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REM sleep is when the brain "defrags." It does this by shuffling through memories and deciding which new ones can be linked to existing memories, which ones must be added, and which ones must be tossed. Memories are stored in the parts of the brain that processed them, which means this defrag requires activating many areas at once.
To avoid problems, the brain essentially disconnects itself from voluntary motor controls, so that activating our ability to walk does not actually make us get up and take a stroll. This disconnection is rarely perfect, resulting in, among other things, the rapid eye movement that gives REM sleep its name. If the disconnection is too far off, you end up with sleepwalking and the like.
The brain also shutters the consciousness. Its job is to watch and interpret what happens in the brain and impose a sense of order upon it. This locking up is also imperfect: the result are dreams, basically the random noise of a defrag filtered through our organ for making sense of things. That is why dreams can be so bizarre, and yet seem so reasonable. Emotional connections to memories are also stored in the brain, and also get filtered by the consciousness. If the defrag pulls up happy memories, we end up with happy dreams; if it pulls up stressful or scary memories, we end up with nightmares.
"Lucid dreaming" is basically the consciousness going sleepwalking. Rather than being locked in the closet peeping out through the cracks, it is sitting there with the door open and watching the brain's modem screech in full. It can be fun, sure, but you run the risk hitting an emotional state that will make the experience less than amusing. There is a reason why millions of years of evolution have led to the consciousness being locked away during the defrag.
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Thanks for your time in explaining these things. Lucid dreaming is something which I'm excited about, will have to research to understand the inner workings though I never experienced.
Ranjan.D
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Gregory.Gadow wrote: It can be fun, sure, but you run the risk hitting an emotional state that will make the experience less than amusing.
Never had that in my experience - the biggest risk is waking up through getting over-excited.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Great. We'll be just seeing the last of the idiots who fried their brains with psychedelic drugs in the 60s, and along will come a new bunch of people who will have fried their brains with this incredibly stupid and dangerous technology.
The brain just works. You don't need to p1ss about with it.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Hmm, interesting to say the least.
Like many others, do doubt(?) my initial thought was "yeah, there's been ones around with flashing lights for years now" - but I read-on anyway and saw this point neatly covered.
I've had them, though have never realized it while dreaming. But I was able to make conscious decisions and remember emotions. While they've been odd and bizarre at times, I generally dont remember having dreamt more than a few times a year. I actually find memories of these dreams an unwanted distraction.
But I and my missus vary here - she dreams most nights and tells me about them most mornings. I'm sure she would embrace such a device.
Personally, I would consider considering one if they were about $50, but having a rough idea of whats actually in it, it seems very expensive for what it is.
You can buy an eeg sensor for well under $10, an arduino for the same money, headphones for $2, you could likely build the amp for under $20. I should mention, all of these figures are for single-unit quantities. Naturally, there would be a reduction in price with an increase in volume.
Neat idea, looks like an interesting product, the price ruins it. At $75 I'd think it was a good deal.
EDIT: Just found the amplifier board they're using: (It's $30 australian) http://dx.com/p/tda7293-280w-audio-amplifier-module-board-red-black-207257?tc=AUD&gclid=CLGvsqzP17oCFckgpQodmjIA4w[^]
You could get a more suitable one for much less. This one is rated at 280W!! - You just need to ensure that its low-noise and distortion. I bet you could do the same with a discrete op-amp, for a few dollars.
"Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation, so that belief can be preserved." - Tim Minchin
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Thanks for the detailed information. Yes cost wise even I felt the same, they could have reduced. I think we can wait for few more months. I would be really interested in reading the reviews, if its really worth-full and the cost is reasonable I'm going to buy one.
Ranjan.D
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Paulo Augusto Künzel wrote: Oracle
Well, that's the problem.
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If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein
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As long as it doesn't stop working.
TBH, I think it's got more chance or staying useful as open source -- given Oracle's record, that is.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Not working IE9..
The signature is in building process.. Please wait...
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try it with a browser supporting html5 
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Have to try it at home then.. IE11 should do it.. or Chrome..
The signature is in building process.. Please wait...
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pffffft. 
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Thats because of tracking protection. It breaks several things.
SEC7114: A download in this page was blocked by Tracking Protection.
http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js
SEC7114: A download in this page was blocked by Tracking Protection.
http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js
SEC7114: A download in this page was blocked by Tracking Protection.
http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js
SCRIPT5009: '$' is undefined
javascript-under-pressure, line 565 character 1
SEC7114: A download in this page was blocked by Tracking Protection.
http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js
SEC7114: A download in this page was blocked by Tracking Protection.
http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js
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Apparently, Leslie Nielsen's[^] no good at writing javascript under pressure either!
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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To be fair, I never read Dave Auld's posts 
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for (slapcount=0; slapcount < 10; slapcount++)
keith.slap();
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for(int slapcount = 0; slapcount < 10, slapcount++)
dave_auld.Slap(keith_barrow, SlapType.SolidWhack);
for($slapcount = 0; slapcount < 10; slapcount++)
{
dave_auld->slap(keith_barrow);
}
For slapcount As Integer = 0 To 10 Step 1
dave_auld.Slap(keith_barrow)
End For
Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.
- Mitchell Kapor
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15 minutes and 41 seconds due to too many typos and initially forgetting the "return" statement in the recursive test! 
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Well, under pressure or not under pressure - Javascript sucks! 
var i = 
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Just having a conversation here and we decided that This[^] would be a good form factor home computer.
Just attach mouse and monitor.
Nice keyboard (needs expanding, but the quality was good) and large enough and sturdy enough for all laptopable functions but based on full PC specs.
(Of course the original was not very powerful, but it was a nice 8 Bit machine in it's day)
---------------------------------
Obscurum per obscurius.
Ad astra per alas porci.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur .
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I'm in the process of upgrading and am considering a quad core (8 thread) i7, 16G RAM, 512 SSD Mac Mini[^]. Intend to use Parallels to dual boot OSX and Win7.
/ravi
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