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mfradera's picture

Just keep swimming, I mean thinking

I was ridiculously excited to learn that fish (potentially) dream! I can't wait to tell my friend (she has a highly conscious beta fish named Monet, whose dreams I can only begin to imagine).

As to the purpose of dreams, I've always looked at them as another way to process the information being thrown at us, not necessarily in the immediate past (like the day you've just experienced) but the entirety of past experiences and absorbed information.

Another possibility I've considered is that dreams have no purpose but are the by-product of sleep; even though our bodies need rest, our minds may not. It may be that the conscious part of our brain sleeps with our bodies, but during sleep our unconscious frog brains continue hopping around. Evolution never gave us a mechanism to suspend mental processes. With no off switch or rest state, our minds just keep going. This is a natural state. Have you ever tried to completely “clear your mind” and think of nothing? It's hard work! It's possible, but it actually requires a lot of concentration and skill. That mental effort seems like more than you can dedicate while you're asleep.

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