Do you dream of having control over your dreams? Excuse the pun. I meant: do you dream of being able to decide what to dream about? Sorry again. Well, we understand each other. A group of MIT scientists made this dream come true. And there are three.
Canned Inception
Scientists didn't just take a cue from Christopher Nolan's famous dream movie. They have literally built a device that can control our dreams. His name is Dormio, and his first steps had already entered in the crosshairs of this site, but it was April 2020, and the pandemic put them on the back burner.
The device was created for study - its purpose? Understand the links between dreams and creativity. The MIT team conducted in-depth research, published in the journal Scientific Reports (I link it to you here), to examine how “focused dream incubation” could improve creativity.
The goal was not just to manipulate dreams, but to see if specific contents could be inserted into them to determine their content. More: to produce dreams that stimulate creativity upon awakening.
How does the dream control machine work?
In general terms, dream incubation technology works by recording an individual's sleep stages and introducing specific stimuli during stages of light sleep, or hypnagogic sleep, when a person is particularly susceptible to external influence. These stimuli can be sounds, words, music or even smells, and can influence the content of dreams.
According to the researchers, the optimal result is not yet there, but it is already incredible that such a technology has left the realm of science fiction to enter reality.
Think about it for a moment. Close your eyes, imagine being able to decide what to dream. More: imagine being able to dream of possible solutions to a problem, and to receive ideas to solve it when you wake up. Incredible.
