> It is said that death is impossible for humans to understand. We don't have a concept of 'nothingness.' We like to imagine being in some void.

I think the closest we can get pre-death is the experience of being under general anesthesia. It's not a pit, or a void, or darkness. Just a complete cessation.

(Of course, this is assuming that general anesthesia does actually cause the complete cessation of all conscious processes, and not just the formation of memory. I don't know enough to say whether we're entirely certain about that.)

I agree, general anesthesia feels like the closest thing we can experience. It's a little startling to go under, only to instantly wake up a few hours later and realize you just lost those few hours without even a trace. When you're asleep at night, you don't lose the sense of time, but under general anesthetic it's completely gone.

But I totally understand your point about how maybe it's just the amnesia part, maybe you do experience time, you just don't remember. I had the same kind of experience when I had a endoscopy, and I know that I had to be semi-conscious to participate in the procedure, but the time was completely lost to me and seemed instant, just like a general.

Definitely somewhat conscious, for me. Last time I went under, the nurses said they had to hold me down and wondered who Charlotte was, because I kept mentioning her while fighting.

Charlotte was a datacenter I was concerned about at work, pre anesthesia.

This is amazing. Did you tell them afterwards?

I didn't...but not on purpose. I was so out of it when I came to, I didn't even put two and two together. I just said I didn't know anyone named Charlotte.

It wasn't until the car ride home that someone asked me again that I was like...oh, no, Charlotte the city not the person.