DHW writes: I find very little to disagree with in George's post, and in particular I agree completely with his account of the causes of most dreams. There is one paragraph of false premises, however: - "The idea that there has to be a reason for having a dream, or that all dreams predict subsequent events or match reality in some way is a bias of those who favour the reality of paranormal occurrences." So far as I know, nobody on this site has mentioned any such idea. - But it was DHW himself who wrote: That seems a strange reason for having a dream.