Did People Used To Look Older?

Summary

This Vsauce video explores the concept of 'retrospective aging,' examining why people from the past appear older than their years and whether this perception is real or an illusion. It delves into how lifestyle, nutrition, and healthcare changes have contributed to humans aging more slowly today. The video also touches on the influence of names on our physical appearance and the fascinating 'face-name matching effect,' concluding with the idea that our dreams may be shaped by our perceptions, influenced by the era we live in.

Takeaways

• 🕰️ People in the past appeared older at a younger age than they do now, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'retrospective aging'.
• 📚 Evidence from Twitter and old photos suggests that individuals from previous decades looked more mature at younger ages compared to today.
• 🧬 Research from Yale and USC indicates that modern humans are aging more slowly due to changes in lifestyle, nutrition, healthcare, and skincare.
• 🔢 The study suggests that between the early 90s and late 2000s, the biological age of people has decreased, making 60 the new 56, and 40 the new 37.5.
• 🦷 Advances in dentistry and orthodontics have significantly altered the appearance of people's faces over the last century.
• 👄 Media representation has shifted to expose larger lips across ethnicities, but the only significant change in facial features over time.
• 👓 Retrospective aging can also be influenced by short-term perspective changes, such as how high school seniors seem older to freshmen but not to themselves as seniors.
• 🎨 Superficial styles, mannerisms, and self-expression can make a significant difference in perceived age, often creating an illusion of aging.
• 👴 The concept of 'retrospective aging' is a mix of reality and illusion, where people in the past aged faster, but current perceptions are also influenced by outdated styles.
• 👕 Dressing in a manner that was once associated with youth can eventually become associated with old age as the people who popularized the style grow older.
• 👓 The idea that people named Mark look a certain way is an example of how names can influence our perception of faces, a phenomenon known as the 'face-name matching effect'.
• 🧐 The 'Dorian Gray effect' suggests that a person's name can influence their physical appearance, potentially due to self-fulfilling prophecies and societal expectations.

Q & A

What is the phenomenon of people appearing to look older in historical photos compared to their actual ages?

The phenomenon, referred to as 'retrospective aging,' suggests that people in historical photos often appear older than they actually were, possibly due to a combination of lifestyle, nutrition, healthcare, and skincare differences compared to modern times.

What evidence supports the idea that people today are aging more slowly than in the past?

Researchers at Yale and USC have found through the comparison of various health metrics like metabolic, cardiovascular, inflammatory, kidney, liver, and lung function that humans today are indeed aging more slowly than their historic counterparts.

How did changes in lifestyle, nutrition, and healthcare contribute to the perception of slower aging?

Changes in these areas have led to improved health and longevity, which in turn affects the physical signs of aging, making people appear younger for longer periods compared to the past.

What role has the use of sunscreen played in the aging process?

The use of sunscreen has been a significant factor in slowing down the aging process by protecting the skin from harmful UV rays, which are known to cause premature aging and skin damage.

How did the study conducted by researchers at Yale and USC measure the slowing down of aging?

The study measured the slowing down of aging by comparing health metrics such as metabolic, cardiovascular, inflammatory, kidney, liver, and lung function across different time periods.

What is the concept of '60 being the new 50' as suggested by the study?

The concept suggests that due to slower aging, the physical and health conditions associated with being 60 years old in the past are now more closely aligned with those of a 56-year-old in the present.

What role have dentistry and orthodontics played in the cosmetic appearance of people's faces?

Dentistry and orthodontics have played a significant role in shaping the cosmetic appearance of people's faces, particularly in parts of the world where these practices are common.

What is the phenomenon of 'retrospective aging' in relation to fashion and style?

Retrospective aging in relation to fashion and style refers to the idea that certain styles or mannerisms, once associated with youth, can over time come to be seen as representative of old age as the people who originally wore them grow older.

How does the perception of age in fashion and style contribute to the illusion of retrospective aging?

The perception of age in fashion and style contributes to the illusion of retrospective aging by associating certain outdated or old-fashioned styles with being old, even if the style itself was once considered youthful.

What is the 'face-name matching effect' and how does it relate to the perception of age?

The face-name matching effect is a phenomenon where people can guess a stranger's name based on their facial features more accurately than would be expected by chance alone. This effect can influence how young or old someone appears to be, as certain names are subconsciously associated with certain age groups or facial characteristics.

How might the expectations associated with a name influence a person's physical appearance?

