So, why don't lightswitches work?

[TheWeirdnessSymposium]

(NB: I only know about this phenomenon through my own experiences with failing-switches in my FAs.) I ask this for a reason: I've been reading how difficult it is to do certain tasks (the obligatory flying, morphing objects etc.) and - when I LD hopefully some day soon - I'm hoping to kind of rationalise the impossible with the rules of science. Example: It's not a flying chair, it's a chair with four jet-packs attached. Example 2: I'm not really meeting the Beatles, it's just four good lookalikes with comprehensive knowledge of the Beatles. etc. But I'm thinking this: a lifetime's experience with lightswitches, and a little knowledge of science, has taught me that 99.9% of the time a light comes on when you flick a switch. When isn't the 99.9% lived out in a LD when it's absolutely what you expect to happen every time? And does science regularly fail in LDs and my 'scientific explanations' won't achieve what I want when I LD?

[Xaqaria]

All that will work in a lucid dream is whatever you believe will work. It is my opinion based on my own experiences that most of the reason why light switches don't work in LD's is A) because a lot of people believe that light switches don't work and tell each other that this is true and B) The light levels in dreams usually correspond relatively closely to the actual light levels around you while you sleep. If You are sleeping in a dark room, dream settings tend to be night time settings with low light (even though you can usually still see clearly). If you sleep during the day, dream settings tend to have more light.

[TheWeirdnessSymposium]

That's interesting. Perhaps it would follow that, if I wanted to have a LD about a forest environment, it would help me to have a dim green light on? I'm fairly sure I was experiencing lightswitch-failure in FAs before I even knew FA was supposed to exist (and thought I was the only one who had them!) but, as you say, the light levels probably explain that.

[Hazel]

All that will work in a lucid dream is whatever you believe will work. That's not entirely true. I once entered a lucid dream and was annoyed to find it was extremely dark. I tried to used telekinesis to make the sun rise, fully believing it would work, and failed. As a last resort, I turned on the light switch, saying to myself, "I know this isn't going to work." I was shocked when the light actually came on.

[Odd_Nonposter]

I've always heard that changing the light levels in a dream environment is difficult because it takes a lot of mental energy to change how everything looks with different lighting. Light switches work for some people. I've turned a light on in a dream before, but it was inside a cabinet. Others have changed night into day and vice versa by transforming the sun/moon into its counterpart. It's one of my dream goals, but I think that it's going to take a while.

[The Cusp]

Light switches work fine for me. Last night I was running around turning off all the lights so the Daleks wouldn't find me. I'm thinking the problem was you were focused solely on the switch, and not on the specific light you wanted to turn on. Try looking at the lightbulb you want to turn on next time you throw the switch.

[Sylph]

Haha! I've always wondered that myself. Still, what "should" or "shouldn't" happen in a dream is a very relative thing. There's no universal law dictating that one dream action is harder than another. It's all about the dreamer, not the dream. Examples? "Lightswitches will fail" - I don't even dream of lightswitches (why do people keep dreaming about them, anyway?), never had a problem with it. "Flying is hard" - I may or may not be. I have a theory that it's harder for people more "down to earth", if you will, people that are more atuned to the real world than the "world of imagination" for lack of a better term... I find it as natural as walking and have always done it, even in non-lucids. I've always heard that changing the light levels in a dream environment is difficult because it takes a lot of mental energy to change how everything looks with different lighting. Again, it depends on the dreamer. As a photographer I am very aware of light and what it does to enviroments, so it's probably a lot easier for someone like me to change light in a dream than it is for people that don't have such a perception of it. If you think changing something as light and fluid as light should be hard, how hard would it be to shape landscapes? And yet people do it. Don't get attached to ideas of what can or can't happen in a dream, Weirdness, and don't worry about having to rationalise. Dreams aren't suppose to be rational, anyway. When you finally find yourself lucid just do whatever seems like fun.

[Oneiro]

All that will work in a lucid dream is whatever you believe will work. It is my opinion based on my own experiences that most of the reason why light switches don't work in LD's is A) because a lot of people believe that light switches don't work and tell each other that this is true. That's not entirely true. You're being too polite Hazel. It's not true at all. It's an LD urban myth that LDing always conforms to the LDer's expectations. Sometimes it does, but often it doesn't. Some people state that it's a "control" thing, but I don't buy that at all. So.. would it then be an anomaly? The jury's out.

[Baron Samedi]

B) The light levels in dreams usually correspond relatively closely to the actual light levels around you while you sleep. If You are sleeping in a dark room, dream settings tend to be night time settings with low light (even though you can usually still see clearly). If you sleep during the day, dream settings tend to have more light. Interesting. I have never experienced this. When I was younger, dreams were often dim and blurry. As I get older, my dreams keep getting more vivid and clearer, with very bright colors.

[Mercen_505]

I've wondered about this significantly over the years. Looking at the brain as a machine, perhaps it has to 'render' dream scenes in a similar fashion to how our existing 3D technology does. Producing realistic lighting and shadowing can be computationally expensive compared to just throwing a few textured polys around, so perhaps this is your brain's way of saving a little juice while you are dreaming. As to the reliability (or lack thereof) of light sources, I'm without a clue. Sometimes I'll turn a light on, and it will only light the current room without affecting any adjoining locations. Light sources seem to trend toward being less effective than in real life. I've never turned on a lamp in my dream and had it light up the whole area like a 3000 watt halogen bulb!