Awestruck Astronauts: Overview Effect & Spiritual Experiences

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the "overview effect," a phenomenon described by astronauts who report having spiritual or profound experiences when viewing Earth from space. Participants explore the emotional and psychological impacts of seeing Earth from unique perspectives, such as during spacewalks or from the lunar surface.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants describe the overview effect as a spiritual experience reported by astronauts when viewing Earth from space.
  • One participant mentions having a similar experience just by viewing photographs taken by astronauts.
  • Another participant recalls a book written about the overview effect in the late 1980s, noting a lack of recent discussion on the topic.
  • Some participants speculate that cosmic rays might influence astronauts' experiences, suggesting that these rays could affect brain function and perception.
  • One participant shares a personal experience of feeling a profound sense of awe, likening it to orbiting the Earth.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the overview effect, with some agreeing on its significance while others propose alternative explanations, such as the influence of cosmic rays. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the causes and implications of these experiences.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the evidence for claims about cosmic rays and their effects on perception, as well as the subjective nature of spiritual experiences reported by astronauts.

RAD4921
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Has anyone ever heard of the "overview effect"? This is where astronauts have claimed to have had "spiritual experiences" or taken aback by the sight of the Earth from a perspective such as from the surface of the moon or spacewalks from the space shuttle.
 
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Never heard it called by that name, but I've experienced it myself just looking at the pictures those astronauts took!
 
Some one wrote a book about it in the late 80's I recall. I haven't heard much about it sense.
 
pro'lly cosmic rays hitting too many synapses- a little astro-LSD- that is what happened to Edgar Mitchell
 
pro'lly cosmic rays hitting too many synapses

Do you have any evidence to back that up?

I know it is hard to sleep in space because cosmic rays will travel through your eye lids and hit the back of your eye ball and make you see little flashes of light. I would imagine that as being pretty annoying.

As far as these profound experences in space, it make be due to cosmic rays hitting the brain, but never-the-less, you have to admit that seeing the Earth in space is a just a jaw-dropping experence.
 
RAD4921 said:
Has anyone ever heard of the "overview effect"? This is where astronauts have claimed to have had "spiritual experiences" or taken aback by the sight of the Earth from a perspective such as from the surface of the moon or spacewalks from the space shuttle.
Yes, I have heard astronauts describe a profound sense of awe when looking back at the Earth from LEO or lunar orbit, or from the moon's surface.
 
setAI said:
pro'lly cosmic rays hitting too many synapses- a little astro-LSD- that is what happened to Edgar Mitchell
I have experienced something similar to this, where a "profound experience" caused me to feel that I was orbiting the Earth!
:cool:
 

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