Sep 16 2008
Not Quite Dead
As I have said before and will say again and again, “We need more words.”
A recent study reported over at ScienceDaily, World’s Largest-ever Study Of Near-Death Experiences, makes it plain and clear.
It seems that people who report having “seen the light” post-death, and then come back to life to tell about it, hadn’t really died. Why? Death is not an instantaneous phenomenon with a distinct demarcation separating it from life. Instead, it is more of a process.
“Contrary to popular perception,” Dr Parnia explains, “death is not a specific moment. It is a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working and the brain ceases functioning – a medical condition termed cardiac arrest, which from a biological viewpoint is synonymous with clinical death.
“During a cardiac arrest, all three criteria of death are present. There then follows a period of time, which may last from a few seconds to an hour or more, in which emergency medical efforts may succeed in restarting the heart and reversing the dying process.
When a person’s heart stops beating, are they dead? No. They may be well on their way to dying, but they are not yet dead. So what are they? Para-dead, near-dead, almost dead?
Funny, reporting that a person was almost dead “and saw the light,” lacks something.
It should be obvious — “undead.”
How about “mostly dead”?
The Princess Bride
I’ve got the perfect word: Moribund.