The big splash in today's science news is that two groups of European researchers, in separate experiments, have succeeded in producing experiences in human subjects that share many features with the "out-of-body experience" commonly reported by people near death, stroke victims, epileptics and acidheads.

This is not your everyday ivory-tower research that cavalierly ignores the needs of capitalists. The BBC tells us that—

The researchers say their findings could have practical applications, such as helping take video games to the next level of virtuality so the players feel as if they are actually inside the game.

Neil Osterweil reports that in one study "participants reported varied feelings of 'weirdness' or 'strangeness,' and some found the experiment irritating."

For the full-blown effect they should try reading the news.

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Tags: * extracorporeality psychology neuropsychology visual effects extra-sensory perception ESP