Thread: Will Technology In The Future Allow Recordable Dreams?

Hi All, another newbie here!

I've only had one LD so far after having tried for a couple of months and even then it was a random event I think. I wasn't actually trying to become lucid on that particular night.

Now to the question, which may or may not seem dumb depending on your outlook on what is indeed possible either present day or into the future, but do you think that any technology of the future might be able to create a device that would be able to record your dreams in full clarity just as you perceive them in your dream state? That goes for normal and lucid dreams I guess.

Cool concept though I'm sure you'll agree, to have your own wildest dreams re-playable at any time you wish and to study in great detail to see where you might have become lucid in a normal dream if only you'd have performed a RC at the right time

I've got another idea here after reading about someone being able to become lucid after they went to bed holding a particular object, lets say a rubber ball or something similar etc. Now lets try a similar technique, but this time instead or holding a ball, replace it with a USB memory stick ( you can see where I'm going now, lol ) and every time you become lucid you say to yourself " All the images, sounds and experiences of my dreams will be recorded to the memory stick in Mpeg format" and then see what happens come morning time

I'll buy a beer to the first person to do it and uploads it to youtube

I think you will like this thread: http://dreamviews.com/community/showthread.php?t=69867
Also, welcome to DV and I don't think a USB can catch those waves and then record them lol

Thanks for the warm welcome walms. I must admit I did a quick search around the forums first before posting but never saw that topic at all. Sorry if it seems like a double-topic now.

I believe they already have something that does this. Let's see, what was it called...oh yeah, pencil and paper.

Sorry, I had to say that haha.

There will be no recording technology like a brain scanner that can record and replay dreams. That is because technology is made of physical matter within the physical world. Dreams are no part of that world. The brain may reflect some aspects of dreaming, but that is merely a feedback, not the source.

I think that someday, we may be able to intercept what our eyes think they are seeing. This technology will develop out of the need to properly diagnose blindness (or something).

I think that, in the future, anything will definitely be possible. But we're are talking about the distant, distant future my friend. If we're lucky, they'll have at least a prototype of what you're talking about when we are at the end of our lives, if we are lucky, that is. You have to remember, we know just as less about the brain as we do the Universe, so making a machine that acts on our brain is not likely to be made anytime soon; we'll definitely have to discover/unlock all the secrets of the brain first before we even began thinking about devices like this. I mean we're talking about nano technology here. Even still, after it were to be produced, there would probably be a 10 to 15 year delay in production b/c scientists would be studying the effects (long term and short term) that it would have on the brain.

But yeah, I like the way you think. Ive always thought about how awesome a device like this would be, but I know that the reality of it being manufactured is far from today.

EDIT: So until then, we'll just have to use nature's technology a.k.a. the Old Noodle.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

There will be no recording technology like a brain scanner that can record and replay dreams. That is because technology is made of physical matter within the physical world. Dreams are no part of that world. The brain may reflect some aspects of dreaming, but that is merely a feedback, not the source.

But surely,
A brain is physical matter in the physical world.
Everything we are is physical matter in the physical world.
A thought, is a kind of waveform in physical matter (to put it in a very simple analogy).

Its a mistake to think that just because something isn't a solid physical item you can hold in your hand, that it isn't of the physical world.
The internet or software, for example, exists, but it is not something you can physically hold. To say it is non-physical is incorrect.

However, to record and replay dreams, I think would be very tricky.
Although, perhaps that would depend on the mode of playback as to the level of difficulty.
A dream, a thought, is data, is information. The information exists as a pattern, or waveform (which when it comes down to the basics is just an arrangement of physical matter), it wouldn't be particually hard to record the data, but the intepretation of the data is the problem. If however you could simply play the data back on the original hardware (your brain) you could record dreams, but perhaps never share them.
The main obstacle is that the data in a brain, is in a closed system, its not designed to be shared. It is interpreted and stored by its own set of rules. Rules that may not be universal to each brain.

Very interesting concept though.
I personally hope i don't live to see the day. Mental privacy is something that I do not wish to give up, regardless of the benifits it may provide.
Sure it would allow new realms of knowing others, it would probably destroy lonliness forever. But it would probably come at the cost of the human race eventually becoming one giant hive mind.
If minds can be decoded and information shared, then it is only a matter of time before an "internet of minds" is created, and at that point the indivdual ceases to exist.

On a more mundane perspective. Thought crimes would probably come into existence. And as lovelly as we all think we are, we all know that there are some dark and twisted thougths that pass through even the most sane and caring minds.

I hope it stays sci-fi for my lifespan.




EDIT: having thought about the idea more. I think you'd need the following:
Very high resolution brain scanning.
Very high powered computers able to run neural network modeling to the same quality as a human mind.

Once both were available, you'd be able to create a duplicate copy of your brain, allowing for scientists to learn a great deal more about how the mind functions. This would open up research in all areas of the mind. Dream reproduction would be probably low on the list of prioritys. Of course, it would be the birth of Artificial Intelligence to the level of human intelligence too if such devices existed.

since our brain/thoughts run on electricity, then it murt be possible to convert the pulses to binary, therefore a computor would understand the thoughts, and it would just take a program to show an image on the screen, of course, a still image would be the first step, but what i dont know is how they would get the information from our brain to the computor, we cant just plug in to it. unless it could pick up the brain waves, now thats a possibility

Originally Posted by slash112

since our brain/thoughts run on electricity, then it murt be possible to convert the pulses to binary, therefore a computor would understand the thoughts, and it would just take a program to show an image on the screen, of course, a still image would be the first step, but what i dont know is how they would get the information from our brain to the computor, we cant just plug in to it. unless it could pick up the brain waves, now thats a possibility

Looking for the mind inside the brain would be like looking for a voice in the radio.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

Looking for the mind inside the brain would be like looking for a voice in the radio.

Not neccessarily, if you find the source of the voice then you'll find the radio presenter

Originally Posted by Elkfazer

Not neccessarily, if you find the source of the voice then you'll find the radio presenter

Yeah, but not in the radio.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

Yeah, but not in the radio.

Its a poetic analogy but not founded on anything.

The mind is the result of the environment it has interacted with since its birth.
The brain the canvas the painting of mind is being worked out upon.

Originally Posted by Elkfazer

do you think that any technology of the future might be able to create a device that would be able to record your dreams in full clarity just as you perceive them in your dream state?

Yes.