Dreams of Birds

[BillChin]

If birds dream, what might they dream about?

People sometimes dream about flying. Birds can already fly, so what might be the next progression?

Anyway, I bought a CD by that title and thought it such an interesting question. The composer tries to capture the idea in music. The title would make for an interesting songwriter/composer workshop topic.

[I.D.10-t]

Birds can already fly, so what might be the next progression?

Some can, others need to improvise.

[dwest]

Birds dream about music, and public performances, that's pretty much it.

[Nanohedron]

People sometimes dream about flying. Birds can already fly, so what might be the next progression?

Having hands?

[mutepointe]

Damn, that's what I was going to say. As a runner up, three words: Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

[dwest]

I wasn't kidding about bird dreams, they dream about music. They don't even dream about opposable thumbs.

[BillChin]

Music I can see, many birds "sing." Thumbs? I doubt it. They have little bird brains, what use are thumbs when you don't have a brain to use them. Birds have little in the way of material possessions or treasures, what use would thumbs be when material things mean so little to you? It isn't an exact analogy, but do humans dream of having six or eight legs? No. Many would find that dream to be disturbing. If they dream of "spider" powers, it would be with their existing appendages.

The seagull book, that makes sense. Transcendence might be the metaphysical way to describe those dreams, which for many humans would be a progression up from physical flying.

I am surprised no one took the ecological theme, dreams of a clean, natural world, free from pollution.

[I.D.10-t]

They have little bird brains...

Their tiny little brains seem to be able to distinguish things that we can only recognize using our mechanical devises.

[dwest]

They have little bird brains...

Their tiny little brains seem to be able to distinguish things that we can only recognize using our mechanical devises.

Exactly, little brain size says nothing about capacity.

[Nanohedron]

I am surprised no one took the ecological theme, dreams of a clean, natural world, free from pollution.

I dream of that all the time. I guess for me the theme doesn't naturally follow when presuming to guess at what it is that birds (which birds, BTW?) might possibly dream about. Animals seem to have a knack for taking the world, such as it may be, far more matter-of-factly than we do. So I can't entertain the hubris of guessing at their abstract desires, either.

I also think that equating opposable thumbs with materialism is mistaken, particularly since the number of nonhuman (thus nonmaterialistic, let us allow) species who have them outnumbers ours. Add to that the list of animals with other forms of opposable digitry, and that list increases even further. This alone tells me it's also a mistake to suggest that small brains are incapable of supporting, much less making good use of, opposable thumbs or that having them would turn birds into little flying Donald Trumps. Thumbs sure haven't done that for me. Turns out I have just as much chance of taking wing.

What we can say for sure is that we humans definitely have the capablity to keep the welfare of our planet in mind, and since we do, it's on us to shoulder the responsibility. Write a poem about the Dreams Of Birds, BillChin. It's a good title for starters and I think I would enjoy such a poem very much. Don't ask me to write one, though; I'm obviously not the one to do it.

...do humans dream of having six or eight legs? No. Many would find that dream to be disturbing.

Well, look at who you're talking to, here: Chiffers, fercryinoutloud. All bets are off.

[dwest]

Tell a bowerbird he doesn't have a need for material possessions or treasure, those little sneak thieves.

There are a number of on going studies about what birds dream. For the Passerines that have been studied there is strong neurological evidence they dream about their songs, perhaps to practice them in their sleep. Their songs help them define territory, find mates of the same species and even subspecies, communicate with other birds and their mates or confuse other birds who maybe competing for the same resources Song may even define species more than physiological differences, it does with humans too.

[Nanohedron]

We really know how to kill an inspiration, don't we, dwest.

[Denny]

[Nanohedron]

Sure, birds could dream about lunch.

[dwest]

We really know how to kill an inspiration, don't we, dwest.

What inspiration? Birds dreaming about music isn't inspirational? Seems pretty darn neat to me.