Something I can't explain

ptabor

Early march, 2004:
I was ascending my basement steps, and as usual at the top of the stairs I turned off the lightswitch. I took two steps and the hair on my neck stood up; i glanced back at the light switch and it physically flipped to the "on" position.

If the light had simply come on, that would be dismissed as a short circuit. However, I have no explanation for what I saw.

Someone shed some light on this, please.

matthyaouw

I'd assume something like you hadn't properly pushed the switch down, and it sprung back. I've done that a couple of times.

Ivan Seeking

The only reasonable explanation is that the switch is either defective or designed such that this can happen. I would try to duplicate the event. Try operating the switch fifty or a hundred times with the intent of partially tripping the switch. Of course you will probably kill a light bulb. Note also that if you have flourescent lights then you do not want do this.

Phobos

A vivid dream, perhaps? Like Ivan said, try to repeat it.

PIT2

Alright, here are the paranormal explanations

-ghost
-telekinesis
-alien abduction
-astral travel/OBE

Ivan Seeking

Okay, I can understand the suggestion of a ghost, but why in the world would you even suggest the rest?

Pengwuino

This was obviously a case of the bermuda triangle.

I've had lights flip back up on me because i didn't fully push it down

cronxeh

NO no nooo guys this was the butterfly in Brazil flapping its wings and the chaos and complexity it created, creating the turbulent wind current in the room and flipping the switch

Pengwuino

Bullhicky! Its the bermuda triangle!

PIT2

-telekinesis: this one is obvious too right? He moved the switch with his mind
-alien abduction: sometimes accompanied by poltergeists, but also involves missing time, which can seem like suddenly popping up in a different situation (switch suddenly being turned on)
-OBE: this one is harder, but maybe the whole thing was a dreamlike experience, purely imaginary.

Farfetched yes, but i just wanted him to know some other options.
Maybe the bermuda triangle is the best option though.

Ivan Seeking

That's a bit of a stretch based on a single event with light switch, don't you think?

RunDMC

I'm not sure how much of the event you recall, but here's some Cognitive Science that might help.

One of the things that goes awry during a stange or stressful event is our temporal perception (that is, our memory of the order in which events occurred). Lawyers sometimes manipulate this weakness in court.

Try to recall as vividly as you can the actual sequence of events. Lights, switch, hair on back of neck? Back of neck, switch, lights? If the order was the first one, it is easier to explain: You winessed a strange light switch event and in the confusion of the moment you thought you 'sensed' it first, not after.

If you are convinced you felt something BEFORE the event, well I pass it over to the ghostbuster, but remember that recollection of temporal order is not often strongly correlated with strength (or vividness) of a memory (another fact exploited by lawyers sometimes: "As a percentage, how sure are you of your recollection that the driver was seen yelling before the collision?").