Near death experiences, of which there seems to be no dearth, apparently
always involve intense light. Peter Sellers, for example, quoted in The Near
Death Experience, edited by Lee Bailey and Jenny Yates (Routledge, £14.99,
ISBN 0 415 91431 0) saw a hand reaching for him out of dazzling light. Half the
book is about near-dying, the other and more interesting part is discussion of
NDEs’ causes and significance, ranging from hallucination by the oxygen-starved
brain to “no-thing-ness” and the beyond.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
5
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
6
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
7
This physicist is hunting for the biggest black hole in the universe
8
Screwworm could be the first species targeted by an 'extinction drive'
9
Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater
10
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
