How Easily We are Fooled.

Namaste Jesus said:
I think you just hit the nail on the head there old son! The divine intervention was not in the second emergency team showing up in time, but rather the Priest giving her the resolve to hang on until they did. Well done.
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You two are a mutual admiration society! Each always compliments the other on their insights. Guess you two think very much alike, eh?
 
Devils' Advocate said:
Wanted to add that it is certainly a possibility that the actions of the priest gave the woman fortitude to hang on just a bit longer. It is equally possible he had a calming effect that made no difference to the woman's ability to hang on. No way to know on that one.
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Actually the author Peter Levine, who has written several books on how trauma is stored in the body as well as the brain, relates how a caring presence can help trauma from setting in after an emergency. As a sufferer of CPTSD, having a calm presence nearby when I'm in a flashback can be so very helpful. In this sense, it is the God within, or so I like to believe, that is present through and as the other person. Sometimes, if you are very lucky you get to be the one who offers the glass of water, grateful for the opportunity provided by the man who thirsts.
 
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Devils' Advocate said:
You two are a mutual admiration society! Each always compliments the other on their insights. Guess you two think very much alike, eh?
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Just known each other for a long time and I have a great deal of respect for the man. He's always been there for me when I needed it most. Contrary to popular belief though, we don't agree on everything. This thread for instance. I had assumed the second emergency team showing up had something to do with the Priest's actions, while Aussie actually agreed with you that they would have shown up whether or no. I see now that his assessment is most likely correct and that the miracle was in the Priest showing up when he did to assure the woman's survival until the second vehicle arrived.
Devils' Advocate said:
No way to know on that one.
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Especially if you keep denying the number 4 when trying figure out the sum of 2+2!;)
 
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Devils' Advocate said:
You two are a mutual admiration society! Each always compliments the other on their insights.
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o_OIs that a problem for you mate?
Namaste Jesus said:
I see now that his assessment is most likely correct and that the miracle was in the Priest showing up when he did to assure the woman's survival until the second vehicle arrived.
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Thanks for the flowers, but I'm not saying you're wrong or anything. I was just adding something else to consider. I'm quite sure it was no coincidence that 2nd, better equipped squad was available to heed the call.
 
Devils' Advocate said:
You two are a mutual admiration society! Each always compliments the other on their insights. Guess you two think very much alike, eh?
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How dare you point this out!? Don't you know how offensive you come across when you point of when people are friendly to each other? For shame!
 
Devils' Advocate said:
I know! I get called out on the damnedest things.
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That's bound to happen when addressing people of differing cultures and perspectives. Innocent comments don't always appear that way and even a simple request for clarification can be misconstrued when expressed in an unfamiliar vernacular. Such is the case here I think.
 
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OK, to get back on track ...

Devils' Advocate said:
This is a cautionary tale about how easily humans can be fooled into thinking something miraculous has happened.
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Agreed.

Emergency workers were trying to extricate a woman trapped in a horribly mangled car and despaired of being able to get her out. The head rescue officer told the policeman at the scene "I don't think we can remove this girl". This was along a stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere with nothing but empty fields in every direction. All traffic was halted both ways on the highway a mile away from the accident.
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OK, but what about the traffic that was there before the police closed the road?

And the story does seem angled towards the 'spooky' event, which the rescue chief seems to think it is.

Then a priest mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and offered to pray with the victim, who he anointed with oil.
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Why mysteriously? A kid got knocked down by a car when I was at a set of lights. I was next top the third car back. In the second was a paramedic who got his bag off the back seat ... another miracle, or maybe just a lucky coincidence?

And according to his own account, the priest asked the police if he could enter the cordon. And he drove up and parked quite close by, so not a very effective two-mile cordon, was it?

You have to factor this against:
How many crashes are there?
And how often is there a priest at the scene?
How often, among those scenes, can it be said that the priest made a significant contribution to saving a life, other than offering comfort, which is a powerful medicine in itself, but not miraculous?
How often, among those scenes, does the victim die?
Now, if there's a significant numbers cropping up, then you've got something spooky going on.

How often do rescue services save someone, in really difficult conditions?
How often is a priest there to offer comfort, and the comforted dies?

Whilst the final team turned up 'just in time', we really don't know how long the trapped victim might have survived. And how many times has the final team turned up, just too late?

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The mystery man is an archetype — the Lone Ranger, the Fugitive — and on this occasion, because the priest did not seek publicity, and no-one thought to ask the police who the priest was (he had given his name), he 'vanished' as quietly as he 'appeared'.

So I have to back DA's claim — there was no mystery, and nor has any 'coincidence' been proved — we are just too ready to claim miracle where none has taken place.
 
Thomas said:
And the story does seem angled towards the 'spooky' event, which the rescue chief seems to think it is.
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My Numero Uno complaint when it comes to modern so called 'news' reporting. Gotta get that catchy angle in there or the story won't sell as well and the station won't get the ad dollars it wants. This is true of virtually all modern news media, though television news media is the absolute worst. Internet is close behind. They have an extra incentive to jump the gun as they want bragging rights on 'being first' to break the news. Doesn't leave much time for bothersome stuff like fact checking.
 
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Thomas said:
And according to his own account, the priest asked the police if he could enter the cordon. And he drove up and parked quite close by, so not a very effective two-mile cordon, was it?
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Well I guess he was stopped like every one else at the two mile cordon, only he told the officer controlling the traffic that he was a priest and would like to go help and was passed through.

The salient point here, though, is that we only know of this part of the story because the priest chose to come forward a few days after the crash, revealing the rest of what happened from his point of view. If he had chosen not to come forward, wished to remain anonymous, whatever, the only story we would have to judge the facts on was the original 'angel miracle' angle. Where it was being stated it was literally a Miracle. A supernatural event.

This is the cautionary tale part of the thread that I thought was very important. All too often when hearing of events in the news we only have the 'facts' as presented in the story. Or indeed, when reading of tales that happened long ago. That it is dangerous to jump to extraordinary conclusions without considering logical explanations which might serve just as well. Why? Because anyone who has done even a little research into the physiological aspects of the brain is quick to learn how alarmingly easily our brain can be fooled.

Worse, how easily someone else can fool our senses by distracting our attention in one direction while doing something from a different direction.

This is how professional pick pockets steal stuff off our person without our not having a clue. There are hundreds of examples of how this is done. One I remember off the top of my head is a tourist couple stopping a local and asking directions to a location. Of course the 'tourists' barely speak the language, so they pull out their map and the good samaritan is pantomiming and pointing on the map and towards streets trying to help them understand.

With the victim's attention diverted, the couple steals his wallet, his computer from a satchel slung over his shoulder, his watch and a few other things and he doesn't realize he has been scammed until they have enthusiastically thanked him and run off. To a professional this is literally child's play. And here we are talking about a completely down to earth occurrence. How much more dangerous to make assumptions when we are speaking of potential supernatural events.
 
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