Medical Conditions and Unexplained Experiences of Children

I can't really speak to the quality of research because I don't spend much time reading academic papers or scientific reports. I'm inclined to think that the skeptical community just want it all to go away so they seem to look for anything that casts doubt thus claiming that the whole subject has been debunked and that proponents are indulging in wishful thinking. In that scenario, all of Stevenson's meticulous research is effectively dismissed with a hand-wave. Much the same way that most potentially paranormal evidence is dismissed.

On a more anecdotal level, I believe that many more people have stories to tell about children and their memories of things they couldn't possibly have experienced in this life. My own younger son, when he was a toddler, would talk about his other mummy. When we asked him who this other mummy was, he said the one he lived with before. When asked where his other mummy is now, he said "under the lawn" which we took to mean that she died and was buried (under the grass).

Many people I've talked to are convinced of the telepathic abilities of their pets and I've certainly been astonished at the way pets seem to know out-of-the-ordinary things are about to happen. I've seen dogs and cats go to the garden gate several minutes before the owner arrived. She was not arriving in her own car and not at her usual time. This happened on several occasions and I only noted it because I had read the Sheldrake accounts of Jaytee.

I’m not sure about the “societal pressure” argument. Actually atheism is on the decline worldwide. It’s getting increasingly more accepted to talk about these things. It’s however difficult to discuss subjective experiences in an objective manner. I think that’s contributing to putting the lid on discussions.

Well, the closer you get to academia, the stronger those pressures are. If you don't believe that, I imagine you have not actually worked in a scientific post.

David

I should point out that I'm perfectly accepting that children come into possession of information (experience) that is not their own, and I enjoyed reading Stevensons book European Cases of the Reincarnation Type. Recent Epigenetic inheritance studies seem to confirm that such a mechanism exists too. In some cases where a woman has been raped or had consensual sex with another man and kept it secret, the mechanisms that lies behind these epigenetic studies may be particularly relevant. I actually know of such a case in my own life, neither the child nor the husband know anything about it, but the husbands wife, and the biological father do know about it - these things go on - particularly before easy birth control, or in countries who do not have good access to easy birth control.

The article you linked to seemed more interested in the biological connection, rather than just the anomalous memories. It specifically mentions a different Stevenson book Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect. I thought that was a very poor book, really weak evidence presented. There were cases without photo's, evidence that had been lost and unable to be checked, and wounds clearly dissimilar, or in the wrong place. I couldn't believe that some of the cases had been thought good enough to put in the book. From memory, I don't think he was particularly convinced by the cases he presented in that book.

Epigenetics is about modifying the extent to which genes get expressed by adding small chemical groups to DNA or the histone proteins belonging to the chromosome. These chemical groups do seem to end up in the germ cells sometimes.

However, show me any evidence that memories are stored in DNA - I know of none.

David

Well, the closer you get to academia, the stronger those pressures are. If you don't believe that, I imagine you have not actually worked in a scientific post.

David

I totally believe that. I was reffering to the broader community.