Quote Originally Posted by sivason View Post
Thanks for taking the time to write that all down, I read every word. So, it seems logical that dreams should take far less processing power than waking life. That would help create the feeling that more had been experienced. There is no need to process nearly as much raw data as compared to waking life.
I'm glad you found it captivating. And yep, that's pretty much how I'm thinking at this point!

Quote Originally Posted by dutchraptor View Post
Amazing post, well done. I think I need a while to let that sink in
If your theory on perception of time is right then it certainly does seem like there is a possibility for time dilation to an extent. I'm quite inspired now to give it a try.
Thank you. If you do try it out, definitely make sure you report back either way! It would definitely help to have some subjective input on the matter. And that is part of the somewhat forgotten point of the thread anyway, haha.

Quote Originally Posted by sivason View Post
What all this allows is a framework for how it may be possable. We know that dreams take less processing of data, as most detail is left out. We know that in some states (drugged) a few moments can appear to stretch on forever. We know the brain can create an illusion of time by 'abridging' the detail.

The question becomes, given a reduced need for detail, and so on, just how much time could be squeezed into say 30 minutes? I assume that the more time (preceived) compressed the less detail available. We could blur the edge of our vision and not render anything unless we look directly at it. That can increase processing speed, but how about intellectual detail? We would (IMHO) hit a wall fairly soon on how much story content can fit within the time frame. The sense that a year passed may be attainable, and by 'abridging' the details we may be able to experience more, but how much highly processed thought can fit in there? My guess is that not much more than a single preceived day could fit into a dream, but I am basing that on total speculation.
This ^^ is the important thing to remember. Unfortunately it's hard to say very much about this without getting pretty far into speculation, but it's cool to think about. For instance, I wonder how much effort the mind exactly puts toward rending whatever it is you're focusing on versus whatever else is going on? I've seen studies that suggest that the brain is not truly capable of multi-tasking, only switching tasks quickly, so I don't think it would be too crazy to suggest that whatever it is specifically you're thinking about in the dream could be the only thing truly rendered while anything else you may "see" could be something closer to a background image. That alone seems like it could cut out a good amount of required power, and I'm sure there are other things like that going on as well.

Something I'd especially like to draw attention to though is the fact that these drug experiences are the only things we can say for sure are able to produce these kinds of experiences consistently. That's not to discount the experiences of anyone who claims to have experienced incredible time dilation in dreams, but since these drug experiences can be induced at will and we know how they work, they're going to form the basis for scientific theory here. That being said, these states that hallucinogens provide are as far as we currently know inseparable from considerable psychological alterations. You may be significantly more "aware" than you would be in a non-lucid dream, but you won't be exactly what we would call lucid by any means. Just because it's possible for these extreme states to be experienced doesn't mean that they're necessarily possible while remaining in a normal state of mind, at least through this particular medium.

Quote Originally Posted by BrandonBoss View Post
awesome post alyzarin! I have been pretty bored with this thread, but your idea has stimulated my energy for reading about it. I believe that there is time dilation (we all have felt it, whether purposeful or not) and that it must be something attained through a scientific way. If you look at it that way, then do you think that everyone might go through time at different speeds? Things like ADHD could just be people moving on different time frames. Crazy geniuses that can compute mathematical problems in less than a second might just be moving on an extremely slow time frame, not proccessing the world around them, and just processing whatever they want in their mind. Just a thought. I do not know how this would fit into your theory. I have not thought about it nearly as much as you (obviously).
I do think that, though there is one detail about what you said that I would switch! They say that there's a fine line between crazy and genius, and I don't just mean people in general say that. Researchers studying latent inhibition have suggested that that inability to filter out irrelevant information is, as I've said, what leads to conditions like schizophrenia in individuals with low IQ, but to highly creative minds in those with high IQ. It would make enough sense, right?

And thanks!

Quote Originally Posted by Sageous View Post
Great post, Alyzarin, I read it with interest... much more thorough, I must say, than some clown suggesting to just forget about time!

Of course, I still can't get to seeing substantial dilation happening, given the physical limitations of our brains. But, if you do achieve success with your well-laid plans I hope you'll share... this is one "time" I'd love to be proven wrong!
Thank you very much! And I certainly will! I've been considering all the different possible angles of this still since my last post just to see if I could maximize all the right variables to push it to the limit, and obviously I won't really be able to prove anything but I've been chasing some new ideas which I think are taking me down some interesting paths, even with their implications outside of this particular subject. I intend to post about them soon!

Quote Originally Posted by Tye View Post
Thank you for that amazing post alyzarin I loved it if you think of anything or want to add more to the discussion please do. I am beyond impressed with the amount of depth and research you did on the subject. I can't wait to see what else you find.
You're very welcome, and thank you too! I'll certainly chime in with any more thoughts as they come.

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I actually do have more to post about, but I've been meaning to get these responses done for a while and keep becoming busy or getting distracted by things and as far as I know that may continue to happen, so I'll end this post here and put those thoughts in a new one!