Missing Time.....

Discussion in 'Pseudoscience Archive' started by Dave, Jul 2, 1999.

  1. Dave Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    292
    Quite often witnesses to UFO phenomena seem to be unable to account for periods of time. Often several hours are missing and they can't recall it for the life of them.
    "During hypnosis" ( go easy on me!..) they recall that during that missing time they interacted with strange beings...we all know the type of accounts I refer to....
    Anyone like to put forward their view on this occurance?

    Regards,
    Dave.
     
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  3. Boris Senior Member Registered Senior Member

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    Dave: do you remember what you were doing on Sunday between 9:am and 3pm, precisely 11 weeks ago? I doubt it. Heck, I can't even remember what I was doing just a week ago at that time!

    We remember things that are really important -- but in-between those important experiences, we all have 'missing time'.

    Now granted, an encounter with aliens would probably be important enough to remember. However, it just goes to show you how unreliable our memories are. Additionally, if something happens that is too scary, confusing, or traumatic, it may even be deliberately erased by protective subsystems in the brain.

    As for hypnosis -- I take anything that comes out of it with a very big grain of salt (never forgetting to cringe at the taste.) We have no idea what kind of a state a hypnotized brain is in, or what effect hypnosis has on memory or imagination. It could well be that hypnosis is more like a directed dream, where some base memories are extrapolated into a wild fantasy, possibly utilizing some of the other memories -- from watching TV for example -- to augment the dream. The reason I propose this explanation, is because I don't think we've had reports of alien abduction until the middle of this century -- while hypnosis and hypnotic regression are far older than that. This suggests that a lot of the 'memories' people come up with under hypnosis could be a synthesis of imagery and ideas they have picked up from popular culture. Either that, or the 'aliens' began abducting people not even 50 years ago -- which would be strange indeed (unless one entertains the idea that the 'aliens' are actually covert human organizations).

    Either way, I'd be *very* skeptical of hypnotic regression as a source of evidence -- scientifically speaking, it has too many uncontrolled variables.

    ------------------
    I am; therefore I think.
     
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  5. Dave Registered Senior Member

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    Boris,
    Is there any known way ( that you may be aware of )to deliberately erase memory - if protective subsystems in the brain don't engage - from an outside source? ( e.g. Drugs, hypnosis,watching Sienfeld repeats etc.)
    Regards,
    Dave.
     
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  7. Flash Registered Senior Member

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    771
    Dave,

    Yes, there are some who have experienced
    missing time...for certain reasons...I
    do believe the accounts... ok, I am not
    saying everyone who comes forth and tells
    their story are not making it up....
    I realize that some do this..and makes it
    hard for the others who are truthful.
    For those who ARE truthful... am sure this
    would be a scary thing.
     
  8. Mike Registered Senior Member

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    68
    Last night I had a missing time experience. I had however, prior to the experience, consumed ten pints of beer. Do you think I might have been abducted by aliens during this time? If I were to under go hypnosis? Do you think I`ll find out who spent all my money? Wet my bed? and was sick on my porch?
     
  9. Dave Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    292
    So Mike,
    Unlike others you weren't driving along sober and saw a strange craft shining in a field. Then , stopping to take a look you all of a sudden realise you're driving along again and can't recall what happened or where the time went. You didn't consume alcohol before-hand and usually you are skeptical about alien spacecraft etc.

    As for your "lad's night out" episode,I'd say if you underwent hypnosis, the session would reveal that you started the night well behaved. Slowly but surely, the more alcohol you consumed the louder and less funny you became until after devouring a large pizza washed down with more booze, you were an obnoxious troublemaker that had stained his pants, lost a fight and finally blew your lunch on your front porch before collapsing in a smelly mess on your bed where you proceeded to lose control of your bladder!
    For the sake of your dignity, the Psychologist would choose you not to remember the events after coming out from the session.

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    Regards,
    Dave.
     
  10. dumaurier Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    171
    If my memory serves me correct (hic!) the famous abduction case of Barny and Betty Hill (Hampshire, USA) has some revealing items. If you recall, it was only two years after the incident that the Hills decided to do something about the physical marks on their bodies and the nightmares they were having. Both husband and wife were dreaming the same thing but didn't share it until much later, and they hadn't thought about being abducted until they underwent hypnosis. It was at the doctors office that little by little the episode was put together.

    We know that hypnosis allows us to disassociate ourselves from the sensations we feel. We also know that the mind can only focus on one thing at a time. If we focus away from a traumatic experience, for example, and onto a pleasant one, the unpleasant experience is "forgotten" or relegated to a part of memory that disconnects from the nervous system that produces sensation; the pleasant experience connects to the nervous system and so our body experiences the pleasantness. It is sort of a switching of priorities that takes place in the cortex of the brain. The neocortex in humans is much larger than in animals and this allows us the ability to reorganize signals and decide to choose some and not others. Hypnotists take advantage of this fact.

    But in the case of the above mentioned case, The Hills weren't even aware of the abduction until the hypnosis revealed it.

