What happens when we die? Physicist gives simple 'lights out' take

It’s a question that’s preoccupied humans since time immemorial, and now a physicist has given one of the simplest explanations of what happens when we die.

While it’s impossible to say with any certainty, American physicist Edwin C. May recent gave his expert opinion on the matter during an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast.

According to him, simply put, there is nothing after death.

May, who is the founder of the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, was asked what he believes happens when we die.

He replied: “Nothing.”

Speaking about human consciousness, May went on to say: “I can’t say my experience yet… I’ve done a lot of reading and most neuroscientists believe that consciousness is a outgrowth of the brain, an emergent property of the brain.

“If that is true, consciousness cannot survive burning the brain in a crematorium after your dead. It can’t do it.”

He did, however, go on to say that in the future – around 50 years from now – scientists may have a more accurate understanding.

A hospice nurse has detailed what people experience and see before they die, from her time caring for patients in their final days.

Julie McFadden (@hospicenursejulie) is a health worker from Los Angeles. She posted a TikTok video where she explained how a phenomenon called "visioning" tends to happen to patients.

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