Dreaming a Dream?

[Minor Axis]

What do you all think of the movie called Inception? I find it to be an entertaining movie with some intriguing concepts of shared, stable, controlled dreams. I am wondering if the premise of this movie has any realistic basis, not so much focused on the idea of "inception" planting an idea into someone's dream, but just the ability to 1)experience a stable dream where you can make choices and 2)share a dream. Have you done either one? Frankly, I find the premise unrealistic and the best approach is just go with the flow and enjoy the adventure and entertainment values presented.

Here are some points:
1. In the movie what facilitates a shared dream? I believe it is the machine they are all hooked up to, but they don't say much about it. The architect in the movie creates a dream space, they even show drawings. Is the machine they they are hooked up to while dreaming loading the dreamscape into their minds or is it controlled by the mind of the "architect"?
2. How could you enter someone elses dream, where their dream controls the setting without your mind being able to change things?
3. Why would the target's brain be the only one injecting projections into the dream space? In the movie, Cobb had a real problem with a projection of his wife interfering in the shared dreams, but why would all the people on the street be projects from just the target's mind?
4. In a dreamscape devoid of normal physics, why would an injury be debilitating? Why would you need to breath air, when under water? Why would you age?
5. Are there any known instances of having a dream within a dream?
6. In a dream can you make choices, much less rational choices? Have you ever made a choice in a dream?

Links:
*Inception, Peering Into The Science of Dreams.
*Shared Dreaming 101- honestly I'm not sure if this is ment to legit.
*Lucid Dreaming.

Regarding dreams I can attest that I have had full blown, full color, action dreams that seem real, look real, but it is like watching a movie. I don't remember making any real choices. I just react and events unfold. I'll add that when my dreams become uncomfortable, I have no problem waking myself up. I have died in dreams and I have defied death in dreams. In both cases the events were experience without emotion.

 

[Zorak]

I didn't enjoy Inception at all. I think I stopped watching half way through.

 

[Minor Axis]

I didn't enjoy Inception at all. I think I stopped watching half way through.

My wife did not either. She said she had a hard time following it. How about you?

 

[Zorak]

Not so much had a problem following it, I just didn't enjoy it.

I've given it two chances, the first time I watched it online, and the quality was bad, so I thought; "fair enough, I'll give it a proper go when it comes out on DVD."
Borrowed it off a friend on DVD, and the last bit I remember is them driving off the bridge into the water, I might have watched the whole film, I can't honestly remember. The film just didn't do anything for me.

 

[Zorak]

As for the question in relation to dreams. I do not remember my dreams, rarely, I might remember one when I wake up, but I forget them within the course of the day.

 

[Stone]

I didn't enjoy the movie, Inception, at all.
It was interesting up until the end at which time you find out all that preceded was just a dream and even the ending was a dream.......I took it as an insult to the intelligence and patience of the viewer.

 

[Kyle B]

When I first started watching the movie I almost turned it off. I gave it a chance though and enjoyed it a lot. I liked how at the end of the movie it all comes together and you find out about the main character's past and such.

Inception is like the Da Vinci code though, it was trumped up to be more than a movie. People were acting like they were having surreal experiences watching it. I watched it once, enjoyed it, and moved on.

And Zorak, the van falling in the water is one of the pinnacles of the movie! You clearly did not deserve to watch it.

 

[Johnfromokc]

I LOVED Inception! I am a lucid dreamer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

I have had some unblieveable adventures while dreaming when I became aware I was dreaming and actively took control of the dream. It's probably hard for anyone who has not had lucid dreams to understand what it is like.

It's absoluely amazing!

 

[Joe the meek]

I LOVED Inception! I am a lucid dreamer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

I have had some unblieveable adventures while dreaming when I became aware I was dreaming and actively took control of the dream. It's probably hard for anyone who has not had lucid dreams to understand what it is like.

It's absoluely amazing!

Try it one time without taking the shrooms LOL

 

[Zorak]

And Zorak, the van falling in the water is one of the pinnacles of the movie! You clearly did not deserve to watch it.