    Perhaps, and this is simple conjecture, assuming extraterrestrial beings did abduct someone, because they are developed enough to travel such long distances, they would have developed some sort of tool with which to zap the memory, as it were, and relegated it into that portion of the cortex that would read the experience as secondary; in other words, they have decided the priority for us! Certainly the brain did register the experience but the "zap" would relegate it to the subconscious (in which case our sleep may be disturbed).


    There was a case here in Quebec some years ago where a boy travelling along a country road on his bicycle and going to his girlfriend's place found that his girlfriend was angry when he arrived. The reason is because he arrived about two hours late from the time he said he would arrive! The story goes on to explain how the young man saw a large luminous object descending toward him and he stopped and hopped off his two wheeler. The circular-shaped object was very large and on its underbelly appeared a great luminosity that looked like an opening in which a head or two seemed to be peering down at him. The boy, in recounting this experience, remembered only that he was picking up his bike and continueing his ride to his girlfriend. It was under hypnosis that the details came out.

    Assuming what the boy saw was a genuine flying saucer with extraterrestrial humanoids come from some other planet and visiting the earth, perhaps the magnetic field or some such energy emanating from the spacecraft may have had some physiological influence on the brain chemistry affecting the cortex and resulting in a switching of priorities, as explained above.


    This is all conjecture, of course.

    ------------------
    dumaurier
     
  11. Andromeda Registered Member

    Messages:
    9
    Hear is an interesting one for you. I have experienced a period of missing time that i cannot account for. It happened 2 years ago when I was coming home late at night from work. I was driving along a reasonably bright lit street in my home town and there was no other traffic about. I suddenly became aware of my cars engine sounding queiter than normal and i began to feel a very unaesy feeling. Everything seemed unaturally quiet. This feeling lasted a good 10 minute sand I got quite scared. On reaching home I found that no one was up and after a bit I found out why. The journey home had taken me a full half hour longer than usual. I stilldon't know why a drive that normally takes me 20 minutes could have taken nearly an hour. I did not see anything unusual in the sky on my way home such as a UFO which normally (from what I know) seem to trigger such incidents. Has anybody else experienced this sort of thing? Is this a possible abduction experience or is there a mundane explanation. It was very scary.
     
  12. Xeno Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    141
    Ok guys,
    I'm probably gonna get mocked or something
    after saying this, but
    sleeping is like missing time.
    You go to sleep, wake up and find
    that a few hours have passed.
    Plus, you have no idea what's happened
    between the time you went to sleep
    and the time you woke up.

    -Dan

    Oh man, I'm probably gonna get thrashed
    after writing a dip-shit post like
    that.
     
  13. james Registered Member

    Messages:
    3
    There is allot more to Xeno's reply than one might think because in it's simplest form there is no better comparison. In the field of Psychology we like to use the terms altered states of consciousness. Hypnosis can also be said to induce an altered state of consciousness as well as various sleeping patterns and even drug induced altered states of consciousness.

    So the question regarding missing time could also be posed this way…Are we aware of an altered state of consciousness that does not permit memories to be readily available to the waking state consciousness. The answer is yes and dreams or sleep are just one of many examples.

    There appears to be a link between the UFO abductions, reported trance like states and memory loss. I understand that people can recall events when we alter their state of consciousness but that does not mean that everything recalled under hypnosis is reliable. I have always steered clear of the debate because I think it’s more important to focus on what the waking memories are. Reason is simple. If the memories are being selectively blocked than at some point one must determine what memories should not be blocked. Would it reason then that these unblocked waking memories around or during the incident have been considered by someone or something to be important to the abductee. I think so.

    It's not that I'm against exploring missing time but one must be very carefull not to confound the already obscure evidence with data that is inherently unreliable.
     
  14. kareng Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    41
    Andromeda,
    If you started home 5 or 10 minutes later than you usually do and you hit every light red and had to stop and you got a little spooked causing you to drive a little slower, we could account for about 20 extra minutes. Perhaps the clock at home was a little fast which could account for at least 5 more minutes. I doubt that anything strange happened. Did you observe any strange marks on your body during the next few days? By the way, if I stay up REALLY late I've noticed that my hearing can be affected. My ears ring slightly which seems to mask normal noise levels.

    James,
    I think the reason that some abductees remember what happened during an abduction is because of the complexity of the human brain and because of the diversity that exists within humanity. The aliens cannot account and control for all the loose ends.
     
  15. dumaurier Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    171
    What i am about to say is a true story.

    I had a female friend who used to drive to Montreal (a 60 mile route) twice a week. Let's call her Ann. She worked for the Ameri-Indian Affairs branch of our Canadian Federal Government, so she was constanly driving long distances from one Indian reserve to another and then back to the head office in the big city. One evening i asked Ann how long it took her to drive the distance to Montreal from her office in a small city 60 miles away. She answered, "i don't know."

    "What?!" i exclaimed, "you drive this distance twice a week and you DON'T KNOW?"

    "Yes," she said most casually, "I fall asleep while driving!"

    Of course, this was hard to believe.

    About two years later, i had to go into Montreal but my car had problems. Ann invited me to drive down with her. Of course, i had forgotten all about what she had told me two years earlier.

