Dreams -- Underlying Meta Structure

[Laird]

The real question is: where does the subconscious reside?

Yes! And: can we really identify with it as "a part of us" or is it more like "something connected to us which at the same time isn't ours in a personal sense"?

For myself though: I see shots where I'm shown in the scene, and some where I'm in 1st person. I see reverse angle shots showing me and others react to something. I see wide angle and zoom. And panning shots. And even action shots where perspective changes multiple times during a shot, as if this was carefully edited.

One particular sequence from a lucid dream is amazing: I rise out of a seat in and old fashioned steam train. I fly along above the train, in and out of the smoke from the locomotive. Then I watch the train go down the tracks from a low perspective, as if I'm flying in a in a valley below, looking up and to the left. Then I fly beside the train looking away from the train at a forest, and see the accurate perspective of closer trees moving ahead relative to the farther away trees. Then I fly THROUGH the trees and feel a tingling as my body interacts with the material of the tree. 

It was all totally seamless, and real-time as I decided what to do next. 

This is one of the reasons I don't believe the brain creates this sort of dream imagery. There is simply no way the brain is powerful enough to design, create, edit, and render this stuff, in completely accurate detail, indistinguishable from "real life", all in instant reaction to choices I am constantly making. Sorry folks,,, the physical brain is just not THAT powerful.

Also please keep in mind: I was completely lucid during this experience, so I was experiencing the standard conscious alertness, interior dialog, and cognitive thinking skills, while the scene is being created and rendered.

We know because we have several thousand years of historical information, and a couple hundred years of experimental experience with what the brain can do, and nothing has ever uncovered this sort of thing.

We also have some knowledge of what amount of processing power it takes to do this sort of thing from VR development work, and we have guesses as to the processing power of the brain, which is how are able to predict when computers will exceed the brain's power.

Proof? No way.

But just a wild guess? No.

But surely the brain plays some part in dreaming.

But surely the brain plays some part in dreaming.

Why? If the brain is primarily an interface for our senses and nervous system perhaps it has no involvement whatsoever in dreaming.

Why? If the brain is primarily an interface for our senses and nervous system perhaps it has no involvement whatsoever in dreaming.

Well, as an embodied human you aren't going to be doing much dreaming without a brain. Maybe different once you cross the veil.

Why? If the brain is primarily an interface for our senses and nervous system perhaps it has no involvement whatsoever in dreaming.

The role of the brain is to make the eyeballs jiggle about?

[Laird]

The role of the brain is to make the eyeballs jiggle about?

Oh, the politically incorrect rejoinders that come to mind.

Well, as an embodied human you aren't going to be doing much dreaming without a brain. Maybe different once you cross the veil.

Just because I need my brain to keep my heart beating doesn't mean I need it to dream.

You have heard, I assume, that there are documented cases of people missing over 90 of their brain, and they didn't even know it? These are cases of Hydocephly. If not I'll find a link and send.

The role of the brain is to make the eyeballs jiggle about?

Very debatable what the role of the brain is. 

Whats the role of a TV? To house millions of movies? or to be a receiver and display mechanism of movies that are actually located somewhere else?