• Question: Do ghosts exist?

    Asked by Jasmine Y to Anna, Hayley, Iain, Rebecca on 24 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by kitkat.
    • Photo: Iain Bethune

      Iain Bethune answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      As far as I’m aware there is no proof that ghosts (as in supernatural beings or souls of dead people) do in fact exist. Mostly supposed ghost sightings can be explained by the fact that our brains are very good – in fact too good – at finding faces or features in random data. This functionality evolved because if one of our ancestors was particularly good as spotting threats (other tribes, wild animals) creeping up on them through the trees they would be much likelier to survive and pass on their genes to their children. So our brains are now hard-wired to ‘see’ faces, people, objects even when they are really not there!

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