‘When we dream, we have the perfect chemical canvas for intense visions’
US journalist Alice Robb, author of a new book about the science and life-changing potential of dreams, talks about her research
Alice Robb is an American science journalist who has written for the Washington Post and the New Republic. Her new book, Why We Dream, encourages us to rethink the importance of dreams and to become dream interpreters ourselves.
Writing a book about dreams turned you into a “magnet for confessions”. Why are people compelled to talk about dreams?
It is a natural impulse because dreams are emotional, affect moods, feel profound. What is unusual is that we live in a culture where we’re expected to forget our dreams. We have this cliche that it is boring to talk about dreams.