# How would you feel if your dreams were recorded and broadcast? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601 "2016-05-01T15:48:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/1 "2016-05-01T15:48:20Z")
Such technology [does exist](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22031074). In 2016 it is not commonplace, but it can be soon. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/2 "2016-05-01T15:52:55Z")
I didn’t vote, because there’s no choice for “astonished,” but I want to know if I get residuals… …and the technology is nowhere close to reality, so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it (get it?). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/3 "2016-05-01T17:03:56Z")
The last line of the article is: > [@](#): > > “You would never be able to build something that could read other peoples thoughts without them knowing about it, for example.” …so I’m not too worried. Out of the options, I guess I’d pick “violated” assuming this was happening without my consent. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/4 "2016-05-01T17:04:04Z")
I don’t believe there is enough “detail” in dreams for any playback of them to be meaningful or of interest to another observer. When you dream, you only “see” tiny fragments that color your perception that is already a part of your consciousness. When you walk down the street, wearing a camera, a person watching a remote screen can see everything in the street, because it is actually there. But if you are dreaming of a street, the street is imaginary in your mind, with only enough detail for you to infer that it a certain street, and your dreaming is only creating a few tiny cues for you to react to, within the context of what is not being picked up by the dream camera. As a blind person with severe tunnel vision, I can tell you that if you saw the world through my eyes, you would see almost nothing, but I have a sense that I can see my world quite completely. My mind remembers everything that is in the room I am sitting in, and makes me think that I can “see” it. My memory fills in the blanks. But I see nothing of it, nor would you if you could view what is in my very narrow field of view. I can now see my screen, but not my keyboard. But I know it is there and I remember what it looks like, and my mind “thinks” it is in my field of view, looking like what I think it looks like. So when you are dreaming, you are actually visualizing very little of the detail, and your mind is forming a very vague and generalized construct of the overall environment, fooling you into believing that you are dreaming details. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/5 "2016-05-01T17:23:09Z")
Some of my dreams could be blockbuster big money making movies! (Quite entertaining.) So I voted famous. Other dreams are frustrating or boring - wouldn’t want to “release” those! ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/6 "2016-05-01T17:27:27Z")
Depends which dreams I guess. Some of them are just boring (though I suppose that could be embarassing as well in a way), some are video-game-like, some are like moody art movies or reflect my anxieties or are mostly just surreal … and then there are a small minority that really would show me in a bad light. Like last week I had a dream where I suddenly snapped and started beating up a guy without a good reason, yelling “You are too tall for the firewood box, I’ll have to cut you in half!” at the poor victim. I don’t usually have dreams like that but if the dream broadcast was live and not checked before it could show something like that. If they would record a bunch and let me choose which ones to show then it might be cool. I wouldn’t really mind that much if some lone technician would see the pre-release version as long as it wouldn’t be leaked to my friends and family. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/7 "2016-05-01T17:49:13Z")
There’s not choice for “I wouldn’t care.” I’m not responsible for what I dream about. ETA – Since I rarely remember my dreams, I might watch to see what they were. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/8 "2016-05-01T18:06:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There’s not choice for “I wouldn’t care.” I’m not responsible for what I dream about. I agree with this. You might find my dreams amusing, terrifying or informative, but so what. They are just my mind sorting out its garbage. Have fun with that. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/9 "2016-05-01T18:12:06Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > …and the technology is nowhere close to reality, so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it (get it?). Maybe in two decades. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/10 "2016-05-01T18:13:07Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Out of the options, I guess I’d pick “violated” assuming this was happening without my consent. If that was a probation condition – how would you feel? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/11 "2016-05-01T18:15:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > As a blind person with severe tunnel vision, I can tell you that if you saw the world through my eyes, you would see almost nothing, but I have a sense that I can see my world quite completely. My mind remembers everything that is in the room I am sitting in, and makes me think that I can “see” it. My memory fills in the blanks. But I see nothing of it, nor would you if you could view what is in my very narrow field of view. I can now see my screen, but not my keyboard. But I know it is there and I remember what it looks like, and my mind “thinks” it is in my field of view, looking like what I think it looks like. Thank you for sharing. Thank G-d I **only** have mental disability – Autism plus Depression. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/12 "2016-05-01T18:16:51Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I agree with this. You might find my dreams amusing, terrifying or informative, but so what. Mine are very terrible. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/13 "2016-05-01T18:21:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There’s not choice for “I wouldn’t care.” I’m not responsible for what I dream about. Pretty much this for me. I would prefer it to not be broadcast, but I’d feel more “violated” if security camera footage of my last trip to the grocery store was broadcast. I do remember most of my dreams and I can assure everyone that they have very little to say about me as a person. I have pretty much been and done everything in my dreams at least twice. Drawing conclusions about me from my dreams would be a lot like tarot cards- you’d be seeing the patterns you want to see in what is essentially random noise. (Though, to be honest, it’s kind of entertaining random. My dreams, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/14 "2016-05-01T19:15:39Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Maybe in two decades. Yeah, right after fusion power… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/15 "2016-05-01T23:48:42Z")
Since when are people limited to only four emotions? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/16 "2016-05-01T23:56:23Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Some of my dreams could be blockbuster big money making movies! (Quite entertaining.) So I voted famous. . . . Ditto. I dream magnificently! People would pay good money to subscribe. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/17 "2016-05-01T23:59:23Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Thank you for sharing. Thank G-d I **only** have mental disability – Autism plus Depression. Ack. I have autism too. But I refuse to be depressed. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/18 "2016-05-02T00:08:32Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > They are just my mind sorting out its garbage. Have fun with that. Well, yeah. But imagine someone looking through your actual garbage, and finding empty bottles of lube, receipts from weird porn sites, dead hamsters that have clearly been used for nefarious purposes… Of course, I don’t actually mean your garbage in particular. I mean my garbage. Or, no, wait. I mean… you know what I mean. … _leaves_ ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/19 "2016-05-02T00:18:30Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Yeah, right after fusion power… I am sure Fusion Power will be with us in two decades – definitely by 2005. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601/20 "2016-05-02T00:19:52Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Ack. I have autism too. But I refuse to be depressed. My problems is a long long long story – publicly known on SDMB. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-your-dreams-were-recorded-and-broadcast/753601.md?page=2)