Clearly
If it had said that on the box it could have saved me some time

 

[Minor Axis]

I didn't enjoy the movie, Inception, at all.
It was interesting up until the end at which time you find out all that preceded was just a dream and even the ending was a dream.......I took it as an insult to the intelligence and patience of the viewer.

Are you serious or pulling our legs?

I LOVED Inception! I am a lucid dreamer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

I have had some unblieveable adventures while dreaming when I became aware I was dreaming and actively took control of the dream. It's probably hard for anyone who has not had lucid dreams to understand what it is like.

It's absoluely amazing!

The only control I have in a dream is that I know it's a dream and I can wake myself up if it becomes too uncomfortable. Most of my adventure dreams resemble watching a color movie that I am in. These dreams are vivid, but I don't feel like I can make any choices. Events just unfurl and the environments are very unstable, scenes change at a whim, and the entire dream can evaporate in an instance.

Not so much had a problem following it, I just didn't enjoy it.

I've given it two chances, the first time I watched it online, and the quality was bad, so I thought; "fair enough, I'll give it a proper go when it comes out on DVD."
Borrowed it off a friend on DVD, and the last bit I remember is them driving off the bridge into the water, I might have watched the whole film, I can't honestly remember. The film just didn't do anything for me.

Well, you either can go with a premise or you can't. This is not being judgmental, just an observation. I am able to enjoy this movie, but if I dare to pick it apart as I did in my first post, it does not seem very believable. The suspension of disbelief is required.

 

[HK]

I really enjoyed Inception. It took some thinking about afterwards to be sure I had it all figured out, and I liked how they left it open at the end.

I'm no candidate for all that lucid dreaming stuff. My dreams are frequently jumbled and non-linear. Plus, frustratingly, it appears that being short-sighted isn't just limited to being awake - my dreams are blurry and fuzzy, rather than sharp and defined.

I should try sleeping with my contact lenses in :ninja

 

[Minor Axis]

I really enjoyed Inception. It took some thinking about afterwards to be sure I had it all figured out, and I liked how they left it open at the end.

I'm no candidate for all that lucid dreaming stuff. My dreams are frequently jumbled and non-linear. Plus, frustratingly, it appears that being short-sighted isn't just limited to being awake - my dreams are blurry and fuzzy, rather than sharp and defined.

I should try sleeping with my contact lenses in :ninja

Let us know how that works. One thing I can say is that while I've had very clear visual dreams, they've never had the sense of reality that reality has including peripheral vision. Isn't that interesting?

In Inception, they took a concept and ran with it. The most questionable premise upon which the entire movie is predicated are shared dreams. The technology to achieve this is not describe and for a good reason I think.

Lucid dreaming is not astounding by any means. It only means you can realize even at a low level that you are dreaming. I would describe myself as a low level lucid dreamer in that when my dreams become to uncomfortable I can decide to wake up. On the other end of the spectrum are people who can make choices to change their dreams or make choices in dreams to change events. This is definitely not where I am at.

Lucid Dreaming FAQ

 

[Stone]

Let us know how that works. One thing I can say is that while I've had very clear visual dreams, they've never had the sense of reality that reality has including peripheral vision. Isn't that interesting?

In Inception, they took a concept and ran with it. The most questionable premise upon which the entire movie is predicated are shared dreams. The technology to achieve this is not describe and for a good reason I think.

Lucid dreaming is not astounding by any means. It only means you can realize even at a low level that you are dreaming. I would describe myself as a low level lucid dreamer in that when my dreams become to uncomfortable I can decide to wake up. On the other end of the spectrum are people who can make choices to change their dreams or make choices in dreams to change events. This is definitely not where I am at.

Lucid Dreaming FAQ

The most questionable premise upon which the entire movie is predicated are shared dreams.

Just pointing out that even the established premise originated within the 'dream'.
Everything from the first opening shot of the movie could be considered part of the dream and not realized by the viewer until the very ending of the movie when the 'test', the spinning top that didn't stop spinning, showed the dream was still continuing.
Reality was never exposed to learn how the the dream was initiated ...... what caused it.
It's only assumed so initially as a sequence of events.

