Argumentative Essay About Dreams And Nightmares

Dreams have always mystified humans. In ancient times, they were held in high regard as foretellers of major events. While some people still hold much stock in dream interpretations, most scientists have a more modern view of dreams. However you view them, it’s certain that we have much to learn about dreams, including why we dream. There are several theories about the purpose of our dreams. Some scientists propose that we dream to help our memory. Some theorize that we can carry out some memory processes only when we sleep, and that dreams indicate these processes are taking place (LaBracio 3). In one study, subjects were asked to solve a complex maze. Those who dreamed of the maze before their second trial, “...were up to ten times better at it than those who only thought of the maze while awake between attempts, and those who napped but did not dream about the maze.” In another study, students were shown a problem, then allowed to sleep. Some were allowed to dream uninterrupted, while the others were awakened while they dreamt (Fascinating Dream Worlds 102). This may indicate

However, McNamara describes a machine which could possibly be used to build people’s dreams as they happened: “Once the machine learned a large number of these pattern-object associations it could predict what the subject was seeing during sleep based solely on fMRI patterns. The researchers did not have to ask the subject to report his visual experience. The machine could do that (at least 60% of the time)...” (The Neural Code and Dreaming ). This dream would likely be most useful on the most common dreams of