The expectations associated with a name can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, where individuals may grow up to fulfill those expectations by carrying themselves in ways that they believe are consistent with their names, which can include aspects of their appearance that make them seem older or younger.

What is the 'Dorian Gray effect' in the context of names and physical appearance?

The 'Dorian Gray effect' in this context suggests that a person's appearance may come to reflect the name they were given, similar to the way the protagonist's portrait in Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' ages and reflects his deeds while he remains young.

How do people's perceptions of when old age begins differ based on various factors?

People's perceptions of when old age begins can differ based on factors such as their own age, gender, ethnicity, and health status. For example, people under 65 tend to place the start of old age at an earlier age than those over 65, and women generally perceive old age to begin later than men.

Why do some older people think they dream in black and white?

Some older people think they dream in black and white not because of an aging process, but because they grew up during the era of black and white TV and movies, which influenced their perception of dreams and led them to report more black and white dreams.

What is the significance of the 'time traveling hipster' photo from 1941?

The 'time traveling hipster' photo from 1941 is significant because it sparked discussions about the possibility of time travel and the anachronistic nature of fashion. The man in the photo was dressed in a casual manner that resembled modern styles, leading to speculation that he might be a time traveler, although researchers later explained his attire as typical for the time.

Outlines

00:00

🕰️ Retrospective Aging and Perceptions of Youth

This paragraph explores the concept of 'retrospective aging,' where people appear to look older in older photographs compared to today. It discusses how lifestyle, nutrition, healthcare, and skincare, especially the use of sunscreen, have contributed to people aging more slowly. The paragraph references a study from Yale and USC that suggests we are staying younger longer, with specific age comparisons like 60 being the new 56. It also touches on the cosmetic changes in dentistry and orthodontics, and the observation that media exposure to larger lips has increased across ethnicities. The narrative concludes with a personal anecdote about the perception of age in high school and the idea that our perspective on age can change over time.

05:01

🎨 The Illusion of Retrospective Aging and Style

The second paragraph delves into how superficial styles and mannerisms can significantly alter our perception of age, supporting the hypothesis that the idea of people looking older in the past is often an illusion. It discusses how modes of self-expression, such as clothing, hairstyles, and body language, are always changing and how these can influence our perception of age. The paragraph also highlights how we may associate certain styles with old age because that's how older people dressed in the past, creating a cycle where what was once youthful becomes associated with old age over time. It concludes with a humorous anecdote about a gym teacher who consistently wore the same outfit for his yearbook photos, illustrating how styles can come to be seen as old-fashioned.

10:02

🔮 The Curiosity Box and Perceptions of Names

This paragraph introduces the Vsauce Curiosity Box, a subscription service that provides subscribers with unique items and 'brain food.' It describes the contents of the summer box, including moire illusion cards and a Pythagorean cup, which is a practical joke item. The paragraph also mentions that proceeds from the box support Alzheimer's research. Additionally, it discusses the 'face-name matching effect,' where people can associate certain names with specific facial features, and how this can influence perceptions and even self-fulfilling prophecies regarding a person's appearance and behavior.

15:03

🧔 The Influence of Names on Perceptions and Self-Identity

The fourth paragraph examines how names can influence perceptions and self-identity. It discusses research that shows people have certain expectations based on names and how these can affect how individuals carry themselves. The paragraph also explores the idea that parents may unconsciously prefer names that match their child's facial features, which can reinforce the face-name matching effect. It concludes with a discussion on how people's names can affect their emotional likability and even voting outcomes, suggesting that names can have a profound impact on social interactions and personal identity.

20:04

👵 Aging, Dreams, and Perceptions of Time

The final paragraph discusses various aspects of aging, including the average age people consider as the beginning of old age, which is 73.7 according to a study. It explores how different demographics view old age, with younger people wishing to be older and vice versa. The paragraph also touches on the idea that people's desires for their eternal age average out to 36. It concludes with a discussion on the perception of dreams being in black and white, suggesting that this is due to the prevalence of black and white media in the past rather than an actual change in the nature of dreams themselves.

Keywords

💡Retrospective Aging

Retrospective aging refers to the perception that people from the past looked older at a younger age compared to people today. This concept is central to the video's theme, which explores why this perception exists. The script provides examples from old photographs and yearbooks, illustrating how individuals in their teens and early twenties appeared older than they would be considered today.

