Thread: Is it possible to dream a new color?

I see what you mean Slash but that isn't necessarily true. It might be but might not.

Okay well,even if we're talking about changing the sensory input in dreams...
Dreams are only made of up what you've already experienced. Even when you're doing new things in your dreams (be it LD or non LD), the senses of it are created by things we can remember feeling or imagine feeling. We can't possibly imagine what a new color looks like, because in your memory bank we have no such thing to base it off of. I know some people with highly wishful thinking will disagree cause they want absolutely everything to be possible, however even if you try to imagine a new color right now, it would only end up being just...a real life color that your brain perceives as odd or rare. Whoever said they've dreamed of a new color most likely saw a color they only saw occasionally, and don't remember seeing. Thus, it was new to them and they thought it was new in general.

And even though you (and by you, I'm too lazy to look back for the username...you'll know who you are XD) say that even though the visual spectrum isn't our limit in our dreams since its about sensory input well.... Even if you could understand different sensory input in your sleep, you wouldn't be able to create it yourself, since once again you can only have what you know... I think we're pretty much bordering on the subject of magic here, which I don't believe in, and even if you do believe in it its really hard to debate in its defense since its unfounded on anything. Your brain itself isn't equipped to actually see or process new colors. Awake or asleep, your brain is your brain and can only do what it is physically capable of. New colors is not something is has the tools for.

Originally Posted by slash112

but licity, our brain is limited to a certain amount of colours. ive been comparing the brain to a computer because its the easiest way to describe what im talking about, so ill carry on doing that. when a computer is set to 8 bit colour depth for example, if a 24 bit colour image was to come up, it wouldnt show the extra colours, just the ones within its pallet, and the closest to the other ones.
our brain would be similar, our brain is set to around about 24 bit colour depth...(hold on, psp writin limit)

Where did you hear the brain is limited to a certain amount of colors? The explanation I have always heard for human's inability to see lower than infrared and higher than ultraviolet is the inability of the rods and cones in our eyes.

Also, I notice a difference between 24-bit and 32-bit color depth. How is this possible if my brain is limited to 24?

Licity, its just an analogy. We can see colours that are the product of red green and yellow (or whatever the 3 colors are) and we see millions if not an infinite amount of colours in between. We're talking about a new colour. For example, we might see things that are product of red yellow green and wander. When wander mixes with another colour it makes a colour unimagineable. Of course if wander existed, the universe might be completely different, because if the spectrum is broader than it is (not than we know, whos to say we've found all the colours, well invisible ones anyway) everything could possibly be different. im terrible at getting the point across

i cant remember if its 24 or 32, so maybe i meant 32, but i thought it was 24.

and im not talking about seeing other things in the electromagnetic spectrum, im only talking about visible light, and if our colour depth was raised, we would see more inbetween colours (more RGB combinations), not more types of light.

p.s. i dont actually know if a brain is this similar to a computer, it just makes a lot of sense, so this is what i will believe unless you prove me wrong.

Originally Posted by Yume.no.ato

Okay well,even if we're talking about changing the sensory input in dreams...
Dreams are only made of up what you've already experienced. Even when you're doing new things in your dreams (be it LD or non LD), the senses of it are created by things we can remember feeling or imagine feeling. We can't possibly imagine what a new color looks like, because in your memory bank we have no such thing to base it off of. I know some people with highly wishful thinking will disagree cause they want absolutely everything to be possible, however even if you try to imagine a new color right now, it would only end up being just...a real life color that your brain perceives as odd or rare. Whoever said they've dreamed of a new color most likely saw a color they only saw occasionally, and don't remember seeing. Thus, it was new to them and they thought it was new in general.

And even though you (and by you, I'm too lazy to look back for the username...you'll know who you are XD) say that even though the visual spectrum isn't our limit in our dreams since its about sensory input well.... Even if you could understand different sensory input in your sleep, you wouldn't be able to create it yourself, since once again you can only have what you know... I think we're pretty much bordering on the subject of magic here, which I don't believe in, and even if you do believe in it its really hard to debate in its defense since its unfounded on anything. Your brain itself isn't equipped to actually see or process new colors. Awake or asleep, your brain is your brain and can only do what it is physically capable of. New colors is not something is has the tools for.

