I had a dream one of these nights, where I was trying to take pictures of some guys but the flash on the photo camera didn’t work. Is this because “lights” in dream don’t function properly?
Why don’t they function properly?
Thanks.
It’s a bit of a myth about the lights. They can work perfectly. But also work badly. Lights isn’t the only thing that often fails to function. Devices in general easily fail to work. IRL there are physical reasons for a camera to produce a flash. In a dream, there are no inner workings of the camera, it has no history of being built in a factory and it has no blueprint. The dream simply doesn’t get the connection between pressing the button and the flash. Just like with a lightswitch.
In a LD i tried to turn on some lights, they didn’t work properly, and took time to light up. A little later I turned on a lamp and it worked normally. I guess my brain was unprepared at first, then when it figured out how to do it, it worked faster the next time.
That’s true. I recall a certain LD where I was outside the house, and it was night. I saw a cloudy sky, and just like Bruce Almighty I hold up my hands and wipe away the clouds to reveal a star-filled sky. Then I try to make the sun come up. I shout “Sun! Sun! Light! Rise sun! Rise!” and the like but it’s still pitch black and I fall backwards and wake up 
Lights can function properly in dreams. However, electronics in general have a tendancy to malfunction in dreams. Sometimes they work - I’ve used computers, televisions, and video games in dreams - but they’re more likely to act strangely than other objects. I can recall seeing cameras three times in my dreams: one was used as a weapon, one was broken, and one seemed to work (although the flash wasn’t used). I’ve also had other light sources that worked, at least to some extent…
Oh yeah, computers. They are completely nuts in my dreams. They don’t do anything right. I can’t navigate folders because they don’t lead to what they’re supposed to. just something random. The windows look weird too. I can’t surf the web because even if I manage to write a URL it matters just about as much as with the folders. It’s random. An typing is a real chore. Keys aren’t in their rightful place. I have the terrible habit of looking at the keys when typing (working to change that) wich makes the words change if I look down for a sec. I did manage to turn the monitor on though. Not with the button but with a Ben Kenobi style hand wave in front of it. The light on the screen showed it was on before, and the button didn’t do anything. That must be how old people feel about computers… HA! My dad asked how to install word. “do I put in the cd?” hahahah