Sometimes I'll come to only to realise I've been zoning out for the past half hour. Just wondering… does it happen to anyone else? What's your longest marathan of zero brain activity (I estimate about 40 minutes for myself).

Please, indulge me. :)

How long is a school day? Like, 7 hours?

Ha, but seriously, I do zone out all the time. It's good for car rides and stuff, cos I can just stare out the window for like 2 hours.

I've been doing that for 20 years. I always zone out. Sad thing is I sometimes answer my wife when I am zoning out and have no recollection of it. Gets me in trouble.

I tune out the “real world” quite often, if that's what you mean- the whole “living in the stories in my head” type deal. I remember driving to high school back in the day, and realising I'd gone from my house to the parking lot (about a 15 minute drive) while my mind was completely somewhere else!

But “thinking about nothing” I don't really do- I've got one of those brains that won't shut off, even when it needs to. Unless you count blackouts.

Hyena H_ll
I tune out the “real world” quite often, if that's what you mean- the whole “living in the stories in my head” type deal. I remember driving to high school back in the day, and realising I'd gone from my house to the parking lot (about a 15 minute drive) while my mind was completely somewhere else!

But “thinking about nothing” I don't really do- I've got one of those brains that won't shut off, even when it needs to. Unless you count blackouts.

Huh. I get like that a bit too, but it mostly strikes when I'm trying to sleep. Its pretty cool though, sounds like you get the time to really think out and plan your plots, although it might get annoying when you actually want to shut off.

I zone out while driving. I'll suddenly be in my parked car at home without any recollection of the drive there. :|

I'm kind of glad a few other people seem to zone out too. Seems to indicate I'm either normal or not digging my way into crazy alone!

Sometimes I think of Fladers wearing nothing at all… nothing at all… nothing at all

Stupid, sexy Flanders!

Hyena H_ll
But “thinking about nothing” I don't really do- I've got one of those brains that won't shut off, even when it needs to. Unless you count blackouts.

No blackouts here but my mind doesn't want to shut up either :D

No idea about driving as I don't drive, but I can get a little oblivious to my surroundings, thus constantly bumping my shoulders or elbows against door frames etc. Or my toes. I developed a habit of curling up my toes whenever I open/close the doors to my room as I generally end up standing a little to close (just enough to hit one of the toes). But that's more of a focus on specific thing while tuning out the surroundings. I assume I'd be a bad driver too (especially since gas/oil smell makes me prone to motion sickness).

I tried meditating where you have to stop thinking for a while, but all I did was think of not thinking or asking myself questions “am I not thinking yet?”

Kinda unrelated, but I also seem to be one of these freakish people who always dream in color :D

Aurora Borealis
Kinda unrelated, but I also seem to be one of these freakish people who always dream in color :D

I thought most people dreamt in color?

Hyena H_ll

Aurora Borealis
Kinda unrelated, but I also seem to be one of these freakish people who always dream in color :D

I thought most people dreamt in color?

I always heard most dream in b&w and only the more important dreams are color?

Supposedly (and I could be wrong) people with more imagination have stronger, colored dreams, while people with less have weaker dreams and thus dream in “greyscale”. Or something. Everyone gives a different answer. Personally I know that I dream in color most of the time and only my nightmares were ever b&w. And I know I have overactive imagination so this explanation would make sense to me at leastd.

Aurora Borealis

Hyena H_ll

Aurora Borealis
Kinda unrelated, but I also seem to be one of these freakish people who always dream in color :D

I thought most people dreamt in color?

I always heard most dream in b&w and only the more important dreams are color?

Supposedly (and I could be wrong) people with more imagination have stronger, colored dreams, while people with less have weaker dreams and thus dream in “greyscale”. Or something. Everyone gives a different answer. Personally I know that I dream in color most of the time and only my nightmares were ever b&w. And I know I have overactive imagination so this explanation would make sense to me at leastd.

That sounds pretty elitist. The only person I ever knew to dream in “greyscale” was born completely colorblind.

On topic, I'd imagine that to think of absolutely nothing would be difficult.

Scribe_Drizz

Aurora Borealis

Hyena H_ll

Aurora Borealis
Kinda unrelated, but I also seem to be one of these freakish people who always dream in color :D

I thought most people dreamt in color?

I always heard most dream in b&w and only the more important dreams are color?

Supposedly (and I could be wrong) people with more imagination have stronger, colored dreams, while people with less have weaker dreams and thus dream in “greyscale”. Or something. Everyone gives a different answer. Personally I know that I dream in color most of the time and only my nightmares were ever b&w. And I know I have overactive imagination so this explanation would make sense to me at leastd.

That sounds pretty elitist. The only person I ever knew to dream in “greyscale” was born completely colorblind.

On topic, I'd imagine that to think of absolutely nothing would be difficult.

Why is that elitist? The only reason a colorblind would only dream in B&W would be because his subconscious would have no experience of color to draw from. I've heard of this B&W dreaming thing before. Never gave it much thought and I normally don't remember my dreams well enough to notice if they were colorful or not. I do remember something about that you shouldn't be able to read text in dreams though but I could have sworn that I was reading stuff in some of my dreams.

On topic: No I'm to much of an ADD to blank out like that.

