# Headless consciousness/Conscious headlessness

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headless-consciousness-conscious-headlessness/188343>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [July 14, 2003, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headless-consciousness-conscious-headlessness/188343 "2003-07-14T11:09:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headless-consciousness-conscious-headlessness/188343/1 "2003-07-14T11:09:48Z")

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Cecil appears not to have researched this one particularly well, preferring to rely solely on his own logic in the manner of a Greek sage.  
[New Scientist](http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/article.jsp?id=lw719) deubunks the Lavoisier myth but provides plenty of other convincing historical research, while the Guardian’s [Notes & Queries](http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-8010,00.html) provides other useful commentary.

Anyone else with good head stories? (I mean head stories which are good, not stories about…oh never mind).

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**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headless-consciousness-conscious-headlessness/188343/2 "2003-07-14T11:12:34Z")

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Sorry, [link](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_221a.html) here.

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**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headless-consciousness-conscious-headlessness/188343/3 "2003-07-14T13:04:11Z")

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More apologies.

[This](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_262.html) later column forces me to eat my words.

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**Author:** ![hyjyljyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headless-consciousness-conscious-headlessness/188343/4 "2003-07-16T14:19:31Z")

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More shocking than severed heads thinking and talking is the following final paragraph from the cited later column:

“I have spoken with the author and am satisfied that the event occurred as described. One can of course never be certain about these things. Nonetheless I repent my previous skepticism.”

Here we have the eminent Mr. Adams, in his own words, actually repenting his skepticism based solely on hearsay–anecdotal, non-testable, unscientific data–albeit with the caveat that “one can of course never be sure about these things.” In other words, he simply took the guy’s word for it, based on his testimony.

Interesting. One wonders if this works with anything other than tales of severed heads being conscious and upset for 15 seconds.