    In any case, eventually we found ourselves driving to Montreal. In the beginning we chatted a little. After about twenty minutes we fell silent. But soon i started speaking again. She didn't answer. I turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed!! I was going to talk a little louder to her when suddenly i remembered what she had told me years previously. I didn't know what to do. Should i panic? Should i budge her and wake her up? Certainly i was a little scared and apprehensive. I truly didn't know what to do. I sat there talking, calling her name, not knowing what to do at all. But all the while she maintained her hands on that steering wheel and she drove perfectly well. I stayed calm and continued talking but soon fell silent because i was really talking to myself. She slept for a good 15-20 minutes and then suddenly she opened her eyes, looked my way and said, "Gee you're awfully quiet."

    What a relief! We arrived at our destination safe and sound.

    Later i mused over the entire incident and realized that Ann had been driving this same route for over 5 years or so. Perhaps her reflexes were so accustomed to the route that she didn't have to be awake to drive? Something else took over while she slept. I can't explain this phenomena. But one thing is certain: i will never ever again get in her car to go to Montreal!!

    Now, Ann could very well talk about missing time.

    [This message has been edited by dumaurier (edited July 28, 1999).]
     
  16. Boris Senior Member Registered Senior Member

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    1,052
    You've got some nerve, man!

    If I was in that car, I'd grab the steering wheel and pull that emergency brake as soon as I realized the driver was sleeping. To sit there for 15-20 min. and hope you don't die -- not my cup of tea...

    ------------------
    I am; therefore I think.
     
  17. Dave Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    292
    DuMuarier,
    Heck, what do you say that Boris didn't?
    I used to drive interstate alot and when the other guy took his turn behind the wheel ... even the slightest dopey look in his eyes or nod of the head and I would crack him one behind the ear and yell "Wake up, idiot!".
    10 points for bravery Dum??aurier !!

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    j/k
    I see where your story fits in with what Dan was saying. However, this lady knew she fell asleep, as apposed to not being able to account for loss of time as in Andromeda's account.
    As for Kareng, sounds like a woman to me.... everything took longer than it should've, but even with the dawdling (dragging the feet ) Kareng still came up short 15 minutes!! Or spelled out , a full quarter of an hour unaccounted for. Something wierd is definitely going on, but what?

    Regards,
    Dave.

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    [This message has been edited by Dave (edited July 28, 1999).]
     
  18. kareng Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    41
    Andromeda,
    I hope you're not as confused as Dave was by my former post. (I am just as good at talking around people as Dave is.) The 20 minutes that your drive usually takes stands and then you add a 5 or 10 minute late start. Plus 20 minutes for having to stop at all the red lights and tensing up because you were frightened. Plus a clock at home that could be 5 minutes fast. That adds up to 50 minutes.
    Regards,
    Karen G.
     
  19. god Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    49
    dumaurier

    seems that you have a lot to say , maybe your friend Ann pretended to be asleep hoping you would fall silent,

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    [This message has been edited by god (edited July 30, 1999).]
     
  20. Dave Registered Senior Member

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    292
    (For the sake of Kareng)
    Andromeda,
    How many red lights did you hit on the way home? How many lights ARE there?
    This would be an easy one to answer because your occurance happened on the way home from work, the journey you make EVERY day....
    If your work clock was the reference time when you knocked off...you would have:
    a) been disciplined for leaving work early
    b) The work clock was correct and you knocked off at the correct time
    c) The work clock was slow and they owe you overtime.
    Do you normally tense up and get fightened if you get a lot of red lights on the way home from work?
    How many clocks do you have at home and how many of them tell the right time? e.g. alarm clock, microwave oven, video, watch, kitchen clock, oven clock....shall I go on....?? what about your car clock??
    Hopefully these questions would display that I prefer specifics and that I'm not "talking my way around people".

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    Regards,
    Dave.
     
  21. kareng Registered Senior Member

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    41
    Dave,
    I guess Andromeda doesn't want to discuss the above event anymore or perhaps she is busy. I hope you and her both realize that I am not making light of what she said may have happened. Something may have happened. I personally don't want anything to have happened to her on that night. Sometimes weird events have perfectly natural causes. Just so you and she know how I stand on the abduction topic, I believe it happens. It isn't a laughing matter and a person shouldn't be in a hurry to be a member of "the club." I'm not saying that you or her are in a hurry to believe that a paranormal event took place that night either.

    I want to also say that I've noticed and enjoyed a lot of intelligent conversation here and I hope that it continues.
     
  22. Dave Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    292
    Thanks fer the clarification.
    I had no idea Kareng was Karen G....
    I actually thought you were perhaps an asian uni student male ( Onehung Lo, Sum yun Guy, Kareng etc)and that's why I made the "sounds like a girl running late - crack" tee! hee! )
    Is Andromeda female as well? Geez! I'm thick at times.....

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  23. kareng Registered Senior Member

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    41
    Dave,
    No problem. You did irritate me about the women are slow comment mostly because I CAN be slow at times. I am assuming Andromeda is female because in mythology she is. So have you or someone you know experienced missing time?
     

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