011-08-20T22:10:37Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > As to your statement about these NDE’s being a result of brain chemicals and some such, then how do you explain [this video?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eejaq9efg7s) The woman here was brain dead for quite some time yet she had this incredibly intense, profoundly “real” experience of an afterlife (she was even able to witness and listen to the surgeons in the operating room in spite of having her ears plugged). Even the physicians in the video say that, because every measurable aspect of her body & brain indicated that she was dead, the woman should not have experienced what she went through, and the doctors have no explanation for it. How do you explain something like that? I saw an episode of BIO’s ‘I Survived.. there and back’ or something where this child who had NDE saw her mother and grandmother in waiting room and knew that her grandmother who doesn’t smoke(?) lit a cigarette and knew exactly what they said. No. I don’t have an explanation if everything said on the show and the video is true. No, I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Fatwater\_Fewl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@Fatwater\_Fewl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fatwater_Fewl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/42 "2011-08-20T22:24:07Z")
One and done. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/43 "2011-08-20T22:39:01Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > I saw an episode of BIO’s ‘I Survived.. there and back’ or something where this child who had NDE saw her mother and grandmother in waiting room and knew that her grandmother who doesn’t smoke(?) lit a cigarette and knew exactly what they said. No. I don’t have an explanation if everything said on the show and the video is true. No, I don’t. Since you and **2ManyTacos** have voted and explained your votes in posts, could the both of you(and interested others) take this continued conversation and start a new thread, perhaps in Great Debates? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/44 "2011-08-20T23:53:14Z")
Hey Guys, You won’t believe this! I just found this solid silver wizard pendant! I can’t believe my luck! ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/45 "2011-08-22T13:20:04Z")
I agree with the 80 Nothing dies it changes back to what it was before,since we are considered star stuff we return to that. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/46 "2011-08-23T12:43:27Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > Well, the problem with believing in an afterlife is that you essentially HAVE to accept that there’s a supernatural explanation for it. Simply put, if it exists, there is no way to study it because a person has to be dead in order to experience it, and we live in such a modern world that by now nearly all of life’s mysteries have already been explained scientifically. In order to accept the afterlife as being real, you have to accept that it can’t be objectively explained, and that’s where a lot of doubters probably encounter their difficulties with the concept. > > As to your statement about these NDE’s being a result of brain chemicals and some such, then how do you explain [this video?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eejaq9efg7s) The woman here was brain dead for quite some time yet she had this incredibly intense, profoundly “real” experience of an afterlife (she was even able to witness and listen to the surgeons in the operating room in spite of having her ears plugged). Even the physicians in the video say that, because every measurable aspect of her body & brain indicated that she was dead, the woman should not have experienced what she went through, and the doctors have no explanation for it. How do you explain something like that? I had what I thought was an NDE many years ago,but when I talked to my doctor’s and the nurses, they said it was just the effects of the drugs on the brain. Then a few years ago I had an experience when my heart stopped while having a test done, they told me when I was brought to, that I should see a heart doctor because of it, and I had no idea I needed resuscitation.I also had an experience after a test that even though I was alert in a room with my husband if I closed my eyes I would see beautiful scenes,if i opened my eyes they were not there, that again was the effect of the drugs wearing off. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/47 "2011-08-23T12:47:32Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > I had what I thought was an NDE many years ago,but when I talked to my doctor’s and the nurses, they said it was just the effects of the drugs on the brain. Then a few years ago I had an experience when my heart stopped while having a test done, they told me when I was brought to, that I should see a heart doctor because of it, and I had no idea I needed resuscitation.I also had an experience after a test that even though I was alert in a room with my husband if I closed my eyes I would see beautiful scenes,if i opened my eyes they were not there, that again was the effect of the drugs wearing off. As a post script, I would say the doctors made a mistake and her brain was not fully dead ,but some part of the brain was still alive. I know my brother in-law when he was dying had no blood pressure, and it lasted for some time, It was just so low that it didn’t register on the machine. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/48 "2011-08-24T01:22:53Z")
I’m spiritual but I don’t waste my time thinking about Heaven and Hell. We will all find out soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/49 "2011-08-24T01:28:01Z")
