Lucid Dreaming

There exist start-up companies that would like to infiltrate our dreams…with our dreams.  That is, through controlled methodologies and technological induction techniques, one can control their literal dreams to become more like their allegorical ones.  Perhaps their slogan should be “Your dreams can come true in your dreams.”  If this sounds all too entertaining, I wish it were merely that, but there are plenty of people who would like to control your mind…or at least control you by letting you think you are controlling your dreams.  Targeted advertising would be the least of worries in this domain, though that would be an issue in and of itself.  Although many of us think we are exempt from advertiser’s schemes, an example of how many of us have spent more for the same exact product we could have got for less is with acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.  FDA regulations make it necessary that generic brands are exactly the same quantity and quality as the brand name, but we pay more for the name we recognize and vicariously trust.  Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech would no longer be “I Have a Dream” but “They Have a Dream for Me.”  You might think you’re going to “Dream of Genie” but end up in the bottom of a bottle yourself instead.  Instead of Jacob dreaming of his ladder to heaven, he might be dreaming of Lowe’s utility department aisle, with 10% discounts available to membership card holders.  Dreams may not always be actualized, but they should be free from trollers.