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Originally posted by Panky
Wouldn't that depend on how it is used? The way it was written, "The subtext here is that nearness to death gives us nearness to truth, and that on our deathbed we're visited by preternatural calm and perfect clarity.",would be a contradiction in terms if the person was afraid of death and or of dying. If the person accepted that he or she may die, or willingly wants to die, than the experience might be perceived as welcomed. The experience would be understood and accepted.
I don't know. I could've just typed complete nonsense too.
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Merriam-Webster tells us:
Main Entry: pre·ter·nat·u·ral
Pronunciation: "prE-t&r-'na-ch&-r&l, -'nach-r&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin praeter naturam beyond nature
Date: 1580
1 : existing outside of nature
2 : exceeding what is natural or regular : EXTRAORDINARY
3 : inexplicable by ordinary means; especially : PSYCHIC
I tend to favor definition 1 and 3. Def 2 is only a figure of speech, but IMO, a defective one.
If you accept that Nature Is, then, any clarity that is outside of Nature is not an attribute of life but of afterdeath, i.e. when your mind is gone poofff, lights off. It just ain't there anymore. And afterdeath is outside of nature. You can conclude on my position of afterdeath, I'm sure.
Def 2 is motivated by a strongly narrow view of what is possible and what is not, a predudice about what Man can and cannot do. If he had used the word "highly unusual", then, I wouldn't have bitched.
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LOL! True. That "tickling" of your nose happens to some people.
There's a part in that statement that is not correct, however. The "tickling" feeling occurs because you are stimulating the nerve endings of the nerves that supply the lips, maxillary anterior teeth, palate, and various facial muscles. Because the maxillary jaw bone is quite thin, there is less interference. If the upper jaw were as dense as the mandible, the vibrations would be dulled or muted all together.
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May I add that the mechanical impedence related to the bone density- the soft bristles of the electric toothbrush match is rather high, i.e. that vibrations will not transmit easily. Upper jaw being a more spongious bone stucture has a much higher rigidity to inertia ratio and thus transmits the vibration easier. But I'm speaking strictly from the standpoint of a physicist, here, not of a dental specialist as you are.
