iamthereforeithink wrote::(

Am I the only one who's not psychic here? I keep seeing a green apple with a pink leaf while I'm staring at it, but see only a blank piece of paper when I look away.

Mike_L wrote:I think that the explanation for "seeing auras" might be a simple matter of seeing an afterimage. The lens of the eye casts an image on the retina. If one stares fixedly at any stationary object, the retina's visual pigments (rhodopsin and iodopsin) are temporarily depleted in a pattern corresponding to that of the image.

Stare at this image for about a minute, then look away at a white wall or piece of paper. You will see an afterimage, but with the hues inverted (such that the apple is seen in its proper colours).

APPLRV.JPG

"Seeing an aura" requires the psychic to stare at the subject person for some time. As the "psychic's" gaze drifts a little he/she sees a simple afterimage that is interpreted in his/her credulous mind as an "aura".

Animavore wrote:
I got it checked and it was gallstones.

Kirlian made controversial claims that the image he was studying might be compared with the human aura. An experiment advanced as evidence of energy fields generated by living entities involves taking Kirlian contact photographs of a picked leaf at set periods, its gradual withering being said to correspond with a decline in the strength of the aura.

wunksta wrote:if they arent bullshitting, i would say that its a form of synesthesia and the "aura" is a projection of the viewer onto the person being viewed

Animavore wrote:A friend of mine who's into kung-fu and chi asked me if science can explain auras and then when I had no answer proceeded to bash me with the "science can't explain everything" canard.