-- Posted by MystiqueBeauty16 at 7:30 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 My old sixth grade Science teacher said something like that. I've always remembered it, even four years later. "If you think about how to breathe or breathing, your mind won't know what to do and you will stop breathing and die." I'm pretty sure that's not true, because I am currently thinking about how to breathe and breathing and I am not yet dead. I've done it many times before. Maybe that teacher was on something, but she seemed kind of off the mark. -- Posted by Light Assassin at 7:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 maybe if you had to (consciously) think to breathe you'd die -- Posted by jamesish at 7:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 I can actually see where shes coming from.  I think you're missing the point. -- Posted by XxRubberDuckiexX at 7:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Are you going like "Okay 1...2...3...4...5...BREATHE" If so...then... -- Posted by MystiqueBeauty16 at 7:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 I can actually see where shes coming from. I think you're missing the point. ....Could you explain the point? -- Posted by endoftheline at 7:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Maybe the how to breathe part... wrapping your mind around how to control your lungs. I don't think it's likely to happen to.. anyone.. though xD -- Posted by MystiqueBeauty16 at 7:33 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from XxRubberDuckiexX at 10:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Are you going like "Okay 1...2...3...4...5...BREATHE" If so...then... No, I'm just like, "I'm breathing....this is interesting." -- Posted by jamesish at 7:37 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 10:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 I can actually see where shes coming from.  I think you're missing the point. ....Could you explain the point? I think she was getting at the point if you had to manually control your breathing.  Breathing now is pretty much automatic.  You breathe without even really thinking about it.  Imagine the difficulty if you had to control individually every breath.  And death would be easier. -- Posted by MystiqueBeauty16 at 7:40 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:37 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 10:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 I can actually see where shes coming from. I think you're missing the point.    ....Could you explain the point? I think she was getting at the point if you had to manually control your breathing. Breathing now is pretty much automatic. You breathe without even really thinking about it. Imagine the difficulty if you had to control individually every breath. And death would be easier. Yes, but that wasn't what she was talking about. She said if we thought about breathing, as in automatic, involuntary breathing. That's why she confused me. -- Posted by jamesish at 7:41 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 10:40 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:37 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 10:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 I can actually see where shes coming from.  I think you're missing the point.   ....Could you explain the point?    I think she was getting at the point if you had to manually control your breathing.  Breathing now is pretty much automatic.  You breathe without even really thinking about it.  Imagine the difficulty if you had to control individually every breath.  And death would be easier. Yes, but that wasn't what she was talking about. She said if we thought about breathing, as in automatic, involuntary breathing. That's why she confused me. Are you sure you have the quote right? -- Posted by MystiqueBeauty16 at 7:43 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:41 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 10:40 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:37 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 10:32 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 Quote: from jamesish at 10:31 pm on Oct. 14, 2008 I can actually see where shes coming from. I think you're missing the point.       ....Could you explain the point?   I think she was getting at the point if you had to manually control your breathing. Breathing now is pretty much automatic. You breathe without even really thinking about it. Imagine the difficulty if you had to control individually every breath. And death would be easier.    Yes, but that wasn't what she was talking about. She said if we thought about breathing, as in automatic, involuntary breathing. That's why she confused me. Are you sure you have the quote right? Yea. I actually wrote it down four years ago in class when we were taking notes. -- Posted by JohnTheNormalOne at 5:25 am on Oct. 15, 2008 Ok, let's try...oh...shit...I'm dying! ...arghhh...chughhh...somebody...arghhh...call...911...!... -- Posted by Forever Angel at 5:14 pm on Oct. 15, 2008 I would bet that what she told you was more like... if breathing wasn't something that was involuntarily controlled, ie... if we had to consciously control it, we wouldn't be able to do it and we'd suffocate. -- Posted by MystiqueBeauty16 at 6:23 pm on Oct. 16, 2008 Quote: from Forever Angel at 8:14 pm on Oct. 15, 2008 I would bet that what she told you was more like... if breathing wasn't something that was involuntarily controlled, ie... if we had to consciously control it, we wouldn't be able to do it and we'd suffocate. Again, no. Please read above posts. I copied her exact words in my notes four years ago, and I am copying directly from the notes. -- Posted by Forever Angel at 9:24 pm on Oct. 16, 2008 Quote: from MystiqueBeauty16 at 8:23 pm on Oct. 16, 2008 Quote: from Forever Angel at 8:14 pm on Oct. 15, 2008 I would bet that what she told you was more like... if breathing wasn't something that was involuntarily controlled, ie... if we had to consciously control it, we wouldn't be able to do it and we'd suffocate.   Again, no. Please read above posts. I copied her exact words in my notes four years ago, and I am copying directly from the notes. If those are her exact words, she was wrong. It's a physical and mental impossibility for you to think hard enough or long enough about breathing to have any lasting effect. Your 'mind' is not the part of the brain that normally controls "autonomous" functions of your body. -- Posted by NightShadeslayer at 12:01 am on June 28, 2009 If you have to control and think about every breath, how would you be able to sleep without suffocating?