shadow world -- dream realism

[seeker28]

I've noticed that when I dream things in the background or on the periphery of my attention tend to be either shadow and unusually dark or washed out like an over-exposed photo. The effect is that much of the dream world is hidden by shadows or an overabundance of light. I think this is probably because my mind can only create a limited amount of detail at one time. This shadowy or over-exposed background is a huge clue that I'm dreaming for me. Anyone else experience this?

[Euthanatos]

Dexter think this might relate: http://www.ams.org/mathmedia/archive/08-2008-media.html http://felekar.blogspot.com/2007/12/...mic-scale.html What seeker describes Dexter percieves in his dreams as well. Dexter thinks this relates to the logarithmic scale of perception versus the linear one the US educational system inundates us with as children. Dexter would like to point out the inherent relation between the logarithmic scale, fibonacci sequence, Golden ratio, and Fractals. Yes he is obsessed with these things. Kinda like Pi.

[Abra]

I think this is probably because my mind can only create a limited amount of detail at one time. Other way around, my friend. You think that your mind can only create a limited amount of detail, so you see the shadowy effect. Also, the more you think about this shadowy aspect of your dreams, the more likely it will occur in the future. By noticing this, you may or may not have an increased likelihood of having dreams with these lighting effects.

[seeker28]

Interesting idea, Abra. I'm very aware that my attention and expectations have a huge impact on my dreams, but it never occured to me that it would apply in this case, too. I'll have to do some serious thinking and see if I can get the opposite effect -- complete detail in every direction and distance!

[seeker28]

Euthanatos and Dexter thank you for the links, very interesting, although I have to admit I understood the second one much better than the first! If I understand how you were relating logarithmic thinking and geometry to my post, you were pointing out how distances become distorted, right? The way distance looks in my dreams was described very well by the logarithmic chart in the second post that showed how 2nd graders place numbers as compared to a linear number scale. Distance becomes very distorted!

[Euthanatos]

Distorted in a sense. Perhaps this happens when one trains one's mind to perceive a linear scale when one's perception naturally operates in logarimic form. In other words, one views more compressed information rather than less information per se.

[gigaschatten]

I think this is probably because my mind can only create a limited amount of detail at one time. This shadowy or over-exposed background is a huge clue that I'm dreaming for me. Anyone else experience this? Very unlikely. The mind creates what you see when awake as well - the input of the eye is very undetermined. Technical recreations of human eyes (cameras that work like the eye) suggest that about 10% of what we see is actually seen by the eye. The other 90% are made up by the mind with all detail you get. So why should the mind be unable to do the same in dreams? Second, I can not relate to this, so either my mind is much more capable than yours - which I would not claim and I could not know - or you simply have to find a better explanation.

[seeker28]

I've been working on changing my thinking about my dream world and I'm having more and more dreams that are just as detailed in the distance as they are in the waking world. Thanks!