💡Lifestyle and Nutrition

Lifestyle and nutrition are key factors that have changed over time and are suggested in the video to contribute to the slower aging process of modern humans compared to their historical counterparts. The script mentions how changes in these areas, including the use of sunscreen and improved healthcare, have led to people maintaining a youthful appearance for longer periods.

💡Metabolic Function

Metabolic function is a biological process that involves the chemical reactions in living organisms to maintain life. The video discusses how researchers have measured changes in metabolic, cardiovascular, inflammatory, kidney, liver, and lung function over time, finding that people today are aging more slowly, which is exemplified by the comparison of these functions across different time periods.

💡Dentistry and Orthodontics

Dentistry and orthodontics play a significant role in the cosmetic appearance of people's faces. The script notes that advancements in these fields have contributed to the perception of younger appearances, although it also points out that when measuring faces from magazines over time, the only significant change has been an increase in lip size across all ethnicities.

💡Self-Expression

Self-expression encompasses the various ways individuals convey their identity and personality to the world. The video suggests that changes in clothing, hairstyles, accessories, makeup, and body language are all forms of self-expression that can influence how a person's age is perceived. The script uses the evolution of these modes over time to explain how styles can come to be associated with different age groups.

💡Anachronism

Anachronism refers to something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time. In the context of the video, the term is used to describe the idea that people perceive individuals from the past as dressed like 'old people' today, when in fact, they are simply dressed in the style of their own time, which has since become associated with an older demographic.

💡Stereotypes

Stereotypes are widely held but fixed and oversimplified ideas about a group of people. The video discusses how stereotypes about names, such as associating certain names with specific facial features, can influence perceptions of people's appearances. The script provides examples of research that shows people's expectations based on names can affect how they rate faces and even guess names based on appearances.

💡Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief that leads to actions that cause the belief to come true. The script mentions this concept in relation to how people may grow into the stereotypes associated with their names, altering their behavior and appearance to match societal expectations, which can reinforce the initial stereotype.

💡Face Name Matching Effect

The face name matching effect is a psychological phenomenon where people can accurately guess a stranger's name based on their facial appearance more often than would be expected by chance. The video explains this effect through research findings and suggests that it may be due to societal expectations and stereotypes associated with certain names.

💡Perception of Age

Perception of age refers to how individuals interpret and judge the age of others based on various cues. The script explores this concept by discussing how people's perceptions of what age groups look like have changed over time and are influenced by factors such as fashion and media representation.

💡Cultural Shift

Cultural shift denotes a change in societal norms, values, and behaviors over time. The video touches on this concept when discussing how the perception of age and the association of styles with age groups have evolved. It uses the example of how the popularity of black and white media influenced people's reports of dreaming in black and white.

Highlights

People in the past looked older at a younger age, a phenomenon known as 'retrospective aging'.

Evidence of retrospective aging comes from shared photos showing parents in their early twenties looking older than their age.

Retrospective aging is influenced by factors like lifestyle, nutrition, smoking habits, healthcare, and skincare, including sunscreen use.

Researchers at Yale and USC found that humans are aging more slowly than their historic counterparts, with measures of various functions indicating a 'younger for longer' trend.

The concept of '60 is the new 50' is supported by research suggesting a shift in the perceived age of different life stages.

Dentistry and Orthodontics have played a significant role in the cosmetic appearance of faces in the past century.

Media exposure to larger lips across ethnicities has been the only significant change in facial features from the 1930s to today.

Retrospective aging can also be a result of perspective, as our perception of age changes as we age ourselves.

Superficial styles and mannerisms can significantly impact the perceived age of individuals.

The 'face-name matching effect' suggests that people can associate certain names with specific facial features.

Names may influence a person's physical appearance through a self-fulfilling prophecy, where individuals grow to match societal expectations associated with their names.

The 'Dorian Gray effect' is a term used to describe the phenomenon where a person's appearance may reflect the name they were given.

Parents may unconsciously prefer names that match their child's facial features, reinforcing the face-name matching effect.

The average American wishes to be 36 years old forever, reflecting a desire for a balance between youth and maturity.

Older individuals are more likely to report dreaming in black and white, potentially due to the influence of black and white media from the 20th century.

The perception of color in dreams may be influenced more by cultural and technological factors rather than an inherent change in the dreams themselves.

The concept of dreams being like moving pictures may be due to the lack of a better comparison, as both are immaterial and contain movement and narrative.

