Not proof of anything, but pretty neat.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/11/not-photoshopped-beam-of-light-shines-on-fallen-soldiers-miracle-dog/

Comments

[MickeyD]

There are quite a few stories about dogs in combat in the literature which, although not particularly evidential in their own right, add up to quite an impressive "bundle of sticks". Here's another recent one:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8374577/Dog-lovers-gather-for-repatriation-of-soldier-and-spaniel-from-Afghanistan.html

[Matt Rouge]

Cool!

[Ginny]

I saw that too - and loved it!

[someone]

Interesting....BTW proofs only exist in mathematics, so i am not sure any scientific theory will ever get any proof, life after death included

[MickeyD]

"someone" - Mathematics has the capacity to evaluate things for which absolute proof cannot be obtained eg.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayes'_theorem

[someone]

Interesting.

[Michael Prescott]

"proofs only exist in mathematics"

There are proofs of empirical facts, though not of scientific theories. Some theories have survived so many attempts at falsification that they seem to be effectively "proved," in the sense that it is hard to conceive of any new evidence that could overturn them. For instance, it seems unlikely that the basic tenets of quantum physics will ever be disproved, though such a possibility can't be totally ruled out.

The dog story can obviously be interpreted as coincidence combined with wishful thinking, or as a sign from the deceased or from God or the universe, or even as some kind of super-psi synchronicity. Who knows?

[Art]

I see the "dog story" as just one little piece in the big puzzle. It's not "one thing" but a whole host of things together that when you step back and view it paints such a beautiful picture. Quantum physics and the holographic universe theory fit neatly into that puzzle.

I read a book recently where the author made the statement that out of the millions of near death experiences or death bed visions if only one were real or true that would be enough to prove absolutely 100% beyond a doubt that life after death is true. It only takes one. Which is pretty much the same thing that William James said with his "one white crow" statement.

[Michael Prescott]

"if only one were real or true that would be enough to prove absolutely 100% beyond a doubt that life after death is true. It only takes one."

Technically it would prove that consciousness survived death in that case, not in all cases. And one might speculate that even in that case, consciousness would have survived only for a short time before fading out.

Of course, if the mind can persist after death just once, it enormously improves the odds of an afterlife for everyone. And if the mind can function independently of the body, there may be no good reason to think it would ever cease to function.

James' white crow argument, by the way, was that Mrs. Piper had the ability to obtain information paranormally, not that her mediumship was proof of life after death. For him, Mrs. Piper was mainly proof of ESP. He did eventually come to think that at least one of Mrs. Piper's communicators (Hodgson) was the actual spirit of the man himself, but he made the white crow statement years earlier, when he was still more inclined to a super-psi type of hypothesis.

[j9]

Michael, when teaching geometry, I also pose the question "you are on a train passing a field in which you see a black sheep standing in such way that you can see his right side. What is the most you can say about this sheep?"
It comes from an old joke:

An astronomer, a physicist and a mathematician are on a train in Scotland. The astronomer looks out of the window, sees a black sheep standing in a field, and remarks, "How odd. Scottish sheep are black." "No, no, no!" says the physicist. "Only some Scottish sheep are black." The mathematician rolls his eyes at his companions' muddled thinking and says, "In Scotland, there is at least one sheep, at least one side of which appears to be black from here."

[j9]

I tried to post a link about scientific proofs before, but I guess it got rejected.

[Juan]

Although a near-death experience or deathbed vision is real, this would not prove the afterlife, because the coincidence with reality might be a chance. But the fact is we have too many cases of near-death experiences and deathbed visions that match reality to be the result of chance. That is, a single case is not enough, but we need many to determine whether these experiences are not due to chance but to show us something of the reality.

[Ben]

Not sure about the beam, but I've been able to produce orbs with the flash on a digital camera by kicking up the dust.

j9, that's a great joke!

[Jean]

In one Leonora Piper sitting, her control indicated that around him were not just a few, but "thousands" of dogs. I would not be surprised to find them over the rainbow as they often outdo us in practically every respect.

[Dr. Flintoff]

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