What is weird science?

Weird Science is a term applied to occurrences that cannot be fully explained in a scientific manner. When we are unable to prove or disprove the existence of something, most likely we can place it in the weird category.

How does the Dream Machine relate to weird science?

Whether or not we are aware of it, we dream every night when we enter the REM stage of sleep. Some individuals are able to navigate through their own dreams; this is known as lucid dreaming. Unfortunately, the rest of us are unable to control what occurs in our dreams; sometimes unpleasant or stressful aspects of our lives follow us into the world of sleep. It is very frustrating when stress has the power to rob otherwise regular sleepers of a good night's rest.

I started to gain interest in the subject of dreams when I noticed the tremendous impact that my physical surroundings have on the content of my dreams. For example, every morning when my boyfriend went to work, my dreams would automatically focus on his absence. Somehow the narritive would center on my search for him; I remember feeling so confused in these dreams, because I could not figure out where he went. Only when I woke up and consciously noted his absence, would my dreams move onto other subjects. I also have had an increasingly difficult time waking up because when I hear multiple alarm clocks beeping, my mind believes that the sounds are not real; I allow the sounds to become part of my dream instead of realizing "oh shit. that really is an alarm clock. wake up, emily!" After experiencing these and other similar phenomenons and other similar ones, I decided to do some research on dreams.

Kristin and I also discussed the "weirdness" of a human's unconscious ability to pull their physical surroundings (sound, brightness, temperature, etc.) into their dreams. Dreaming is weird in itself: there is no simple explanation for why we have dreams or what they mean. Dreams are not easily explained in a scientific manner, yet there is no doubt that they exist. I personally find it intriguing that our minds can enter an alternate state of reality that can never be duplicated; we each have our own unique (and often bizarre) experiences when we dream, and no matter how we try to explain and recreate our experiences to others, we lack the ability to do so with words.

The Dream Machine is based on the idea that real physical surroundings can infiltrate dreams. Kristin and I decided to construct a peaceful environment to sleep in with the hopes that images and sound will infiltrate and shape the dreams of anyone sleeping within this environment. The dream machine is a physical structure; it is basically a bed with a sheet placed at a slope from the headboard to the foot end of the mattress. Kristin created an extremely soothing video with sound that is projected onto the sheet. We cannot determine what will happen once someone falls asleep in the dream machine, since everyone will react to it differently. However, by placing someone in the dream machine, we have created an environment that we hope will relax otherwise restless people, and offer them a safe and exciting alternative to nights of tossing and turning.

Dream-Related Websites