h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A578603

The image of cars in individual dreams is commonplace. But how do we approach eliciting their meaning and significance, especially when such dreams can manifest in infinite ways? Here is a useful guide to exploring their presentation as dream images - discovering they link with ego control and aspects of our personality. Examples of car dreams place some of the initial theory into practice.
Drive on. . . .

Guide Entries are supposed to be fact, not fiction. There is nothing factual about attributing meanings to dreams. No-one has ever succeeded in doing this.

While my last posting sounded very grumpy indeed, it does have a valid point. Most doctors, psychologists and scientists do not believe that dreams can be interpreted at all, as the events in them do not represent anything, but are just random events from our recent history acted on on by our unconscious mind without the control of the part that does the thinking while we are awake.

You present all this stuff about cars as if it were fact. You should at least acknowledge that is either something you made up yourself or is a belief of a small section of the educated world.

Well then, Gnomon. What can I say. For starters, I'm making no attempt at being pragamatic - I leave that to the scientific community. Nor am I an advocate of cook book dream interpretations. Work on dreams (for those of us who believe and take the trouble to understand the natural phenomenon, and healing power of dreams and its dynamics)is a dedicated business. Whether one believes in dreams or otherwise (and their are many people who rubbish them, I know), it is a *psychological fact* that people experience car dreams. Of course dreams *can* be interpreted and analysed!! But the issue is whether these interpretations have depth and meaning to the individual and his/her life situation. The dream's tendency, in its archaic, symbolic language, can be read as compensatory to a one-sided conscious attitude but I recognise there are many theories in this respect.
As far as dream events do not represent anything . . .Why is it we are often distressed and disturbed by dream images? How come they have such an impact on our behaviour? Try telling indigenuous tribal societies (Australian aborigines, Native Americans, etc.) that dreams do not carry a profound cultural significance. Why should we be not different in the West? Does it not show how superstitious of the so-called primitive mind we have become by denigrating the dreamworld?
There is an idea by Jung that "psyche creates reality everyday." This infers that man is primarily an imagemaker, and that we are steeped in fantasy, exist in imagination. You could say we are such stuff as dreams are made on. That's probably why the world shows us the face we show it, thus the notion of things often being a "self-fulfilling prophesy." By way of example - witnesses at the scene of a car accident will invariably report different (and conflicting) versions of events, illustrating the fact that people are pre-disposed to interpret outer events according to the mindset they are in, and projecting all kinds of subjective stuff. Whose version of events is correct? And let's not forget that there is no single truth, only levels of truth.
Finally, if guide entries dealt solely with facts (ultimate truths), where do we researchers stand in relation to the spirit of H2G2 and the inspirational (fantasy) works of D.A.? I'm sure he would take a dim view of that eventuality. The more heretical and eccentric the entry, the better I say. We need imagination to push the boundaries of truth, don't you think? Remember, yesterday's fiction is tomorrow's facts, and so on ad infinitum.
Anyhow, I rest my case (for the time being at least).

OK, I can see that your world view is very different from mine. I would not dream of trying to insist that mine is the only right one. But I do not like to see your view presented as if it were completely fact. I would settle for even "Many people do not accept that dreams can have any interpretation at all, but for those who believe they can ...".

Maybe I have got a *blind spot* in this respect - so will take another look at my entry, reading it this time with my other head, sitting further away from computer screen.
Zaphod

When I read the title I expected to find an entry about Corvettes, Porsche 911, Lamborghini Miura and suchlike. Oh well...

Now, I'm sharing Gnomon's concerns. Dreams are fact, but interpreting dreams is (to the best of my knowledge, which isn't much) highly debatable. I'd like to see some more researchers opinion about whether the entry is acceptable with respect to the h2g2 Guidelines.

Bossel

Hi there Bossel - Can I refer you also to my comments in post 4. With respect, dreams (though normally ambivalent and slippery) CAN be interpreted but I feel they have to resonate with the dreamer to have meaning. How else are we to understand dreams if we don't interpret? But what we need to interpret is their metaphoric language so as to avoid taking their images too literally. Also, as stressed in the entry, the context of the dream and the dreamer's personal associations are important elements when working on them. I also find that it is usually better to view a dream as part of a series of dreams rather than in isolation. Yes, dreams are facts, *psychological* facts, which some would see as a contradiction in terms. I therefore prefer to view them as works of fiction and fantasy, but no less potent for that.
Why should this entry contravene the H2G2 guidelines? Is it the subjective elements (and which entry isn't subjective?) that gives rise to uncertainty?
Z

I can't see anything wrong with an entry about dream interpretation.
I liked this entry very much, and interpreting dreams is something that people do. Fact. So it is as worthy of a place in the Edited Guide as any How To guide entry.

The interpretation bit is why I'm unsure
Right, every entry is subjective, but a debate about whether city X is a dull place or not will be settled soon (or the sentence taken out of the entry). In contrast to this, debates over a dream interpretation might become endless because there is no 'right' or 'wrong'

However, that's just an egghead's point of view, as I'm used to dealing with measurable quantities.

As you say, dreams are highly subjective, so why be so definitive about treating them as metaphors? Why can't I have absolutely literal or utterly meaningless dreams?

Your loss

Mycroft, it's not the dreams that are subjective but our approaches and assumptions about them. What is fundamentally important when approaching dreams, I feel, is being aware of our assumptions about them - interpret our own interpretations as it were. That said, I feel you have to stick with some kind of structure otherwise you'd be all 'at sea' with them. You also need tools of some description to do the job. Respecting the dreams metaphoric language is important for me since it prevents literalising the dream contents. For you it may be different, and I respect your choice. But I've found that the dream will show us the face we show it. If you see dreams as meaningless rubbish then that is what you'll literally find them to be. They will no longer be an ally and you'll be cutting yourself off from what I consider to be a rich source of information about ourselves. But then that's my experience.
But what about the entry itself?

Thanks for your vote of support, Mina, and I'm pleased you liked it.
I don't know why but the subject of dreams and dreaming seems to elicit strong emotion and polarise opinion on H2G2.
Best Wishes to a fellow dreamer.
Z

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'Dream Cars'.

This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review Forum because your entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

You can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.h2g2.com/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!

This one had been sitting at the bottom of PR for awhile, but was definitely worth sending on. It will now be edited by a sub-ed, polished up by a house ed, and will then appear on the front page. All of this may take a bit of time, and you'll get a luverly little email letting you know when your entry is on the front page.

Ta ta!
Mikey