Product Placement
Why is that elitist? The only reason a colorblind would only dream in B&W would be because his subconscious would have no experience of color to draw from. I've heard of this B&W dreaming thing before. Never gave it much thought and I normally don't remember my dreams well enough to notice if they were colorful or not. I do remember something about that you shouldn't be able to read text in dreams though but I could have sworn that I was reading stuff in some of my dreams.

On topic: No I'm to much of an ADD to blank out like that.

I thought that AB's post sounded elitist because he was unsure about dreaming in black and white verses dreaming in color, but still managed to put himself on the positive end of a scale that “measures” imagination.

If I misunderstood it, then I misunderstood, but it struck me as rude.

Since when having an overactive imagination is elitist?

Overactive imagination = too many ideas to work on them all (and plenty of bad ideas), thinking too far ahead ratherthan focusing on what needs to be done next and hating every drawing you do cause it fails to present the idea you see clearly in your head.

(now I'm gonna get accused of making myself look all “woe is me”, haha)

I've looked around a little for the color/b&w dream thing and technically it's actually color vs colorless. That is, you dream it and it's of some undescribable color so it remains in your memory as vague “greyness”. Or so I understood the text.

because of my tendacy of overthinking about virtually nothing( I have held a 45 mins conversation about remote controlls :S) I find it very relaxing just gaxe into the abyss of the ceiling above my head when lying on the bed… then I either get a “perfect” idea or fall asleep :P

thats like, half my day right there.

Hyena H_ll

Aurora Borealis
Kinda unrelated, but I also seem to be one of these freakish people who always dream in color :D

I thought most people dreamt in color?

I've never met anyone who dreamt in black and white. I wonder where the idea came from…?

Although I never dream in color. Just colour. :)

I only do the nothing thing when my brain isn't really working. Usually when I'm too tired, or stupefied by something… Or mesmerised. Yeah that'll do it- ocean waves, nice pictures, a book, a movie, an insect crawling across the floor, a lizard on a rock…

ozoneocean
I've never met anyone who dreamt in black and white. I wonder where the idea came from…?

Maybe the same guy who said you couldn't read texts in your dreams?

The only time I get the nothing at all thing is when someone interrupts me while I'm zoning out. The best way I can put it is that whatever I'm thinking of gets immediately deleted upon the shock of re-awakening to the mundane. I sometimes wish I could have a sign on me that reads “Daydreaming: Do not disturb with stupid questions until Chernobog starts moving again!”

Sometimes I'll sit around and just stare blankly at things. It's not so much that my brain is turned off, more like it's just not tuned to anything. Like a TV that's only showing static.

I do that at work, usually around midday.

Scribe_Drizz
On topic, I'd imagine that to think of absolutely nothing would be difficult.

I'd find it difficult if I were TRYING to think of nothing, because I'd actively have to concentrate to do that.

Chernobog
The best way I can put it is that whatever I'm thinking of gets immediately deleted upon the shock of re-awakening to the mundane.

That's a neat way of putting it. XD

For a Taoist thinking of nothing is called “just being” and a lot of Buddhist/Zen thought is devoted to not being your thoughts but your existence and thinking of nothing while being aware of everything. Tree falling in the woods or Flanders wearing nothing. Being aware of being aware of yourself being aware. lol! Mindfulness.

As for dreaming in color or B&W? I've done it. For me there's also bright vivid Technicolor versus realistic color versus washed out color and then classic Black and White. I also have lots of foreign languages spoken and upon awaking I realize it's merely the soundtrack from foreign movies I've seen.

There's been a lot on my mind lately. I'd welcome a zone out right about now.

… well 3 hours from now, gotta work on a page first. ;)

…

















oh, sorry. did you say something?

Product Placement

ozoneocean
I've never met anyone who dreamt in black and white. I wonder where the idea came from…?

Maybe the same guy who said you couldn't read texts in your dreams?

I totally have color dreams and read books in my dreams too… Does anyone else find that they can read in their dreams? I sometimes wonder if there's something wrong with me…

Anyway, I have many moments throughout the day where I'm thinking about nothing at all… Usually it's about 15 minutes each time. I feel like my time management is terrible because of this, and wish I could fix it.

There's no way I can empty my mind enough to think of nothing. Something's always in there, whether it be one of my current worries, the latest thing about some of my favorite topics, or something completely random from the left field…

This happened to me this morning at work. My fricken brain turned off. :(
I blame ALL of YOU! :gem:

ozoneocean
I've never met anyone who dreamt in black and white. I wonder where the idea came from…?

I think it'd be mostly old people. I read something once that said that people who grew up watching a lot of b an overhead shot of Ash from the game just riding his bike and battling caterpies and stuff. good times.

I had a black and white dream once; it was really noirish and gritty and cool; it even had the flickering, unsure lighting of a silent movie.

Speaking of reading text in a dream, Freud wrote something about that in the Interpretation of Dreams… he noted that text has a semblance of meaning but is warped. I remember one time I was half-asleep (this made a big impression on me; it was at my old house so I was under 12) and there was this picture frame that said “best friends” but I looked at each letter and it was more like blooorit reifffleongog" or something.

I actually can NOT think of nothing, my brain won't allow it!