Ah, that bit about being trained to ignore their body is interesting. I was not aware of that, and it answers my question pretty well.
When I experienced it it was in clear skies, so it would be rather obvious that it was happening just by looking out of the window, but apparently this can happen to inexperienced pilots in clouds.
If I remember correctly, the average lifetime of a non-instrument trained pilot in instrument only conditions is measured in seconds, because these ghosting effects are so strong.
I think my comment on the subject is near the top: to summarize, it's not as dramatic as all that. :)