The science of ghosts

(members:郭哲豪、陳柏均)

(Link: The science of ghosts | Science News for Students)

Main idea

The article explains that supernatural things may not be real things, it usually is a kind of hallucination of people.

Supporting details

This article explains when people find that they wake up but can't move, it's not a ghost pressing you but sleep paralysis in science. It also explains when the senses of humans receive too little surrounding information, our brain will create more of reality. Therefore, it will lead to hallucination more than reality for us. Last, the author tells that people only remember the things on which they want to focus. And that is why some people will take what they think are "abnormal things" in supernatural directions.

Evidence

• Sleep paralysis “is like dreaming with your eyes open,” explains Baland Jalal, a neuroscientist who studied at the University of Cambridge in England.

• David Smailes, a psychologist in England at Northumbria University in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, says the brain may be more likely to impose its creations onto reality.

• Memory does not work like a video camera,” says Christopher French, a psychologist in England at the Goldsmiths University of London. He also says some people are more likely to become absorbed than others. And these people also report higher levels of paranormal beliefs including ghosts.

Connection

The reason I chose this article is that I also sometimes feel

"The Ghost Press" on me, but after reading the article I learned that what we thought was paranormal can actually be explained by science, and I also learned that the brain can affect our ability to judge.

Related Vocabulary

1.     Spooky: strange and frightening

à It was a spooky coincidence.

2.     Aura: a feeling or character that a person or place seems to have

à The woods have an aura of mystery.                                             

3.     Mythology: myths in general

à She's fascinated by the stories of classical mythology.                    

4.     Hallucination: an experience in which you see, hear, feel, or smell something that does not exist, usually because you are ill or have taken a drug

à A high temperature can cause hallucinations.

5.     Jumble: an untidy and confused mixture of things, feelings, or ideas

à He rummaged through the jumble of papers on his desk.

6.     Dart: a quick, sudden movement

à We made a dart for the exit.

7.     Misperception: a belief or opinion about something that is wrong or not accurate

à We are trying to get away from this misperception that tennis is an elitist sport.

8.     Paranormal: impossible to explain by known natural forces or by science

à This book is about people who claim to have paranormal abilities such as ESP and mind reading.

9.     Pareidolia: a situation in which someone sees a pattern or image of something that does not exist, for example, a face in a cloud

à Religious pareidolia is when the eye sees religious images in objects such as tree trunks and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Graphic organizer