Weird Shared Dream

[The Legend]

Last night I had a dream that I was at music concert with a group of about 15 of my friends, but the weird thing was that 14 of them had a very weak presence but 1 of them had a very powerful presence which is really hard to explain so the day after i spoke to him and he said he had a weird dream and i told him i had and as i was telling him his face just dropped, it turns out we had the same dream, could this have been coincidental or was it really a shared dream? Can no skeptics reply because it will just be really negative and annoying

[Michael]

Depending on the events leading up to the dream, it could just be a coincidence. Did yall go to a concert recently? Are you going to once soon? If no to both of those, then this dream was more than coincidence... IF both of you are telling the truth. Remember, he could be lying about the dream to trick you.... Or you could be lying... who knows.

[Specialis Sapientia]

could this have been coincidental or was it really a shared dream? Can no skeptics reply because it will just be really negative and annoying These two sentences do not go along, you can't ask if it was a coincident and then tell "skeptics" to not answer. If you don't want anyone to say it was not a shared dream, why ask then? To answer your question, it could be either of them I guess. Only you can tell, you can't ask others what it was How should they know?

[Michael]

These two sentences do not go along, you can't ask if it was a coincident and then tell "skeptics" to not answer. If you don't want anyone to say it was not a shared dream, why ask then? To answer your question, it could be either of them I guess. Only you can tell, you can't ask others what it was How should they know? Lol. I thought the same thing.

[ChaybaChayba]

Let's assume you are 18 years old. Humans have on average 3 dreams each night. That makes 18 x 365 x 3 = 20 x 350 x 3 = 21 000 dreams in your life. The chance of having that particular exact dream is 1 on 21 0000. The chance of your friend having that particular dream, if he is the same age, is again, 1 on 21 000. The chance of both of you having that particular dream together at the exact same night is 1 on 21000^2 or 1 on 400 000. Sure.. it could be coincidence.. but the odds are 1 against 400 000.

[Moloch]

Nice math, but your 1 in 400,000 assumes that all 21,000 dreams are the same for both people. If you assume there are a million different possible dreams a person could have, then the numbers are more astronomical. For me, the verification is in the details. If you remember the dream well, writing it down as soon as possible is the best way, then you should have sufficient details. If your friend can tell you some of the details that you have left out, you will have no doubt you shared this dream. Unfortunately, it may have been a few days since you had this dream, and the details will surely get fuzzy. If you ask your friend for them now, your mind might think that these were a part of your dream, even though they weren't.

[Michael]

Let's assume you are 18 years old. Humans have on average 3 dreams each night. That makes 18 x 365 x 3 = 20 x 350 x 3 = 21 000 dreams in your life. The chance of having that particular exact dream is 1 on 21 0000. The chance of your friend having that particular dream, if he is the same age, is again, 1 on 21 000. The chance of both of you having that particular dream together at the exact same night is 1 on 21000^2 or 1 on 400 000. Sure.. it could be coincidence.. but the odds are 1 against 400 000. And that is only the odds IF shared dreams are possible. ; ) plus you have to add in other things... making the odds worse.

[WakataDreamer]

It all hinges on the context. If they had recently done something similar or together that could have prompted a similar dream on that night, and if his friend is telling the truth or just messing with him. Personally I believe in shared dreaming, but am still a bit skeptical on this claim until he gives us more information (like answering the points that Michael brought up). If he gives more information, and it all points towards this being legitimate, then yes, the odds of them having such a similar dream on the same night without an external reason for it (both going to a concert earlier that day, etc) are indeed very very large. Let's wait and hear what the OP has to say, then we can decide what to think about it.

[ChaybaChayba]

Nice math, but your 1 in 400,000 assumes that all 21,000 dreams are the same for both people. If you assume there are a million different possible dreams a person could have, then the numbers are more astronomical. Indeed good point. On top of that the more variables you add to the equation, the higher the odds against coincidence. As the amount of variables to be added is infinite, the odds against coincidence are 1 against infinity. Funny isn't it, that the odds against coincidence are 1 against infinity, yet every single skeptic will use "coincidence" as an explanation, for everything. There have been done many many scientific experiments into the paranormal, all having positive results. But the people keep shouting.. it could be coincidence.