Transcripts

hey Vsauce Michael here at the age of

18. Carl Sagan looked like a teenager

but it doesn't take long in an old high

school yearbook to find teenagers who

look surprisingly old

these people are all in their 20s but so

are these people

this is Elizabeth Taylor when she was

just 17 and here are some high school

students from the 70s

did people used to look older Brandon

McCarthy asked on Twitter and evidence

poured in people shared photos of their

parents in their early twenties their

dad at 21 their mom at 18 or 19. their

dad at 45. one user shared their husband

at 27 and what his father looked like at

23.

and there's pretty much an entire

subculture around how old footballers

looked decades ago 24

31 33 29

27.

it's not uncommon to think that there's

something more grown up about the way

people used to be to look back and think

that people seemed older at a younger

age than they do now

let's call it retrospective aging it

doesn't happen to everyone people do not

and never have aged similarly and

there's even the opposite observation

that kids these days grow up too fast

but it's a popular question and subject

of numerous memes

so

is it real

or is it an illusion fueled by

cherry-picked examples that feeds Rosy

Nostalgia for a time when people were

tough and didn't have it as easy as you

kids have it now

well as it turns out

both

humans today really are aging more

slowly than their historic counterparts

changes in lifestyle nutrition smoking

habits Healthcare early life conditions

and Skin Care particularly the use of

sunscreen are a huge part of it by

comparing measures of metabolic

cardiovascular inflammatory kidney liver

and lung function across time

researchers at Yale and USC have found

that we are in fact staying younger for

longer than we used to so does that mean

that 60 is the new 50.

almost their results suggest that

between the early 90s and the late 2000s

60 became the new

56. 40 became the new 37 and a half and

20 became the new 19. oh also during the

last century dentistry and Orthodontics

have played a huge cosmetic role in the

kinds of faces we see in parts of the

world

but interestingly when faces in

magazines are measured from the 1930s to

today the only significant change has

been that across all ethnicities the

media is now exposing us to larger lips

also retroactive aging can occur over

short time spans when I was a freshman

the seniors in my high school seemed so

old to me

by the time I was a senior myself I

looked in the mirror and at my peers and

I was like we are them now but we don't

seem as old as they did

what's going on isn't just about bodies

first of all the seniors I looked at

when I was a freshman truly were older

than me at that time they graduated and

went away and later when I was a senior

I saw myself as I was but in my mind's

eye I saw the earlier seniors as they

appeared to me when I was younger

retrospective aging seems to also be

about perspective let's go back to this

tweet this is George wimp playing Norm

on the TV show Cheers now when cheers

premiered went was indeed 34 but I

looked it up and this image is actually

from episode 24 of season 5 when Wint

was 38 so we're not comparing Apples to

Apples here however this is an image of

George went at 34 and Ashley Fairbanks

made some alterations and a good point

however here's the rub these alterations

don't make Wint look more like a 34 year

old they make him look more like a 34

year old

today

similarly giving the Golden Girls modern

day hairstyles and makeup drops their

apparent age a lot superficial Styles

and mannerisms can often make not just a

big difference

but all the difference which supports

the hypothesis that retrospective aging

is often

an illusion

modes of self-expression are always

changing clothing

hairstyles

accessories makeup

mannerisms language body language now

modes can come back but never exactly

the context is always a little bit

different

and from what's available or acceptable

at any one time we each draw ways of

appearing or being in the world and even

if you don't care about how you look or

think about how you act what options you

even have are dictated by what's

currently popular or normal or being

pushed on people like you

few of us stay at the stream drawing

what's new all our lives for various

reasons we often wander away with our

catch perhaps it's because we settle

into an identity we're comfortable with

or fear the taboo of not dressing our

age or simply run out of time to care

but when we're gone

the stream keeps changing

and we get older and continue to use the

mannerisms and styles we grabbed a while

back

eventually to whatever those Styles

initially evoked a new connotation is

added

old person

not because the look or behavior is

intrinsically for the elderly but

because those who use it us became old

ourselves

if you want to look older what do you do

well you can dress the way older people

dress and the thing is that's often how

they used to dress too

we think people looked older in the past

because they look the way old people do

today

Dale Irby a gym teacher at Prestonwood

Elementary School in Dallas Texas posed

for his first yearbook photo in 1973.

