Are we dreaming by accident?
09-06-2012
Dreams are one of life’s mysteries, so far they have proved impenetrable and unfathomable by modern science. Even fundamental questions about dreaming remain unanswered. Though in the case of the most important question of all, it may be that we are searching for an answer where one doesn’t really exist.
From time immemorial, humans have wondered why we dream, why when we go to sleep at night we experience this perplexing and sometimes even frightening state. There have been many attempts to answer this question, with the most common responses being either that dreams help us process memories or that they provide a safe training ground.
However, it may end up that the real answer is that we are dreaming by accident. That rather than being some sophisticated sorting system or proving ground, the dream state is simply the random result of two particular biological processes: consciousness and sleeping. That there really is no higher meaning to why we dream, it is just something chaotic that occurs as we sleep.
This would help to explain why dreams are themselves so chaotic and random. While they may occasionally seem to have more structure and purpose, most of the time they are simply a odd set of occurrences that seem to be of little use in the real world.
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