Unexplained Solar Storm Effect?

[JacobButler]

Hello there, my name is Jake. I am by no means a scientist, but I do have many opinions on a variety of scientific topics as many of us do. I have always believed that for us to truly understand existence and human possibilities, science and spirituality (not religion) need to work together. I would consider my personal beliefs to be a cross between quantum physics and shamanism. That said, I have some videos that I would like for some one to explain to me. During the solar storm on the 9th and 10th of March I had an uncontrollable urge to spin and weave objects in my hands and fingers. The first object (and video) was a cigarette lighter. The video isn't that great in resolution, but try to see the high rpm at which the lighter is spinning. The second video is two LED lights zip tied together. After trying several different objects, I settled on three highlighters for the third video (the last from the 9th). After more than 4 hours of this, I had to sleep. The next evening I decided to see if I could incorporate a forth item. Please read the captions on each video for more descriptions. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/GhiaJake?ob=0&feature=results_main. And just to clarify, I wasn't on any drugs of any kind. I have always been around 70% ambidextrous, but during those two days both sides of my brain seemed to be in complete sync. Any thoughts on what could have caused this would be greatly appreciated.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Jake

[Turtle]

Confirmation bias

 

Confirmation bias (also called confirmatory bias, myside bias or verification bias) is a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses.[Note 1][1] People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. For example, in reading about gun control, people usually prefer sources that affirm their existing attitudes. They also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position. Biased search, interpretation and memory have been invoked to explain attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series) and illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations).

 

A series of experiments in the 1960s suggested that people are biased toward confirming their existing beliefs. Later work re-interpreted these results as a tendency to test ideas in a one-sided way, focusing on one possibility and ignoring alternatives. In certain situations, this tendency can bias people's conclusions. Explanations for the observed biases include wishful thinking and the limited human capacity to process information. Another explanation is that people show confirmation bias because they are weighing up the costs of being wrong, rather than investigating in a neutral, scientific way.

 

Confirmation biases contribute to overconfidence in personal beliefs and can maintain or strengthen beliefs in the face of contrary evidence. Poor decisions due to these biases have been found in military, political, and organizational contexts.

...

[JacobButler]

Very informative, yet I do not see how this applies to this situation. I was not trying to confirm my beliefs, or convince anyone of there validity. I was merely searching for an explanation of these events occuring on those specific days, yet at no other point before or after. Did you even watch the videos?

Confirmation bias

 

 

 

 

 

[Turtle]

Very informative, yet I do not see how this applies to this situation. I was not trying to confirm my beliefs, or convince anyone of there validity. I was merely searching for an explanation of these events occuring on those specific days, yet at no other point before or after. Did you even watch the videos?

 

of course you don't see the validity; that's part of the confirmation bias. a person convinced against their will, is of the same opinion still.

i didn't watch them yet no, not that it matters. but i will just now at a turtle's hurry.

[Turtle]

so yeah. america's got talent is looking for you.

[JacobButler]

I have been turned off from other forums in the past because of occasional members trying to start arguments and completely ignoring the base topic to promote there personal belief systems. I hope that this is not the case here. When a person asks for someone else's opinion about a topic, it is generally considered polite to stay on said topic. If you are not interested in helping me to understand an unknown physical reaction, then I would ask that you not post anything. Politeness is always a virtue. If I am misinterpreting your intentions, then I apologize.

[Turtle]

I have been turned off from other forums in the past because of occasional members trying to start arguments and completely ignoring the base topic to promote there personal belief systems. I hope that this is not the case here. When a person asks for someone else's opinion about a topic, it is generally considered polite to stay on said topic. If you are not interested in helping me to understand an unknown physical reaction, then I would ask that you not post anything. Politeness is always a virtue. If I am misinterpreting your intentions, then I apologize.

 

nope; you interpret me quite well. i gave my opinion, straight up, honest, on-topic, and informed in a polite manner.

[JacobButler]

Although I still disagree on the "on-topic" part, I do respect your honesty and opinion. So that I may possibly gain more clarity, let me rephrase the question: What effects, if any, does solar activity have on the human brain, and could it cause unexplained physical effects?

nope; you interpret me quite well. i gave my opinion, straight up, honest, on-topic, and informed in a polite manner.

