“Mind blowing” technology that turns dreams into data

We’ve all been there.  A brilliant idea, story, concept, etc. that we fail to write down in the middle of the night, and POOF! The next morning, it’s gone.

Well, what if all of the thoughts and dreams locked in your subconscious could be captured and viewed as a video?

That’s what a group of neuroscientists at the University of California Berkeley have attempted and for the first time succeeded in doing. According to this post by Engadget, “UC Berkeley scientists have developed a system to capture visual activity in human brains and reconstruct it as digital video clips. Eventually, this process will allow you to record and reconstruct your own dreams on a computer screen.”  Check out the Engadget post to learn how it works.

With a large enough database of images and video, one could virtually reconstruct what was happening in their own mind. That is both exciting and scary at the same time.  From a pure research perspective, it could provide an incredible amount of data on topics like the effects of advertising, entertainment, news, etc. on our subconscious. What images resonate most with varying demographics of people? What stories get created within our own minds that are a result of what we consume over the course of a day, weeks, months, years?  Perhaps, answering the question, what has the information age done to our subconscious?

Think about the data in the areas of psychology and behavioral sciences.  Does exposure to certain types of content drive subconscious thought, and eventually conscious behavior? Could capturing the thoughts and dreams of the criminally accused prove guilt or innocence?  Could we better explain the past, or predict the future?

I know – way too deep, but this technology is pretty mindblowing.  I just wonder what’s going on in my subconscious. Hook me up to this modern day dreamcatcher, and let’s take a look.

Would you want to know what’s flying around in your head?

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