Surprising Science — April 22, 2010

Waking Life

“We may not know why we sleep, dream or wake up, but these states are never static,” writes author Siri Hustvedt. There is a continuum of perception from unconsciousness to full self-consciousness.

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“Understanding waking consciousness, sleep and dreams depends on how the lines are drawn among them,” writes author Siri Hustvedt. “Ernest Hartman at Tufts University School of Medicine proposes a waking-to-dreaming continuum, a range of states that move from highly self-conscious, logical, category bound, sequential wakefulness to daydreaming and reverie with their more fragmented, less logical thoughts to dreaming. … We may not know why we sleep, dream or wake up, but these states are never static.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Neuropsych

Practicing Skills In Your Sleep Can Be as Effective as Physical Training

Just imagining movement fires the same neurons as if we were actually moving. A new study shows we can wake our sleeping mind to practice motor skills in our dreams.

A vintage brass typewriter with exposed keys and mechanisms, evoking a sense of typing consciousness, displayed on a reflective surface.

The Past

How typing transformed Nietzsche’s consciousness

The Malling-Hansen writing ball, with its potential and limitations, redefined Nietzsche’s philosophical and creative expression.

A digital countdown reading "0: MINUS" over an Earth view from space with scattered debris and sunlight illuminating the scene.

The Future

T-Minus: Kessler Syndrome

Experts answer 10 big questions about the nightmare scenario that could send us back to the pre-Space Age.

Multiple country flags on poles against a clear blue sky, representing international diversity and unity.

The Present

From global to planetary: Is new governance needed in a post-Holocene world?

The nation-state had a good run, but its usefulness may have come to an end.

Portrait of a smiling man in front of a background featuring chemical structures and molecular models in green and blue hues.

The Present

Inside the battle for FDA approval of MDMA therapy

MAPS founder Rick Doblin speaks to Big Think about the FDA’s rejection of MDMA therapy and the future of psychedelic treatments.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Versus the Volcano

“What if the Eyjafjallajokull ash cloud is “not just a minor volcanic hiccup, but the beginning of an event that causes in time a mass extinction of some form of earthbound life?” asks Simon Winchester.