That is a pretty good argument, but comparing this to magic is pretty ridiculous in my opinion.

I could go either way on this one at this point but it seems at least reasonably possible that we can distort our brains to see a new color.

I'm guessing since this is a somewhat popular dream goal, and there haven't been an abundance of people claiming that they have done this. It probably is not possible to do this at least in lucid dreaming.

! People who claim they've seena new colour GENERALLY mean they've seen a colour (That is in fact in the spectrum) but they haven't seen it before in RL. I assume

Originally Posted by Licity

This is more like looking for the notes higher and lower than our ears can pick up.

Then what will these colours be based on? We can only create or imagine stuff based on what we already know, it seems to me that the colours you are suggesting are so off-base they can not be described using the traditional colours, so how would the come about?

To some extent I agree with what you're saying but find it difficult to imagine how it would work, I just can't picture it.

I'll sleep on it

Don't, you'll crush it. Our dreams are based off of real life, and I don't even think, besides the fact that we can't see beyond our spectrum, that we would be able to prove or even know if we see a new color. It's like trying to explain color to a blind man.

No its not , even if someone did, it would be impossible for anyone to know/believe them because there wouldn't be any words to describe it.

Didn't I just say that?

Originally Posted by slash112

i cant remember if its 24 or 32, so maybe i meant 32, but i thought it was 24.

and im not talking about seeing other things in the electromagnetic spectrum, im only talking about visible light, and if our colour depth was raised, we would see more inbetween colours (more RGB combinations), not more types of light.

p.s. i dont actually know if a brain is this similar to a computer, it just makes a lot of sense, so this is what i will believe unless you prove me wrong.

Ah, I was talking about seeing things outside of the "visible" spectrum. I agree that color depth going up = colors in between strict RGB being more separately definable.

Originally Posted by guitarboy

Don't, you'll crush it. Our dreams are based off of real life, and I don't even think, besides the fact that we can't see beyond our spectrum, that we would be able to prove or even know if we see a new color. It's like trying to explain color to a blind man.

We can't see beyond our spectrum. In a dream you don't use your eyes, your brain comes up with its own input. I agree that its impossible to prove to others than you have seen a new color, its impossible to prove you did ANYTHING in a dream. I think we would know for ourselves if we saw a new color, by the merit that we would be seeing a color we haven't observed yet.

but things outside the visible light part of the spectrum arent colour, they are different types of light, and that has nothing to do with the fact its invisible, they are just totally different. infact someone said this earlier (i think it was slayer) and i didnt understand at the time, i do now.

Okay so since this is all in theory, here's a theory that I have with regards to this. Somebody earlier posted about an idea that they have had about peope's interpratations of colors being possibly different (i.e. what i see as red may appear to you as blue by my own interpretive definitions of red and blue, based off of what we are taught as children). However, let me take this idea one step further. Here is my theory, which I have had for quite some time as well which is kind of an elaboration on this theory. Lets say we both look at a leaf in the middle of summer. We come to an agreement that it is green. But, maybe what appears as "green" to me, appears to you in a color which is not even possible in my waking brains interpretations of wavelengths of light.

So, with this in mind let's address this issue of seeing a new color in a dream. It is agreed that there is a finite number of wavelengths of light that our eyes can pick up and we can see in waking life. I am not arguing this. I am saying instead that the ways in which our various brains interpret these wavelengths may be entirely different. Therefore, who's to say that when I am asleep and I look at a leaf, it is not possible for it to appear to me as the "impossible" color of green? I would simply be my brain working outside of its regular way of operating, interpreting something differently than it normally would be able to.

As for people saying, "oh, you can describe it as an orang/grey, therefore it is an orange grey and already exists" is not a very compelling argument. The example of the indians calling horses dogs is a perfect example. Are horses dogs? Of course not. If you saw a thing jump out of the woods and it looked like a 7 foot tall man with green fur and a trunk, that is how you would describe it, correct? Was it a seven foot tall man with green fur and a trunk? Of course not. However, if you have never seen something before, the only way to describe it to somebody who hasn't experienced the same phenomena is through words andideas which have already been defined, whether or not they accurately convey it or not.

