Attempting a scientific evaluation of prophecies - How can we interpret claims of having heard voices, having had visions and revelations?

Attempting a scientific evaluation of prophecies - How can we interpret claims of having heard voices, having had visions and revelations?
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I think you’ve got some interesting ideas here. What about the people who claimed to have seen things as well. Joan of Arc and Constantine made similar claims without being so much “prophets”. Food deprivation sounds like a likely candidate for some of the cases. Critics of Joseph Smith say he was a straight con man, so who’s to say he starved or was just good at faking it? (I am not saying this to pick fights with Mormons).
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