How we handle very strange events in our lives

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Sir, miracles don't exist.

'Miracle' is often used in the media for an event that is physically possible, but appears exceptionally unlikely, such as recovery from, or survival of, certain severe medical problems. Oddly, it doesn't often seem to be applied to extreme coincidences.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

It's worth taking anecdotal reports of really extraordinary (e.g. seemingly inexplicable) events with a pinch of salt unless there is good supporting evidence - particularly when they are memories of more than a year or two ago. Not only are our perceptions surprisingly unreliable, but our memories are far less reliable than most people recognise. Memory isn't like a video recording, but is associative, and recall is an associative reconstruction done afresh each time - and the memory is as labile at every recall as it was when first laid down, which means that the ideas, suggestions, & emotions at the time of recall can be associated with that memory and recalled next time as part of it.

Even the so-called 'flashbulb' or 'snapshot' memories of major events that you feel you'll always remember where you were and/or what were you doing when they occurred, are unreliable. Immediately after 9/11, psychologists interviewed random samples of people in New York and elsewhere about where they were, what they were doing, what they remembered of the events, and how they felt at the time, and then asked the same questions again after a year had passed. The results showed that after 1 year, the accuracy rate for facts was only about 61% compared with 1 or 2 days after. For emotions, accuracy was about 40%, biased towards how they were feeling at the time of the interview. In other words, despite having a memory of being interviewed within days of the event, these people's personal recollections of the events had changed significantly - roughly half of their memories of where they were, what they were doing, what they saw and experienced, and how they felt at the time, were different, after only a year.

It's also been found that, contrary to what you might expect, the more often you recall and/or recount a memory, the more likely it is to change. This is only partly due to enhancements made to liven it up and make it even more interesting in the retelling.

See How Much of Your Memory is True? and Do You Remember 9/11... Are You Sure?

 

[Archaeopteryx]

It's worth taking anecdotal reports of really extraordinary (e.g. seemingly inexplicable) events with a pinch of salt unless there is good supporting evidence - particularly when they are memories of more than a year or two ago. Not only are our perceptions surprisingly unreliable, but our memories are far less reliable than most people recognise. Memory isn't like a video recording, but is associative, and recall is an associative reconstruction done afresh each time - and the memory is as labile at every recall as it was when first laid down, which means that the ideas, suggestions, & emotions at the time of recall can be associated with that memory and recalled next time as part of it.

Even the so-called 'flashbulb' or 'snapshot' memories of major events that you feel you'll always remember where you were and/or what were you doing when they occurred, are unreliable. Immediately after 9/11, psychologists interviewed random samples of people in New York and elsewhere about where they were, what they were doing, what they remembered of the events, and how they felt at the time, and then asked the same questions again after a year had passed. The results showed that after 1 year, the accuracy rate for facts was only about 61% compared with 1 or 2 days after. For emotions, accuracy was about 40%, biased towards how they were feeling at the time of the interview. In other words, despite having a memory of being interviewed within days of the event, these people's personal recollections of the events had changed significantly - roughly half of their memories of where they were, what they were doing, what they saw and experienced, and how they felt at the time, were different, after only a year.

It's also been found that, contrary to what you might expect, the more often you recall and/or recount a memory, the more likely it is to change. This is only partly due to enhancements made to liven it up and make it even more interesting in the retelling.

See How Much of Your Memory is True? and Do You Remember 9/11... Are You Sure?

