Keith Augustine interview

189 Replies, 29988 Views

(2018-07-13, 06:15 AM)malf Wrote: Whilst the surgery is discussed at (interminable) length, I’ve never really seen any discussion about the point during her (presumably lengthy) recovery, at which Pam first talked about her experience and to whom. Does anyone have that (sorry if this is old ground for some of you).

As far as I know, no one has considered this important enough to reconstruct.
However, to my knowledge, nobody has suggested that Pam was simply given the verifiable information about the surgical procedure (or simply overheard people talking about it) during her recovery, if that is what you're insinuating. Not even Gerald Woerlee! That has never been a serious option for any commentator, as fas as I know. 

The case is discussed in The Self Does Not Die, Chapter 3. You might want to take a look at it.
(This post was last modified: 2018-07-13, 07:01 AM by Titus Rivas.)
(2018-07-13, 06:59 AM)Titus Rivas Wrote: As far as I know, no one has considered this important enough to reconstruct.
However, to my knowledge, nobody has suggested that Pam was simply given the verifiable information about the surgical procedure (or simply overheard people talking about it) during her recovery, if that is what you're insinuating. Not even Gerald Woerlee! That has never been a serious option for any commentator, as fas as I know. 

The case is discussed in The Self Does Not Die, Chapter 3. You might want to take a look at it.

I find this problematic. It makes the minute dissection of the surgery details laughable imo. 

Pam was in showbiz if I recall...
(2018-07-12, 11:06 PM)Titus Rivas Wrote: He also kindly replied to my requests for information, Tim, and as you can read in my review, I think this shows his underlying basic integrity. 

Nevertheless, he has disqualified himself as a reliable source of information and really will have to demonstrate that he's speaking the truth next time. Even if we believe, as I do, that he probably will not make the same mistake twice, we can't expect anyone to just assume that he has learned from it.

Thanks, Titus. It's a very good review which I read several years ago.

"Nevertheless, he has disqualified himself as a reliable source of information"

My take on it is that the way he presented the information was the problem. Apparently there was a conversation about an 'engagement' overheard (He told me this) during one of these 'procedures' but it wasn't an aneurysm. I get the feeling that he simply couldn't resist including it in some way because of how remarkable it was but because of the patient's desire to remain anonymous he couldn't publish it alone.

He may regret that now, I don't and can't know, but it wasn't a good idea.
(This post was last modified: 2018-07-13, 11:09 AM by tim.)
[-] The following 1 user Likes tim's post:
  • Titus Rivas
(2018-07-13, 07:09 AM)malf Wrote: I find this problematic. It makes the minute dissection of the surgery details laughable imo. 

Pam was in showbiz if I recall...

Frankly Malf, I'm baffled by this short and absolutely ridiculous post.

Just to be certain I'm interpreting your thoughts correctly....you want to speculate that as soon as Pam opened her eyes, the surgeons accidentally fed her
all the "information" verbally ?

And because she was a composer/arranger she was naturally predisposed to making up stories ?
This is exactly what you said about the Lloyd Rudy case, that the surgeons accidentally fed the patient the information. Well debunked, malf, you nailed it[Image: Smiley20.gif]
(This post was last modified: 2018-07-13, 11:22 AM by tim.)
[-] The following 5 users Like tim's post:
  • Valmar, Ninshub, Doug, Titus Rivas, Typoz
(2018-07-13, 07:09 AM)malf Wrote: I find this problematic. It makes the minute dissection of the surgery details laughable imo. 

Pam was in showbiz if I recall...

I agree with tim, malf. 

The debunkers have lost the debate about such cases, and it wouldn't hurt if they simply admitted that.
[-] The following 3 users Like Titus Rivas's post:
  • Valmar, tim, Doug
(2018-07-13, 11:07 AM)tim Wrote: Frankly Malf, I'm baffled by this short and absolutely ridiculous post.

Just to be certain I'm interpreting your thoughts correctly....you want to speculate that as soon as Pam opened her eyes, the surgeons accidentally fed her
all the "information" verbally ?

Recovery is rarely as neat as a moment of eye opening. And I very much doubt the surgeons were present at such a moment in any event. 

I can speculate a dozen ways small snippets of the surgery could be consciously (or even subconsciously) subsumed to the patient’s awareness. I would agree that it might seem like an unusual, unlikely scenario, but that would be in line with the comparative rarity of such anecdotes.

