Thread: Will Technology In The Future Allow Recordable Dreams?

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.

It doesn't seem likely. The newspaper or whatever article posted in the link by walms talks about actual sight: they seem to have monitored the workings between the eyes and brain. In dreams, you don't actually see, so I would assume that the images come from your mind rather than eyes. It wouldn't even make any sense for the images to come from your eyes because they are just seeings closed eyelids (or your room if you're an unfortunate open-eyed sleeper!)

Oh but it refers to the first steps, meaning that dream recording isn't that impossible anymore.