Good stuff. Yes, memory is constructive, and the metaphor of a videocamera is wholly inept because it implies static playback, which is not how memory works. The reality of it is so much more fascinating than what such simple metaphors are able to convey.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

When I was much younger and more superstitious, there were many strange events that I had attributed to demonic forces. Interestingly, at the time, my parents were themselves very superstitious; they were convinced that demons were lurking behind everything bad or mysterious that happened at home. I absorbed this way of thinking and, like them, I saw demonic activities in even the most mundane daily events. It was terrifying to wake from a nightmare and to see that shadow on the wall, or that creak of a floorboard, as a sure sign of a demon ready to devour me. I was afraid to sleep, afraid to be left alone, always watching my back. Over time, for reasons that are still obscure to me, my parents lost their superstitious tendencies, and the "demons" simply vanished. From then on, the shadow on the wall was just a shadow; the creaking floorboard was just a creaking floorboard. It seems that "demons" thrive on superstition; to diminish it is to vanquish them.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Good stuff. Yes, memory is constructive, and the metaphor of a videocamera is wholly inept because it implies static playback, which is not how memory works. The reality of it is so much more fascinating than what such simple metaphors are able to convey.

Indeed. A few years ago, when I first looked into studies on memory, I started thinking seriously about some of my own cherished memories, and came to realise that a couple of them were probably of more than one occasion that had merged into a single memory; a couple of them could not have happened at all (time, place, & people just didn't match); and others were inaccurate to various degrees (checking with friends & family, those that remembered the event often recalled it slightly differently).

I think the two memories that simply couldn't have happened were recollections of memorable dreams that just sank into my memory and were realistic enough that, after a while, I just assumed they were real...

It also occurred to me that, if the ropey quality of my memories was typical of people in general, our autobiographical histories are pretty unreliable (I'm guessing celebrities who write autobiographies can check events since they became famous, but there must be lots of early stuff that can't be corroborated), and it also occurred to me that, in general, it doesn't really matter if your memories are inaccurate or even entirely false - unless there are negative implications for yourself or other people.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

It sure is...it's called a hallucination.

True. Both events were what is termed complex visual hallucinations. Also known as "seeing things".

"Complex visual hallucinations (CVH) are also referred to as formed visual hallucinations. CVHs are clear, lifelike images or scenes such as people, animals, objects, etc." (ref Wikipedia.)

 

[OldWiseGuy]

What do you mean 'weren't there?' Did it feel like a holy spirit experience or...? Just wondering

Neither had anything to do with spirituality, in fact they didn't relate to anything I can think of.

One was an object hovering over the trees, a metal frame with several large colored balls attached to it, observed as I drove down the road. Bothered by not knowing what it was I went back to look again, but it was gone.

Second event. I had driven up to my hunting grounds to snoop around. I saw a guy camped in a pine woods. Pickup truck, Coleman stove on a table, small trailer, tent, clothesline with a towel hanging on it. Guy dressed in camo woolens wearing safari type hat standing by stove. He didn't acknowledge me as I slowed down to take a closer look. Oh well. I just drove on but came back about 30 minutes later. He and his camp were gone. I wondered how he could have packed up and moved out so quickly. This bothered me. Then I walked down into the pines where he had been and saw nothing but fresh snow; no tracks at all. In fact the trees were actually too close together for "him" to have even driven in there.

So I'm now a believer in hallucinations by perfectly normal people (I am normal you know, hee hee).

 

[Deidre32]

Neither had anything to do with spirituality, in fact they didn't relate to anything I can think of.

One was an object hovering over the trees, a metal frame with several large colored balls attached to it, observed as I drove down the road. Bothered by not knowing what it was I went back to look again, but it was gone.

Second event. I had driven up to my hunting grounds to snoop around. I saw a guy camped in a pine woods. Pickup truck, Coleman stove on a table, small trailer, tent, clothesline with a towel hanging on it. Guy dressed in camo woolens wearing safari type hat standing by stove. He didn't acknowledge me as I slowed down to take a closer look. Oh well. I just drove on but came back about 30 minutes later. He and his camp were gone. I wondered how he could have packed up and moved out so quickly. This bothered me. Then I walked down into the pines where he had been and saw nothing but fresh snow; no tracks at all. In fact the trees were actually too close together for "him" to have even driven in there.

