First Friday Discussion - Dreams

This month we will discuss dreams. Read any links below that seem interesting, and we'll try to group folks together who have read the same articles.

What to Expect/What to Bring

We plan to meet in the backyard, weather permitting. As usual, we will socialize for an hour before the discussion begins at 8:30. We will wrap up around 10:30 and then share what each group discussed.

Feel free to bring food to share!

Topic

1. General information about dreams: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/

2. Nightmares: Good or Bad? Tonight, we shall put this debate to rest! Bad: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353515
Good: https://interestingengineering.com/lists/5-reasons-why-nightmares-might-be-good-for-you

Are nightmares either good or bad, or are they just one feature of the experience of dreaming? We are all very different. Can anyone truly define objectively what “good sleep” is?

3. Research is being conducted to try to capture thoughts and dreams onto video. This raises a number of potential ethical issues as well as opportunities. https://news.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies/

Questions: A. Will the imaging resemble what the patient expects? “As yet, the technology can only reconstruct movie clips people have already viewed.” B. Ethical challenges: court evidence, privacy, opportunity for forgery C. How accurate and useful is a video-only dream/memory recording? D. What about the opportunities for people with brain injuries/cognitive disabilities.

4. How do our dreams surprise us? I am routinely surprised by strange and novel concepts that my dreams raise. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introspection_illusion
https://youtu.be/9gayJkIvMes?si=sRBVLkMsL2XMJJvo

Does anyone have an example of a surprising dream that defies the introspection illusion?

5. Dreams and creativity: I don’t think it’s necessary to read the whole article or study. The introduction and main findings of the study will probably be most helpful. Some of the FAQs are interesting, and if anyone is compelled to bring some up, that would be great: https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/dreams-and-creativity/

6. Animal dreams: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140425-what-do-animals-dream-about

7. Neurology and dreaming: https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/news-events/lsa-magazine/Spring-2023/dreaming-and-brain-waves.html

https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/news-events/lsa-magazine/Spring-2023/dreaming-and-brain-waves.html

8. Precognitive Dreams: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/precognitive-dreams

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/202107/the-possibility-precognition

9. Dream telepathy: https://noetic.org/blog/dream-telepathy/

10. Bonus! Share some weird or otherwise interesting dreams you’ve had!