What's with the weird hands in LD's?

It's widely known that if you look at your hands in an LD they're usually weird looking.

I've looked at mine on occasion and there's been a few times when they're just insane looking, like my left hand's a stump with veins all over it and my right hand's got like 5 fingers and 2 thumbs.

What's this about? I've heard a theory that hands are complicated so your mind has a hard time creating them... but I don't buy that... your mind can create this whole dreamscape with perfect details all running at the same time, so I don't see how hands should be a problem.

Any theories?

Maybe it is caused by the expectation effect... you think that they are going to look weird so they do. I actually always see them exactly the same way they look in waking life.

That's also why not all reality checks are universal, the "look at your hands" reality check have never worked for me :P

I think expectation has alot to do with it. Many members say "Look at your hands to know that you're dreaming, because they'll ALWAYS be messed up looking." So that sets up a schema. But obviously, the expectation had to come from somewhere, and I think the issue there may have to do with numbers.

Quite often if I'm dreaming, numbers and letters will get jumbled up. So will numbers OF things. Like my room won't have 3 windows, it'll have 8. Or my book shelf will have 10 times as many books. I feel like it might be the same way with the hands. Like HoldOrFold said, our subCs can come up with brilliant landscapes properly, so why not a couple hands? A landscape can be gorgeous whether or not it has 10 trees or 1000. But hands are supposed to have 4 fingers and a thumb. Add to that a schema that hands always look weird, then you end up with no fingers and a veiny stump lol.

Next time you're lucid, instead of just focusing on your hands, focus on doing something with your hands, like picking up an object. Focus more on the object itself, and that'll disctract your subC from the schema and your hands will probably appear more normal. Also, a superb state of awareness in waking life and LDing alike usually conquers most of these issues. But if you're like me at all, achieving that level of awareness is an ongoing journey. :)

Interesting, thing is I had the weird hand thing during an OBE before I even read anything about it so in my case it wasn't expectation. At least the first time it wasn't.

With numbers, that sounds more plausible... but then I wonder why you don't often see people with 4 arms and 3 legs, cats with 5 legs.. etc. Or why hands on DCs are not messed up looking.

I wonder if this is somehow linked to many people reporting looking in a mirror and seeing themselves as distorted. Maybe it's less to do with processing issues in the mind and more to do with the ego construct or something.

I always assumed it had something to do with the fact that our hands and faces are something we see everyday. Because these things about us tend to remain very much the same, any derivation from normal just tends to stand out. When I see myself as distorted, I'm either under the influence of drugs, or I'm dreaming.

Although I have seen crazy nonsense hands before, the reality check can be as simple as noticing the cut you currently have on your actual hand, isn't present on your dream hand.

Another interesting topic.

Why can our minds create this beautiful landscapes with complete detail, and manage to look identical or greater than life,

but numbers and letters don't work?

It's very odd.

Also, to actually answer the question, I think that hand movement is very unique. I mean, you have 5 fingers moving around like nothing else in your body. For me, the hand check works, but for some reason I feel like it's because my hands are always in my peripheral vision. I really think that has something to do with it, for me at least.