So I'm now a believer in hallucinations by perfectly normal people (I am normal you know, hee hee).

lol Hmmm...this is pretty interesting, though!

 

[OldWiseGuy]

lol Hmmm...this is pretty interesting, though!

Here's the scary thing. I don't know how many other hallucinations I might have had in my life. These are the only ones I was curious about, returned to investigate, and determined were not real. I may have seen hundreds of things that really weren't there, things, people, or events that may have effected my life in some way.

 

[Deidre32]

Here's the scary thing. I don't know how many other hallucinations I might have had in my life. These are the only ones I was curious about, returned to investigate, and determined were not real. I may have seen hundreds of things that really weren't there, things, people, or events that may have effected my life in some way.

What caused these hallucinations, do you know? Just wondering. I'm glad that you took the time to sort things out, though. Do you feel better having done so?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

What caused these hallucinations, do you know? Just wondering. I'm glad that you took the time to sort things out, though. Do you feel better having done so?

I have no idea what caused them, nor can I connect them to anything going on in my life at the time. Maybe they're similar to dreams that don't make any sense. Maybe it was my brain 'defragging'.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

When I was much younger and more superstitious, there were many strange events that I had attributed to demonic forces. Interestingly, at the time, my parents were themselves very superstitious; they were convinced that demons were lurking behind everything bad or mysterious that happened at home. I absorbed this way of thinking and, like them, I saw demonic activities in even the most mundane daily events. It was terrifying to wake from a nightmare and to see that shadow on the wall, or that creak of a floorboard, as a sure sign of a demon ready to devour me. I was afraid to sleep, afraid to be left alone, always watching my back. Over time, for reasons that are still obscure to me, my parents lost their superstitious tendencies, and the "demons" simply vanished. From then on, the shadow on the wall was just a shadow; the creaking floorboard was just a creaking floorboard. It seems that "demons" thrive on superstition; to diminish it is to vanquish them.

Lesson: What one believes has a profound impact on how such events are interpreted.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Here's the scary thing. I don't know how many other hallucinations I might have had in my life. These are the only ones I was curious about, returned to investigate, and determined were not real. I may have seen hundreds of things that really weren't there, things, people, or events that may have effected my life in some way.

Hallucinations are more common than most people assume; you might be interested in Oliver Sacks' book 'Hallucinations', which discusses and describes the hallucinations his patients (and he) have had, and explains the fairly distinct categories they tend to fall into. It's a very readable account.

 

[juvenissun]

Not sure how many of us have them but I am quite sure there is alot.
I mean STRANGE. Like when you hear a story from someone and they swear it was all real and you are stuck in a mini episode of Alien planet or whatever.
A guy I worked with gave me the old UFO abduction story and of course I figure he imagined it all.
I have told a small few people my crazy event and its resulting change in my worldview and scientific understanding. Of course nobody believed a word of it so anymore I'll just never talk about it.

So what reaction did you get when you shared this experience with someone? Did you ever convince someone that it changed everything? Or were you kicked to the curb like a puppy out in a cold dark rainstorm?

Beef up your database. Store those stories in your database. You may never use it again. But in case it becomes useful, hope you still can find it.
With that said, I am interested to hear your strange ones.

 

[juvenissun]

Actually the strangest thing that happened, not to my life but it had some effect, was the death of all those cattle and fish back 2010. It was super odd and jarring to me and at the time I was still Christian as well as was my girlfriend at the time. She and I heard about this and she told me I should "get right with Jesus now (then) because he's coming back soon." She was what I call a "Jesus freak" so it was all supernatural to her. Me however, even though I was Christian, I was still cynical so it didn't register to me as anything more than a really "strange" phenomenon. I shall look that up now.

I wonder how would you respond if the strange events were not just one or two, but a cluster and a sequence of them. One possibility is that you would take most of them as rumors until you personally see them.
I think your (ex?)girlfriend has learned how to fine tune her faith by that experience.