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handoflixue comments on Do I really not believe in God? Do you? - Less Wrong Discussion
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"Please please please let this just be a nightmare - no, this is definitely real. I have way too much context for this to be a dream."
Given the existence of schizophrenia and so forth, this actually seems like a reasonable node to have on your search tree :)
Even just given the existence of nightmares it's a reasonable node to have on your search tree. I've never been in a war or a debilitating accident, so all the times I've ended up maimed or disfigured have been in my dreams. And all the times I've had loved ones killed in front of me or accidentally killed people I cared about.
I've lived a fortunate enough life (at least relative to my experiences while asleep) that noticing when whatever's happening to me seems to be just too horrible, and considering whether I'm just dreaming it, has by and large been an extremely useful response which has resulted in a lot of reduced stress.
Ahh, I forgot about that. Every time I've done a "is this a dream?" test in a dream, I've gotten back a negative (this is not a dream) response. I've stopped doing it, since it usually makes the nightmare that much more terrifying.
What kind of test do you use?
Off the top of my head: pinching myself, checking small details, checking for internal consistency and/or odd gaps in recent memory (this one is the worst to know that my brain can fake), checking illumination levels, pretty much ANY variation of "you can't do X in a dream" (I can read, see color, and do comparison price shopping between competing brands with the price signs remaining consistent)
Light switches never work in my dream, but I always just assume the bulb burnt out and it drives me nuts that I can never use this as a reliable test. Maybe the dreams where the lights work are just not noteworthy enough to get remembered, though.
What about pinching your nose shut with your hand and then trying to breathe through your nose? That's one that works for me I actually remember using within the last year.