[Turtle]

Although I still disagree on the "on-topic" part, I do respect your honesty and opinion. So that I may possibly gain more clarity, let me rephrase the question: What effects, if any, does solar activity have on the human brain, and could it cause unexplained physical effects?

 

google is your friend. searching "effects of solar activity on the brain" gives a plethora of results. (About 17,800,000 results (0.29 seconds)) the first few are new-age pseudo science bunk, but the first semi-legitimate looking result is on a relationship between sunspots and suicide. >> Suicide and Solar Activity linked through the Schumann Resonance Signal are you feeling like hurting yourself or others? if so, consult a mental health professional.

 

anyway, the solar eruption you mention is a separate phenomena from sunspot numbers, i.e. how many sunspots in a given period, though sunspots may be associated with CME's ( Coronal mass ejections.) CME's can & do occur independent of sunspots however. you can search more results per my google link or conduct your own search using other similar terms. in any case, i see as much dropping as dexterity in your videos and even if there were some verifiable correlation i don't see as there is anything you can do about it. maybe a tin-foil hat if you want to stop it, or hope for more if you like what you think it is doing to you. in the latter case, as i say, america's got talent is looking for you.

 

again, i'd go with the confirmation bias, shrug and say "can you beat that!?" and get on with life.

good luck. :smilingsun:

Edited April 25, 2012 by Turtle

[JacobButler]

I understand the difference between sunspots, flares, and CMEs, and I did search through many of the links you point out (although I do admit I did not read all of the millions of links) If I was feeling suicidal, or any of the other effects mentioned (pseudo scientific or legitimate) I would have mentioned that. There were two CMEs on the 6th, creating strong geomagnetic storms that weekend. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030712-X5-4.html Again, rudeness and flippant remarks do nothing but show arrogant behavioral tendancies coupled with an obvious superiority complex.

google is your friend. searching "effects of solar activity on the brain" gives a plethora of results. (About 17,800,000 results (0.29 seconds)) the first few are new-age pseudo science bunk, but the first semi-legitimate looking result is on a relationship between sunspots and suicide. >> Suicide and Solar Activity linked through the Schumann Resonance Signal are you feeling like hurting yourself or others? if so, consult a mental health professional.

 

anyway, the solar eruption you mention is a separate phenomena from sunspot numbers, i.e. how many sunspots in a given period, though sunspots may be associated with CME's ( Coronal mass ejections.) CME's can & do occur independent of sunspots however. you can search more results per my google link or conduct your own search using other similar terms. in any case, i see as much dropping as dexterity in your videos and even if there were some verifiable correlation i don't see as there is anything you can do about it. maybe a tin-foil hat if you want to stop it, or hope for more if you like what you think it is doing to you. in the latter case, as i say, america's got talent is looking for you.

 

again, i'd go with the confirmation bias, shrug and say "can you beat that!?" and get on with life.

good luck. :smilingsun:

[Turtle]

I understand the difference between sunspots, flares, and CMEs, and I did search through many of the links you point out (although I do admit I did not read all of the millions of links) If I was feeling suicidal, or any of the other effects mentioned (pseudo scientific or legitimate) I would have mentioned that. There were two CMEs on the 6th, creating strong geomagnetic storms that weekend. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030712-X5-4.html Again, rudeness and flippant remarks do nothing but show arrogant behavioral tendancies coupled with an obvious superiority complex.

 

i have little to no concern for your evaluation of my tendencies. again, you asked for an honest opinion and i gave it. if you don't smart off to me again, i won't have any reason to reply again.

[HydrogenBond]

The question I have is, did these events occur without knowledge of the solar storm or after becoming consciously aware of these events? The first would imply the unconscious mind having an awareness of that which was not conscious. This would be analogous to an animal who sense an earthquake before it happens. The second would imply your consciousness planting the suggestion into your unconscious. The processing can still be spontaneous but cause and effect is different for each scenario.

[Moontanman]

To really get a grip on this possible behavior you should have someone keep track of CME's and chart your behavior unbeknownst to you. If after amassing a few dozen data points you find a correlation then you can justify some deeper studies. But as turtle has painted out so far confirmation bias seems most likely.