If this is confusing, which I have no doubt that it may be as I have never tried to verbalize this theory to anybody before, let me know. I would be glad to try and clear up any confusion.

Oh, and I guess what I am saying is that yes, I believe it would be possible to "see" a "new" color in a dream.

Of course that is JUST a theory. Whos to say its true! Although theres no way to prove whether it is or not at the moment. Otherwise everything you said there is possible.

Originally Posted by slash112

but things outside the visible light part of the spectrum arent colour, they are different types of light, and that has nothing to do with the fact its invisible, they are just totally different. infact someone said this earlier (i think it was slayer) and i didnt understand at the time, i do now.

Color is a psychological phenomenon of perception existing, arising from the physical properties of the waves of electromagnetic radiation we call light.
We are unable to see outside of the visible spectrum due to the limited variety of cones in the human eye(3, sometimes 4). If we were to gain sensory input from a different type of cone, our brain would have a new, unique wavelength to interpret and would come up with a new color to describe this.

Originally Posted by Lucid fanatic

Of course that is JUST a theory. Whos to say its true! Although theres no way to prove whether it is or not at the moment. Otherwise everything you said there is possible.

I refer you to the thread title... "Is it possible to dream a new color", meaning is there the possibility of doing it. And besides, the fact that multiple people claim to have done so is good enough for me. Just because we (us who haven't seen other colors, not everybody)haven't or don't have the ability to doesn't mean that they are mistaken or lying. I feel that pretty much any evidence for or against this is theoretical anyway. Pretty much everything that I have read short of the fact that our eyes pick up red, green and blue has been speculation.

Originally Posted by mrweiner

I refer you to the thread title... "Is it possible to dream a new color", meaning is there the possibility of doing it. And besides, the fact that multiple people claim to have done so is good enough for me. Just because we (us who haven't seen other colors, not everybody)haven't or don't have the ability to doesn't mean that they are mistaken or lying. I feel that pretty much any evidence for or against this is theoretical anyway. Pretty much everything that I have read short of the fact that our eyes pick up red, green and blue has been speculation.

And i was refering to your first paragraph with the, its just a theory bit

Originally Posted by guitarboy

Didn't I just say that?

My bad

Originally Posted by yuriythebest

Only issue I see with this is describing the color later on.

"I SAW A NEW COLOR IN MY DREAM!! IT WAS-- it- it was kinda like... red, but, not really red, kinda- maybe, blue? But not purple. More like-- yellowish, it... it... well, it kinda- well actually it was... no... I- *sigh*"

Originally Posted by pojmaster17q

"I SAW A NEW COLOR IN MY DREAM!! IT WAS-- it- it was kinda like... red, but, not really red, kinda- maybe, blue? But not purple. More like-- yellowish, it... it... well, it kinda- well actually it was... no... I- *sigh*"

lol

Yes it is possible. Waking vision is limited to physical capabilities dream vision has no limits. In fact all of our waking capabilities are limited due to physical constraints. In a lucid dream you can not only see through walls you can also walk through them as well as fly...cant do that in the physical world. Bottom line you can do and manifest anthing when lucid.

Originally Posted by Noktulo

Lucid dreaming is nothing magical. It's your brain (which is you) reproducing real life experiences or guessing what it thinks something will be like. ...

This is a very subjective view. This may be off topic, but the mind is stronger than what you think. People say Lucid Dreaming is all about expectations and belief, for the majority of it, yes it is. However, you can go deeper in to your dreams and start questioning your subconcious, you know, that part of you that isn't you?!

You don't control your subconsciousness, sure you can expect to be in a forest in your dream and imagine what it could look like. But do you consciously create every single blade of grass, animal, noises? no, your subconscious does. Try asking your dream directly one point that you want to experience a new colour, have no expectations. Ask your dream you want to see something new.

you never know what happens. The mind is a powerful tool. Mind over Matter.

Here is my take on it. First of all, logic doesn't apply to dreams unless you expect it to. Second, if you believe you can dream a new color, then yes. It's possible.