I voted for the first option, but I wish you’d included something like \*I don’t believe in life after death, and I prefer the universe that way; I’d prefer not to live forever. \*But maybe that’s just me. I’m a strange duck. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/50 "2011-08-24T02:28:50Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > I’m spiritual but I don’t waste my time thinking about Heaven and Hell. We will all find out soon enough. No we won’t. Once you’re dead you won’t find out anything. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/51 "2011-08-24T02:54:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No we won’t. > > Once you’re dead you won’t find out anything. Admittedly there’s no real evidence to support the existence of an afterlife. But I still don’t think it’s intellectually rigorous to with absolute certainty that there is none. I’d rather say, “Probably not, but we just don’t know and by definition cannot find out without dying and staying dead.” ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/52 "2011-08-24T22:27:14Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > As a post script, I would say the doctors made a mistake and her brain was not fully dead ,but some part of the brain was still alive. I know my brother in-law when he was dying had no blood pressure, and it lasted for some time, It was just so low that it didn’t register on the machine. Watch the video again. Disregarding the more existential aspects of her experience, how on Earth could she have heard EXACTLY what the physicians were saying after she was (“not fully”) brain dead and had her ears plugged with a device that was _loudly ringing_ into her ears? I’m not a doctor, no, but even the surgeons in the video (who were actually there at the time she experienced everything) have no explanation for what happened. I mean, when it comes to something like that, I have a hard time just explaining it away to the tried and true “dying brain” theory. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/53 "2011-08-24T22:35:35Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Admittedly there’s no real evidence to support the existence of an afterlife. But I still don’t think it’s intellectually rigorous to with absolute certainty that there is none. It’s trivially easy to demonstrate. I already did it in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/54 "2011-08-24T22:39:09Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > Watch the video again. > > Disregarding the more existential aspects of her experience, how on Earth could she have heard EXACTLY what the physicians were saying after she was (“not fully”) brain dead and had her ears plugged with a device that was _loudly ringing_ into her ears? > > I’m not a doctor, no, but even the surgeons in the video (who were actually there at the time she experienced everything) have no explanation for what happened. I mean, when it comes to something like that, I have a hard time just explaining it away to the tried and true “dying brain” theory. She heard them because she was there and she heard them. What’s the mystery? Not that a youtube video is exactly compelling evidence. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/55 "2011-08-24T22:46:25Z")
#1 (though I have never thought much about what will happen to my atoms - who cares?). I honestly can’t understand the value many people put on an ‘afterlife’, never could, it’s one the first things that made me question religion growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/56 "2011-08-24T22:55:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s trivially easy to demonstrate. I already did it in this thread. Are you talking about another thread? I just did a search, and you’ve only posted twice in this thread: the post I am quoting, and your reply to **2ManyTacos**. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/57 "2011-08-24T23:03:53Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Are you talking about another thread? I just did a search, and you’ve only posted twice in this thread: the post I am quoting, and your reply to **2ManyTacos**. My mistake. It was in another current afterlife thread. Specifically [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14171427&postcount=11). I’ll quote it again here: > [@Believing in an afterlife](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-an-afterlife/593719/11): > > Consciousness is an emergent property of the physical brain. When the brain dies, consciousness ends. It’s like light coming from a light bulb. If the bulb is broken, there is no more light. It doesn’t “go” anywhere, it just stops being produced. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/58 "2011-08-24T23:15:51Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > My mistake. It was in another current afterlife thread. Specifically [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14171427&postcount=11). > > I’ll quote it again here: While I agree that the most probable explanation for consciousness is that it’s an emergent feature of biochemistry, it is not proven that there is no other, aphysical component. The completely physical nature of consciousness is _probable_ – hugely probable, in fact – but not _certain_. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/59 "2011-08-24T23:34:57Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > She heard them because she was there and she heard them. What’s the mystery? Not that a youtube video is exactly compelling evidence. So she heard what the surgeons said after having the blood drained from her head & having had her ears plugged with devices that drowned out all other noise? She saw the tools that were used during her surgery in spite of them having been concealed until she measurably dead & then accurately described those instruments afterwards? Oooookaaaaay… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290/60 "2011-08-25T00:59:16Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > While I agree that the most probable explanation for consciousness is that it’s an emergent feature of biochemistry, it is not proven that there is no other, aphysical component. The completely physical nature of consciousness is _probable_ – hugely probable, in fact – but not _certain_. What part of it is insufficiently explained by biochemistry to the extent that magic is a reasonable hypothesis. Moreover, even if biology alone was not a sufficient component, it’s a _necessary_ component. If biology plus X = consciousness, then X minus biology is insufficient for consciousness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afterlife-belief-poll/593290.md?page=4)