[Des Enright]

Des Enright  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi there,

I had a dream recently and in this dream a friend of mine said some surprising things.

Of course I created his dialogue. How can I create dialogue and be genuinely surprised by it at the same time?

Cheers

Des Enright

What do you think?

[CZARCAR]

lotta answers to sci problems have come thru dreams?= its a reconfiguration of the braindata

[Madidus_Scientia]

Because you're not consciously creating the dialogue, your experience is from your point of view.

lotta answers to sci problems have come thru dreams?= its a reconfiguration of the braindata

Like what?

[CZARCAR]

Because you're not consciously creating the dialogue, your experience is from your point of view.

lotta answers to sci problems have come thru dreams?= its a reconfiguration of the braindata

Like what?

the invention of the blowup doll for a sleep partner

[imatfaal]

Didn't Kerkule claim that the ring structure of benzene came to him in a dream - never really believed it myself, sounds too pat and easy. 

And who dreams of blowup dolls??

[CliffordK]

I'm not sure about "surprise".
Certainly one can invent situations that can be terrifying. 

The question would be if you know the outcome of a story, then why should it be terrifying at all?

Perhaps it has to do with making up the story on the fly.  So, in a sense, you don't know what comes next. 

In a sense, it may be like one of those stories where a group of a half a dozen friends each contribute a sentence, then pass the baton for the next to contribute a sentence.  In the end, the story can take many unexpected twists and turns, although in a sense each successive sentence follows logically from the previous one.

One also places oneself in the dream as a key character, which then can cause oneself pleasure, pain, or fear.

I suppose with the dreams, one also essentially sets up a narrator/story teller and an observer.  I know there are periods in the morning where I am half awoken, but decide I want to see the ending of the dream, which is often a loosing proposition as one wakes up further.  It is as if the "observer" still wants to know what will happen, or perhaps just review the scenario.


As far as inventing stuff in a dream.  At least early in the night, I tend to relax and review thoughts of the day.  And, sometimes find myself wanting to write thoughts down so I don't loose them.  My morning dreams, however, seem to be less connected to reality.

[CZARCAR]

Didn't Kerkule claim that the ring structure of benzene came to him in a dream - never really believed it myself, sounds too pat and easy. 

And who dreams of blowup dolls??

terrorists call it a dream, others call it a nightmare.

[yor_on]

Ask your friend Des

[techmind]

See also http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=37890.msg347376

[CliffordK]

If you are watching an old Star Trek episode.
How can you be surprised if some character you've never seen before beams down to a planet wearing a RED SHIRT and they get killed.
Yet, if a main character beams down to the planet wearing a YELLOW SHIRT, they may be shot at, but never die.

Likewise in your favorite TV serial, the main characters can run with bullets flying in all directions around them and miraculously they are never hit, or at least never fatally wounded.

Surprise?
Should you be waiting on the edge of your seat for the inevitable?

[cheryl j]

I've also been "surprised" by events in dreams and wondered later how that was possible. I've laughed at the punchlines of jokes someone told in my dream that I don't recall ever hearing, and I've read entire pages of books, heard song lyrics, and looked at paintings in a museum in dreams.  If I had to actually create these things while awake it would take a lot more time and effort than the seconds it takes for them to appear in my dream. Are these forgotten memories? Or does my brain just give me an illusionary sense of having seen or experienced something "completely" without really filling in all the details?