CNN promoting garbage

[Policenaut]

So if anyone has noticed CNN on their website and on tv they have been promoting Sanjay Gupta's new book Cheating Death which covers scientific topics such as life after death and miracles. They have also been doing pieces on tv and their website about people who "died" and were revived and what they saw and felt when they were "dead". I know this is nothing new since Larry King aka the most worthless interviewer ever loves all sorts of woo but this seems different. Remember Gupta is the guy Obama wanted for Surgeon General. Gupta is a doctor who you think would take a purely scientific eye to everything. Here's their latest piece:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/16/cheating.near.death/index.html

 

[Starthinker]

Not sure what the rest was about but I watched CNN Friday morning and they interviewed a woman who had a NDE. After her whole spiel Dr. Gupta came on and said everything she experienced could be explained with brain chemistry and gave some examples. I applauded his debunking of NDE's. I haven't looked at his book or anything but are you sure he's promoting these things and not debunking them?

ETA: Gupta's rebuttal isn't even in the article you linked, I think you have the wrong idea about him. His book is described as having "medical miracles" and a "scientific look at death". To me it seems he is extolling science and reason, not the religious or NDE woo.

 

[ugot2bekidding]

When that article first appeared yesterday, the link was entitled "near death experience not imagined". (bolding mine). The article itself had a different, and opposing title. Typo?

 

[Policenaut]

Well there is a "documentary" about this supposedly airing tonight on cnn. I will watch it and see what Gupta is saying. And yes the article has changed since it was posted.

 

[DemonDawg]

Bob Schriever, co-founder of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, was refereeing a high school football game seven years ago when he went into cardiac arrest, died and was revived.

He, too, questions the dream explanation. "Why are so many people dreaming the same thing? How can so many people, and there's hundreds of thousands of people who have experienced this, how can we all be dreaming the same thing and describe the exact same thing?"

Maybe because we're all human beings and our brains all (more or less) work the same way. Plus most of us have seen and heard these very same stories.
Add a little confirmation bias and viola, a woo souffle.