That is one of the reasons why these stories aren’t in the same class of evidence as a well documented AWARE hit, for example.
(2018-07-13, 09:50 PM)malf Wrote: Recovery is rarely as neat as a moment of eye opening. And I very much doubt the surgeons were present at such a moment in any event. 

I can speculate a dozen ways small snippets of the surgery could be consciously (or even subconsciously) subsumed to the patient’s awareness. I would agree that it might seem like an unusual, unlikely scenario, but that would be in line with the comparative rarity of such anecdotes.

That is one of the reasons why these stories aren’t in the same class of evidence as a well documented AWARE hit, for example.

But they are never going to be. There is no silver bullet. There is no definitive proof. There is only the comparatively rare case which grabs the attention and is then dissected because it is so controversial. The pillars of skepticism are always accusations of fabrication and/or delusion. It may be impossible to rule out either completely, in every case, and so the skeptic has the ultimate final posture of "no evidence" because of what they deem to constitute evidence. But when it is argued that such evidence would be sufficient for a court of law, for example, or for mundane scientific research, then the sceptic comes back with the other stand-by: extraordinary claims ...

Anecdotal evidence is messy. All of the Ian Stevenson - meticulously researched and collated - evidence suggesting reincarnation is anecdotal. All of the NDE stories, all of the death-bed visitations, terminal lucidity, "peak in darien" experiences too. None are scientifically testable or repeatable on demand therefore we have to rely on anecdotes. To be able to dismiss them all with a wave, citing "not evidence" is a cop-out to prejudice.
I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is what mind becomes when it has passed beyond the scale of our comprehension.
Freeman Dyson
(This post was last modified: 2018-07-13, 10:41 PM by Kamarling.)
[-] The following 4 users Like Kamarling's post:
  • Valmar, Ninshub, Typoz, Doug
Recovery is rarely as neat as a moment of eye opening. And I very much doubt the surgeons were present at such a moment in any event. 

You can doubt all you want, Malf but in this case one of the then junior surgeons, Dr Karl Greene was there when her eyes opened for the first time. And then she apparently started telling him things that she shouldn't have known. That's when he went to get his boss, Dr Spetzler.

I can speculate a dozen ways small snippets of the surgery could be consciously (or even subconsciously) subsumed to the patient’s awareness. 

Let's hear it

but that would be in line with the comparative rarity of such anecdotes.

They are rare in this procedure and that's because of the extreme level of anaesthesia that is given to remove any possibility of normal conscious awakening and remembering anything. You might like to ask yourself if confabulation to fill in the blanks is the explanation, why don't many more patients or even the majority start confabulating near death experiences ? They don't do they. But anyway, Reynolds recollections were far too specific to be confabulations.  

That is one of the reasons why these stories aren’t in the same class of evidence as a well documented AWARE hit, for example.

This story is in the same class (philosophically) as an Aware hit would be, but not technically. Obviously it wasn't an experiment to test for extra corporeal consciousness but it happened anyway. More importantly it happened under extreme conditions that no one in the Aware study would ever be subjected to.

As Dr Sabom said, if you wanted to design an experiment to test for the possibility of consciousness after death then this would be a perfect model.

Your incessant scepticism is very wearing, Malf. Your quite pathetic explanation for the Lloyd Rudy case ditto. Why do you bother ?  You're not ever going to change your mind, are you.
(This post was last modified: 2018-07-13, 11:00 PM by tim.)
[-] The following 4 users Like tim's post:
  • Titus Rivas, Valmar, Ninshub, malf
(2018-07-13, 10:54 PM)tim Wrote: Your incessant scepticism is very wearing, Malf.
Maybe wearing, but it is the sceptic case which loses credibility from such shenanigans.
[-] The following 4 users Like Typoz's post:
  • tim, Valmar, malf, Doug
(2018-07-13, 10:54 PM)tim Wrote: Recovery is rarely as neat as a moment of eye opening. And I very much doubt the surgeons were present at such a moment in any event. 

You can doubt all you want, Malf but in this case one of the then junior surgeons, Dr Karl Greene was there when her eyes opened for the first time. And then she apparently started telling him things that she shouldn't have known. That's when he went to get his boss, Dr Spetzler.

Ok I specifically asked for info like this a few posts back. Where’s the reference for this that Titus is unaware of?

  • View a Printable Version
Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)