normal, dead, dreaming or insane?

[damian 0]

Imagine you had an accident that put you in a coma and when you wake up you don't remember the accident and:

 

1. you can't feel anything, not even the bed you are lying on.

2. you have a sense of motion from your ears

3. you are blind, everything is black

4. you can hear

5. you can't smell

6. you are perfectly intelligent and mentally normal.

7. you can't move a muscle besides involuntary actions like breathing, heart beat etc.

8. you are fed and toileted via tubes.

9. you can't speak.

 

Do you think you would believe you were:

 

a. alive, just really fugged up

b. dead

c. dreaming

d. chronically insane

 

This has been messing with my head all week. I think I'd consider myself dead or incredibly insane.

 

The only problem with life is that it stops you from knowing so many other things.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

that sounds like how you feel after an operation Have had too many of those

 

Belive me, there were a few times in my life lying in the hospital bed and the pain was so bad I thought itd be easier if I did leave this world.

 

But I was young and now I know better. So many things to do before I die

 

To answer youre question, Ive always thought you were fugged up but Id have to go, in youre case, that youre chronically insane

[damian 0]

What if you remained that way for 6 months, not just a few days?

[Yuki's Passion 1]

I had it for 6 weeks...though not 6 months...and not to that extent though either...

 

dunno, Ill have to put some "deep thought" into it

[js 0]

Sounds like a developing foetus in the womb?

 

Therefore, in answer to your question: 'Do you think you would believe you were', (and to shite CB by answering with a question ):

 

1. Does a foetus think? (That's a difficult one - having brain waves doesn't necessarily mean cognitive powers)

2. Does a foetus have a sense of self? (ditto above)

 

I'd suggest, having the limitations you outlined, you would merely know that you're an entity inhabiting a multi dimensional space.

 

For a developed adult in that situation, being able to hear would provide some grounding, and the ability to know what was happening, but the inability to respond to stimulii would be very frustrating.

[Ocean11 0]

Can you get a boner or is that not part of the equation?

[sunrise 0]

You'd be living in an altered state. I don't think it would be like coming out of an operation.

 

There's a branch of psychology called Process Oriented Psychology (Jungian branch-off) who are able to communicate to people in coma unless they're severely brain damaged. They do this by going into the comatose person's world and mimicking any signals they give including breathing patters, any small subtle flickers, movements. The comatose person starts to become aware that someone is communiating with them because they're communicating with them on their terms, not trying to bring them into the regular world. They talk to the person as well and can often get them to a point where they can have binary (yes/no) communication with them, which could be from tiny eye blinks (eg say 2 twitches, or winks, or even the most minute hand squeeze, where 1 = yes, 1 twitch = no, or changes in breath patterns, or whatever.

 

Some then choose to return from comas and some choose not to. It's totally fascinating stuff. I have read a book on it.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Would that person actually be aware of the change thats happened or because of the shock/trauma maybe not?

[thursday 1]

isn't there better things to think about?

[Goemon 0]

Is this a description of your first 6 months in Tokyo?

[Yuki's Passion 1]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Goemon:
Is this a description of your first 6 months in Tokyo?

I think its Germany

[bushpig 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Ocean11:
Can you get a boner or is that not part of the equation?

Would suck if the answer was no and you had a hot nurse!

[daver 0]

isn't this just simple cartesian dualism?

[daver 0]

and what is an atheist like yourself doing thinking about a conscious after life?

[Goemon 0]

 Quote:

I think its Germany

Sorry, "first six months in [country X]"

[snobee 0]

OC - As I recall in John Irvings raving book "The world according to Garp" Garps father was exactly that -

 

A comatose dude with a boner - who was promptly set / sat upon by a wishful women who was duely rewarded with the Garp.

 

Also saw a movie a whiles aback about a bastard, arsehole Columbian(I think) drug lord who wantonly killed and treated the locals as less than shite.

 

But what goes aroun' comes aroun. Speeding on the jungle road. Accident. Flung out of car. Motionless. For all intents dead 'cept he can hear & see. Local villagers, find him & steal everything. As one can imagine he's quite distaught about this. He's taken to the hospital / morgue and treated as dead.

 

All the while his silent cries of distress fall on unknowing ears.

 

As he lies on the slab a local who was particularly picked on by the prik, notices a tiny tear drop from his eye. Aha - this bastards not dead yet.

 

So it's payback.

 

Final scene - autopsy on the dead guy to the background of nightmarish Please, Please, Oh NO, Oh NO ...etc.

 

Moral: Be Good.