the following year he accidentally wore

the same outfit again he says he was

embarrassed at first but his wife Kathy

challenged him to do it again

so he did

and he never stopped

what he gave us is a great exaggerated

example of how what once connoted youth

comes to be associated with old age the

people we keep seeing a style on get

older and older themselves until we

think of the style itself as being for

old people

retrospective aging then is double

pronged both real and illusory people in

the past really did age faster than us

because of differences in nutrition and

lifestyle and medicine but much if not

most can be chalked up to the fact that

we think people like this are dressed

like old people but that's an

anachronism they're dressed like old

people from the future

the old people they would become

has anyone ever dressed like a young

person from the future well it happened

in 1941 at the reopening of the South

Fork bridge in Canada a crowd came out

to celebrate and photos were taken in

2010 the photos were digitized and

placed online that's when this guy was

noticed a time traveling hipster

why a time traveler wouldn't bother to

blend in and why with all of history to

visit he chose the reopening of a bridge

in the 40s

no one knew the photo was confirmed to

be undoctored and researchers put

forward the idea that this man

was not in fact a time traveler that his

shirt wasn't an ironic screen print but

simply bore the logo of the Montreal

Maroons a nearby hockey team at the time

they said his sunglasses and knit

sweater were not unusual for the 40s nor

was his portable camera the only thing

that was unusual about him was how

casual his attire was

and they're probably right but this all

raises the exciting possibility that

someone out there right now possibly

even you is unknowingly dressed like

people in the future will and your

appearance in photos will someday freak

them out

you know it might be fun to start

dressing even more casually or in some

other odd way on the off chance that you

happen to nail it and years from now you

are worshiped as a time traveler

oh that reminds me of today's sponsor

hi I'm Michael Stevens would you like to

look like you're from the future well

every season those who subscribe to

vsauce's curiosity box receive a box

full of delicious brain food that we

have made that very few people have

yet

this year our summer box contains our

moire illusion cards a bunch of other

things I won't spoil and this a

Pythagorean cup supposedly invented by

Pythagoras himself it is widely

considered the earliest known practical

joke it works just like a normal cup

fill it up carry it around take a drink

um

refreshing

but it punishes greed if you pour

yourself too much the internal siphon

will drain the entire contents

greed is good more like greed is wet

a portion of all proceeds from the

Vsauce curiosity box go directly to

alzheimer's research so this box isn't

just good for your brain it's good for

everyone's brain and we've got a special

treat for you while supplies last if you

subscribe to the Curiosity box you can

choose a bundle of some of our favorite

items from past boxes that we will throw

in for free just pay shipping if you're

not subscribed yet

I'm ready for you with open arms and

open neurons

wow

whoa

who's that guy

does he look like a bill a mark a Justin

or a josh

pause right now if you'd like to think

about it

according to research from Millsaps

College in Miami University

this is Mark

or at least this is what we think people

named Mark look like

by asking people to make and rate

digitally created faces researchers were

able to put together prototypical faces

for a number of different names

this is apparently what we think a Josh

looks like a bill a Justin a Dan a Brian

a Tom and Andy

the idea that names might conjure

certain face shapes in our minds isn't

that strange for example there's

Wolfgang Kohler's famous finding that

when asked which of these shapes is

named buba and which is named Kiki

people of all different ages and

cultures and languages overwhelmingly

assign Kiki to the spiky one and buba to

the Blobby one and sure enough it

certainly seems to work with names too

which one of these men is Tim and which

is Bob

well almost unanimously people feel like

this is Tim and this is Bob

but are these men actually named Tim and

Bob

well there's the rub just because we

associate certain names certain sounds

with certain shapes doesn't mean we're

right

there's no such thing as a biological

name if a person still goes by the same

name they were given as a baby long

before anyone knew what they would look

like as an adult well surely there won't

be a connection

but as it turns out

there is

believe it or not in a multiple choice

setting people can guess a stranger's

name just by looking at their face more

often than we would expect from luck

alone it's called the face name matching

effect

here's a stimulus from zwebner's

research

this man is named Jacob Dan

Joseph

or Nathaniel

by just randomly picking a name people

should get this right 25 of the time but

zwebner found that people picked the

correct answer

Dan nearly 40 percent of the time

what's going on

can names actually cause us to grow to

look a certain way

well apparently they can it has been

called a Dorian Gray effect in Oscar

Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray a

portrait of the protagonist ages and

grotesquely reflects his evil Deeds

while he himself remains young and pure

looking in a similar way it seems that

in some cases our own appearance can

come to reflect the name we were given

but I kind of think it's really more of

a reverse story and gray effect I mean

in the book dorian's reality affects the

appearance of his portrait but the face

name matching effect goes the other way

a inanimate sign a name influences our

actual physical appearance

