Dreaming of the Future

Turtle

Is dreaming of the future actually dreaming of the future or perhaps dreaming of what the future that you want?

Boffin

Apparently future visionaries, like the type that speak, write articles, and books, are rarely right on many issues. Companies are often wrong in their predictions of products. There are too many variables in the world. The photocopy machine was considered to be a non useful invention. IBM predicted that only a few computers would be needed in the world.

Turtle

That is not what is meant by the thread, when people dream of the future, is it done because that is what they want. I did not mean predictions of IBM stuff and what not.

Beren

I don't think we're quite sure of what you're asking. Are you wondering whether or not someone can actually dream of the future?

megashawn

Well, I remember growing up, and people telling me by the time I get old enough to drive we'd have flying cars like on The Jetsons.

It didn't happen.

For the most part, I do believe that peoples dreams of the future are there personal hopes of what the future will be like. However, while it seems that most visions of the future are merely a persons desire, this desire can effect the future.

For instance, and just an example I doubt it will be historically accurate to a T, Henry Ford had a dream to make affordable automobiles so that everyone could drive. He realized his dream by creating the assembly line, and revolutionized the world. Because of his simple dream, we've all benefitted.

So to answer your questions, I'd have to say yes and yes.

Another God

It seems most likely to me that the dreams are a combination of two things.
1, as you have already pointed out, partly made up out of hope, and what they desire the future to be

and 2, it will also be largely influenced by what the brain actually predicts will happen. The brain is organised and functions in such a way that 'prediction' is a major function of it. Not prediction like psychics and atrologers claim to have access to, but predictions like predicting the flight path of a ball, predictions of how safe various actions are, predicitons of whether certain things are worth the effort, and more importantly than anything, predictions of how someone might react to one of our approaches/questions/accusations etc.

We are species who are irremovably stuck in a social setting, and being able to predict the reactions of other people is probably the most important thing we have available to us.

Now, that the brain should be able to dream up a possible future encounter with someone and 'guess' at what might happen is a very reasonable thing to occur.

tomahawk

Hey Another God your post was interesting. Some of things you mentioned are true but other parts I don't know. Reason being I've have had precongitive dreams my whole live and what I can say is that I don't think it's a guessing game. I've seen too many things in detail for it to be a guessing game. The odds would to high to count, on guessing. One thing I can say is that when the human race finally figure out how the concesses mind and the unconcesses mind work, we as a whole will move to the next level of intelligence.

Another God

Perhaps my final comment in my post didn't help at all. I didn't mean to imply that the brain randomly guesses at all, but rather that this 'guess' is an educated guess. A guess where you know all of the details leading up to the final step, and from those details you have a 'guess' at the answer, but you are pretty confident that your answer is most likely going to be correct.

As such, I don't think there are bad odds here at all. On account of the fact that our world, whether deterministic or not, tends to run on very predictable standards (the sun will rise, objects will fall, friends will be friendly, and your parents will tend to act in very much the same sort of way day in day out), the possibility that our brain may be able to combine all of these factors and reach an educated conclusion on what may happen next, is quite likely. (IMO)

vepore2

It's a bit of both, dreaming of new ideas for the future can help develop them. However there are too many unpredictable changes that people don't take into account.

russ_watters

You guys are missing his question. He's asking if when we dream about the future (when asleep) if those dreams are/can be real and accurate accounts of future events.

Answer: No.

Turtle

Why? It occured to myself and my friends, we have dreams of the future. The future though that we dream of is minute.

russ_watters

According to the laws of physics, time flows forward. You can change the speed at which it flows, but you can't stop it or jump around in it.

Now, if for example you are going sailing tomorrow you may have a dream tonight about sailing, but it won't be a vision of the actual events to take place - just what you think might take place.

If you think you can see actual events that will occur, please try to dream about tomorrow's PA lottery drawing for me tonight. I could really use some spare cash.

tomahawk

Hey Guys I hate to disagree with you, but it is possable to dream of the future. I've seen it too many times. These dreams are very detailed sometimes, enough to know that it can't be a guessing game for the mind. These dreams come and go at ramdom, you don't have control over what you see. I've been trying to figure it out my whole life, as to how it works. Afew theories but nothing more. I was raised to believe in science and this really does throw a monkey wrench into things. The only thing I can say is that you have to experience it to believe it. Before a statement like it's not possable is made, consider what we thought about the Galxily 20 years ago and what was not possable. I hope science does figure it out one day. That would be very interesting to see.

Beren

I hope you see a vision of you learing to spell, soon.

russ_watters

Sorry, no. Again, if it were possible, Vegas would need to close and the lottery wouldn't be any fun anymore.

Dreams aren't a guessing game anyway. They are detailed because our memories are detailed. If you close your eyes and daydream, thats a good indicator of how detailed your dreams can be. They can be VERY real looking. That doesn't mean they ARE real. They are not. Just because something looks real doesn't mean it is.

hypnagogue

This is a bit like someone back in the day telling the Wright Brothers "if flight were possible, we'd be on the moon by now."

russ_watters

No, its nothing like that at all. Flight at the time was well known to be an engineering problem and was clearly possible from a scientific/theoretical standpoint. After all, birds were doing it.

Psychic powers ARE scientifically testable and every time they are tested (which actually isn't very often because scientists simply don't bother and psychics try to avoid it) they fail.