Essentially, the movie was one elaborate virtual reality.

 

[Mercury]

Interesting movie for sure ... definitely was a mind job. I have never personally had a dream within a dream within a dream ... actually, I don't think I have ever had a dream within a dream either. I have had dreams in which I was sleeping but that is as far as they went. There have been times where I have been dreaming and I realized that I was dreaming ... although I don't recall being able to control much. For some reason I want to say that once I realized I was dreaming, the dream changed to where I was no longer sure that I was dreaming.

 

[savvy]

I thought I enjoyed the movie but I was only dreaming I enjoyed it.

 

[Minor Axis]

Just pointing out that even the established premise originated within the 'dream'.
Everything from the first opening shot of the movie could be considered part of the dream and not realized by the viewer until the very ending of the movie when the 'test', the spinning top that didn't stop spinning, showed the dream was still continuing.
Reality was never exposed to learn how the the dream was initiated ...... what caused it.
It's only assumed so initially as a sequence of events.

Essentially, the movie was one elaborate virtual reality.

There were definite elements where they were trying to keep you guessing what was reality vs a dream.

Interesting movie for sure ... definitely was a mind job. I have never personally had a dream within a dream within a dream ... actually, I don't think I have ever had a dream within a dream either. I have had dreams in which I was sleeping but that is as far as they went. There have been times where I have been dreaming and I realized that I was dreaming ... although I don't recall being able to control much. For some reason I want to say that once I realized I was dreaming, the dream changed to where I was no longer sure that I was dreaming.

I've thought about the dream within a dream concept. Besides the idea of a shared dream which I can't buy into other than for entertainment purposes, the dream within a dream is also problematic. I don't claim to be an expert on the human mind )) but as I understand it we only have one subconscious. So I have trouble with the idea of the brain creating a dreamscape, where the individual can fall asleep within the dream to create another setting and situation. And to emerge to consciousness, they would have to rise up through each level of dreaming to wake up. Again, unless someone involved in dream research can speak up, I'd have to qualify this as intriguing entertainment.

I thought I enjoyed the movie but I was only dreaming I enjoyed it.

They say dreams can count as much as reality.

If possible I'd like to steer the conversation away from Inception and discuss dreaming. Are there any lucid dreamers among our members who'd like to talk about it? Can you manipulate your dreams steering events or are you just a watching a movie of yourself without any control to speak of other than being able to decide to wake up from it?

I've had a couple of interesting things happen lately. I always thought that dreaming requires REM sleep and that it takes you a while to enter REM when falling asleep, but I had a case recently where I awoke, took a late night pee break, came back to bed and it seemed all most as soon as I laid down I was dreaming again. Not only that but I could make choices in this dream, if in fact it was a traditional dream versus just fantasizing about a situation in my mind. All I can say was that it was pretty cool. I've started reading some info at Lucidity.com on how to enhance the dream experience.

Lucid Dream:

A lucid dream is any dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. The term was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik (Willem) van Eeden (1860–1932).[SUP][1][/SUP] In a lucid dream, the dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over their participation within the dream or be able to manipulate their imaginary experiences in the dream environment.[SUP][2][/SUP] Lucid dreams can be realistic and vivid.[SUP][3][/SUP] It is shown that there are higher amounts of beta-1 frequency band (13–19 Hz) experienced by lucid dreamers, hence there is an increased amount of activity in the parietal lobes making lucid dreaming a conscious process.[SUP][4][/SUP]
Lucid dreaming has been researched scientifically, and its existence is well established.[SUP][5][/SUP][SUP][6][/SUP]

 

[darkcgi]

I have had several people tell they had a hard time following it

Things that are not thought of much and happen really quickly are hard to follow

 

[Minor Axis]

I have had several people tell they had a hard time following it

Things that are not thought of much and happen really quickly are hard to follow

It all boils down to being able to visualize what it would be like to have a group meeting in someone's dream. Then fall asleep descending through deeper levels of an individuals consciousness while maintaining your own mental facilities. What's the problem?