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Science of Chess: Playing blindfold and seeing chess in your dreams

@DIAChessClubStudies said in #6:

Blessings, as sleep, dreams, and consciousness in general are only partially understood. Obviously individuals reporting dreams are just anecdotal, or a form of introspection. The phenomenon of dreaming about what one does during the day is universal, applying to anything, not even sure the blindfold chess stands out compared to other literature about dreams. But dreams are near impossible to study. (Consider the science fiction movie Dreamscape 1984)

I would propose this could be evidence / argument for 'spiritual phenomenon', that thought does not arise from the brain, but in a Cartesian sense that the brain is a receiver and thought itself does not arise from the brain but the soul. And scientific research on the subject, looking for a neurological solution are less convincing (correspond less with the phenomenon) that dualistic explanations separating mind and body. But one needs to make these philosophical presuppositions come prior to interpretation of the anecdotal evidence, and how to try to gather or test a theory.

These are interesting comments, but I want to push back gently on one of them: I don't think dreams are near impossible to study! While we don't have direct access to the contents of a dream, that's nothing new for psychology or cognitive science. We can try to elicit reports from participants about dreams by monitoring sleep, in animal models we can do direct recordings like the place cell records I mentioned here, and while I have some skepticism about these techniques there are more and more efforts to use machine learning to read out and even synthesize mental states from EEG or fMRI measurements. That's all to say that I think dreams are very much measurable, or at least something we can aspire to measure more effectively without the need for too much wishful thinking.

I do agree that there are lots of activities that end up in our dreams from our waking experience. The possibly unique thing about blindfold chess is the intrusiveness of the experience, which may be more about the extensive effort expended during the day. I don't know of any work examining cognitive load or even just time spent on an activity and dream outcomes, but I bet someone has done this. Thanks for reading and commenting!

@DIAChessClubStudies said in #6: > Blessings, as sleep, dreams, and consciousness in general are only partially understood. Obviously individuals reporting dreams are just anecdotal, or a form of introspection. The phenomenon of dreaming about what one does during the day is universal, applying to anything, not even sure the blindfold chess stands out compared to other literature about dreams. But dreams are near impossible to study. (Consider the science fiction movie Dreamscape 1984) > > I would propose this could be evidence / argument for 'spiritual phenomenon', that thought does not arise from the brain, but in a Cartesian sense that the brain is a receiver and thought itself does not arise from the brain but the soul. And scientific research on the subject, looking for a neurological solution are less convincing (correspond less with the phenomenon) that dualistic explanations separating mind and body. But one needs to make these philosophical presuppositions come prior to interpretation of the anecdotal evidence, and how to try to gather or test a theory. These are interesting comments, but I want to push back gently on one of them: I don't think dreams are near impossible to study! While we don't have direct access to the contents of a dream, that's nothing new for psychology or cognitive science. We can try to elicit reports from participants about dreams by monitoring sleep, in animal models we can do direct recordings like the place cell records I mentioned here, and while I have some skepticism about these techniques there are more and more efforts to use machine learning to read out and even synthesize mental states from EEG or fMRI measurements. That's all to say that I think dreams are very much measurable, or at least something we can aspire to measure more effectively without the need for too much wishful thinking. I do agree that there are lots of activities that end up in our dreams from our waking experience. The possibly unique thing about blindfold chess is the intrusiveness of the experience, which may be more about the extensive effort expended during the day. I don't know of any work examining cognitive load or even just time spent on an activity and dream outcomes, but I bet someone has done this. Thanks for reading and commenting!

@NDpatzer, certainly dreams can be studied, and evidence collected, with some theories / explanations more likely than others, but hard to meet the criteria of 'scientific' study, which needs clear definitions and criteria, which is certainly more difficult for psychology in general, and within psychology dreams are from the most difficult phenomenon to formerly study.

But how one interprets dreams, usually corresponds to one's leanings in theory of mind. So any individual phenomenon, like dreaming, can also be seen as evidence for or against a comprehensive theory of mind.

Always enjoy your blog posts and research, blessings, sweet dreams!

@NDpatzer, certainly dreams can be studied, and evidence collected, with some theories / explanations more likely than others, but hard to meet the criteria of 'scientific' study, which needs clear definitions and criteria, which is certainly more difficult for psychology in general, and within psychology dreams are from the most difficult phenomenon to formerly study. But how one interprets dreams, usually corresponds to one's leanings in theory of mind. So any individual phenomenon, like dreaming, can also be seen as evidence for or against a comprehensive theory of mind. Always enjoy your blog posts and research, blessings, sweet dreams!

I absolutely will do. He has always been a terrific gentleman who takes an interest in everyone. I was delighted to find out that he had found a partner with whom to get his pet project finished.

I absolutely will do. He has always been a terrific gentleman who takes an interest in everyone. I was delighted to find out that he had found a partner with whom to get his pet project finished.

Really good. Thanks++.
In my teens, taking chess seriously, I had trouble sleeping during congresses - when anything I thought of whilst trying to sleep would be seen "in chess terms". Am unable to describe this. Some were hypnogogues, but others just...have me thinking of any life events as part of a chess game.
Now, paradoxically, if having difficulty sleeping, I imagine playing through a particular line I worked out many years ago (when I was paired against a known rival), facing an imaginary (or not) superior opponent. I wake up next day, often realising I only got a few moves in. If I do get the end, I'm screwed.

PS Mouse hippocampi are so so small.

Really good. Thanks++. In my teens, taking chess seriously, I had trouble sleeping during congresses - when anything I thought of whilst trying to sleep would be seen "in chess terms". Am unable to describe this. Some were hypnogogues, but others just...have me thinking of any life events as part of a chess game. Now, paradoxically, if having difficulty sleeping, I imagine playing through a particular line I worked out many years ago (when I was paired against a known rival), facing an imaginary (or not) superior opponent. I wake up next day, often realising I only got a few moves in. If I do get the end, I'm screwed. PS Mouse hippocampi are so so small.

Hi,

Thanks for the article.

I was wondering if there is any recording of how much coffee Najdorf drank during the blind simul?

Maybe he even used drugs like amfetamin which might have been considered good medecine in those days.

Google provides a long list for "medication for memory"

Hi, Thanks for the article. I was wondering if there is any recording of how much coffee Najdorf drank during the blind simul? Maybe he even used drugs like amfetamin which might have been considered good medecine in those days. Google provides a long list for "medication for memory"

Speaking of hippocampus - It reminded me of the Najdorf Quote - "If all played the Hippopotamus Defense Opening, I would not have a chance since the games would be similar" :-)

Speaking of hippocampus - It reminded me of the Najdorf Quote - "If all played the Hippopotamus Defense Opening, I would not have a chance since the games would be similar" :-)

Fascinating. I too used to experience 'calculation loops' in my dreams. It was extremely unpleasant. There would be a position on the board, I'd come up with a good line, and then go to check, only to discover the position had changed. And so on, it would go. I'd describe it as nightmarish.

Fascinating. I too used to experience 'calculation loops' in my dreams. It was extremely unpleasant. There would be a position on the board, I'd come up with a good line, and then go to check, only to discover the position had changed. And so on, it would go. I'd describe it as nightmarish.