Seeing in the Dark
Credit: cliff1066tm. Patient TN was, by his own account, completely blind. Two consecutive strokes had destroyed the visual cortex of his brain, and consequently, his ability to see. It is not uncommon for stroke patients to suffer brain damage, but the case of TN — referenced by his initials, the general practice in such studies — was peculiar.
Spontaneous combustion death cases: What IS the truth?
By Peter Hough Updated: 14:44 GMT, 30 September 2011 When firemen were called to 76-year-old Irishman Michael Flaherty’s home in the middle of the night last December, the sight that greeted them could have leapt from the pages of a Victorian murder mystery. Mr Flaherty’s body had been burned away to little more than a pile of ashes. Apart from the floor below him and ceiling above, the room was not damaged. There were no signs of foul play or anything that could have caused the ignition. Mr Flaherty was lying on his back in the living room with his head near an empty fireplace, but firemen found no sign of accelerants such as petrol and there was no evidence of anyone having entered or left the scene.
Chaos Theory for Beginners; An Introduction
Life finds a way beauty of the unpredictable and display it in the most awesome patterns. Nature, when looked upon with the right kind of eyes, presents herself as one of the most fabulous works of art ever wrought. What is Chaos Theory?
The Book of Wishes
People on our planet, ages 9 to 90, describe in their own words their most intimate wishes and dreams. The Book of Wishes © Cliff Pickover. Do not copy this document. Note: I am currently seeking to publish this book for broad public consumption with a popular publisher.
Spontaneous Human Combustion
People can catch on fire... but can it really happen when there is no external source of ignition? By Brian Dunning, Skeptoid Podcast Episode 258, May 17, 2011 Today we're going to point our skeptical eye at one of the mainstays of the paranormal: spontaneous human combustion (SHC). The idea is that people can, while simply minding their own business, burst into flames, with no external source of ignition.
The Document Which Was Formerly Called The MIT Guide to Lockpicking
An interesting new lockpicking technique has been making its way around the internet. This technique uses 'bump keys' to open locks in a similar fashion to lockpicking guns but without requiring specialized hardware. You can read about bump keys in this document, and see a news report about them here. --- Presenting ---(drumroll please) I am told that the university which has its' name associated with this document would prefer not to. Fine.
Brain Waves Surge Moments Before Death
A study of seven terminally ill patients found identical surges in brain activity moments before death, providing what may be physiological evidence of "out of body" experiences reported by people who survive near-death ordeals. Doctors at George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates recorded brain activity of people dying from critical illnesses, such as cancer or heart attacks. Moments before death, the patients experienced a burst in brain wave activity, with the spikes occurring at the same time before death and at comparable intensity and duration. Writing in the October issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine, the doctors theorize that the brain surges may be tied to widely reported near-death experiences which typically involve spiritual or religious attributes. At first, doctors thought the electrical surges picked up by electroencephalographs were caused by other machines or cell phones in the rooms of dying patients, lead author Lakhmir Chawla told Discovery News.
'First Irish case' of death by spontaneous combustion
23 September 2011Last updated at 22:12 Dr McLoughlin said he had attempted to find an explanation A man who burned to death in his home died as a result of spontaneous combustion, an Irish coroner has ruled. West Galway coroner Dr Ciaran McLoughlin said it was the first time in 25 years of investigating deaths that he had recorded such a verdict.
Self-organization
Figure 1: Snow Crystal. In the beginning of quantum mechanics and statistical physics it was believed that a crystalline structure can be calculated by determining the minimum of the free energy. This may be true, e.g. for ionic crystals, such as sodium chloride, or metals. In this case, the Schrödinger equation for the ground state or possibly low lying states must be solved. In general, this requires the solution of a many particle problem.
Irishman died of spontaneous human combustion, coroner claims
By Benjamin RadfordLife'sLittleMysteries.com Can people suddenly and inexplicably explode into a ball of fire? It sounds like something in a horror film, but some people believe it happens.
Does spontaneous human combustion exist?
A character in Charles Dickens' Bleak House burns to death without any apparent reason. Human spontaneous combustion is a belief which has been around for centuries but does it really exist? Viewers following Andrew Davies's adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House on BBC One have just seen the dreadful moment when alcoholic Krook - played sinisterly by Johnny Vegas - finds his gin warming his stomach more than usual, and suddenly bursts into flames. As his charred remains are found, Dickens lets the awful scene unfold: "Here is a small burnt patch of flooring; here is the tinder from a little bundle of burnt paper, but not so light as usual, seeming to be steeped in something; and here is - is it the cinder of a small charred and broken log of wood sprinkled with white ashes, or is it coal? Oh, horror, he IS here!"