well anyway it's not news that a

person's name can lead others to have

certain expectations of them and treat

them accordingly it's been found for

example that multiracial faces given

European names are rated as looking more

European than the same faces are when

presented with non-european names

the expectations a name carries with it

may create a self-fulfilling prophecy

whereby as a person grows up they're

motivated to fulfill those expectations

carry themselves in ways people think

someone with their name should and even

like dislike accentuate hide use and

avoid different parts of their face and

body depending on whether or not those

parts match their name

it's been found that faces and names

that match are emotionally liked more

than faces and names that don't analysis

of voting data has shown that senatorial

candidates earn 10 more votes when their

names fit their faces very well then

when they fit very poorly now with that

in mind part of the effect could

literally come from the fact that

although parents don't know what their

kid will look like as an adult the

parents do know what they look like and

without knowing it tend to prefer names

that match their faces which are likely

to resemble their child's face as well

but not always

if the dissonance is too great a person

can always change their name either

completely or by simply choosing a

nickname if I had been just a little bit

different I Michael could have always

gone by Mike the fact that people can

adjust their names to fit them of course

merely strengthens the face name

matching effect

by studying whether the correct name

could be guessed when different parts of

a face were occluded researchers were

able to develop heat maps showing which

parts of the face different names are

most characteristically associated with

apparently looking like an an is all

about the tip of the nose it's the

bridge of the nose for Arthurs and the

philtrum or snot trough for Benjamins

aurelis are recognized by their face

spiders

let's go back to old people

how old is an old person

73.7 that's according to results

published in the Journal of American

geriatrics last year it's the average

age people gave when asked when does old

age begin

people under 65 on average said 71 and

people over 65 on average said 77. women

said old age began three years later

than men did white people said it began

eight years later than non-whites did

and people who felt healthy placed old

age later in life than those who felt

less healthy

but how old do people want to be

well that depends on how old they

already are in America the only people

who are the age they would like to be

are 21 year olds

well younger than 21 wish they were

older and people older than 21 wish they

were younger people who are 40 wish they

were 30 people who are 60 wish they were

40 and people who are 90 wish they were

60. when people are asked if they could

be one age forever the average American

picks 36 which is actually how old I am

right now funny enough

here's something else that's funny

old people are more likely to think they

dream in black and white

not because it's part of the aging

process but because they are veterans of

the great black and white dream epidemic

of the 20th century prior to the 1900s

Aristotle Descartes Freud everyone who

wrote about the topic reported that

dreams contained color

but as Humanity moved into the 20th

century the number of people reporting

color in their dreams dropped just as

quickly as the popularity of new black

and white movies and TV rows

by the 60s as color TV and movies became

more and more common reports of colored

dreams started going back up and today

people who grew up with black and white

TV continue to report more black and

white dreams than those who didn't and

later studies across China found the

same thing the frequency of black and

white dreaming correlated strongly with

how common black and white TV was in a

person's area

so did black and white movies and TV

literally change our dreams

well first of all it's not clear whether

dreams themselves actually changed or if

people just started thinking differently

about their dreams

we're trying but we still haven't found

a way to get direct access to dream

content

Eric's switchgeible has pointed out that

as far as we know dreams may not be in

color or black and white or sepia or

anything they may be primarily

indeterminate in color as they happen

and only later during recall do we

confabulate details about color he

Compares dreaming to reading is a novel

in color or black and white as you read

a story what do you see in your mind it

might be the case that dreams vaporous

as they are are something we simply have

a terrible grip on and that movies and

TV shows have given us the illusion of

understanding them in fact switchable

has speculated that smells and touch

Sensations are rare in dreams today but

future people with smelly touchy-feely

VR shows might think that they dream

with lots of textures and odors and find

it strange

maybe even frightening that few of us

seem to

but why would we think that dreams were

like moving pictures and not normal

Waking Life

well no one knows it might be that

motion pictures are just simply the

closest thing we have to dreaming that

isn't dreamy

unlike still images paintings

photographs tapestries Motion Pictures

and dreams can contain movement and

narrative and cause and effect and

unlike stage plays or real life Motion

Pictures and dreams are not made of

anything that is even remotely similar

to what they depict

they're both made of phantoms

images are uncanny things a person in an

image is Frozen in time but yet can seem

to grow old our own image can depend on

what we are called and they're the

closest thing we have to what our mind

does when we're away

do you get the picture

or does the picture get you

and as always

for watching

[Music]

[Music]