A Rationalist's Irrational Dilemmas ...2019

Invariably, my dreaming is by day, but I did have a rare dream at night about a week ago, and that is the trigger for this blogpost.

This was just before a trans-Atlantic business trip I took this week. In my dream, I was on a long flight back home, when the aircraft felt a bump. Looking out of the window seat I was sitting in, the aircraft had hit water - glistening ripples and a bright sunny day. The sight was delightful, and there was no panic in the aircraft. I heard the engines rev up to try to lift off the water, and that I when I woke up.

 The first dilemma, which lasted no more than a fleeting moment, was whether I should cancel my trip due to this apparent "premonition". There are no premonitions in a rationalist's life, so it was a no-brainer to dismiss this dilemma, and, unhesitatingly, I decided to proceed with the trip.

The second dilemma was a more difficult one - whether I should talk about my dream with my close network/ social media. There were several risks here: (a) they may not be able to laugh off the dream as easily and could remain distressed until I safely returned from the trip, (b) if the aircraft did, indeed, go down into the water, those whom I informed of my dream would blur the difference between causation and coincidence - this would be an unwitting "proof" of the contrary, (c) in the social media, there was also room for a different interpretation of my "dream experience", and possibly invite extreme security scrutiny of the flight.

I toiled over the second dilemma until I commenced my trip and kept the dream to myself. And, now that I am safely back (about which, there was never any doubt), I share this with everyone.

A silly experience, in the big scheme of things, but it highlights the magnitude of our conditioning that biases our thinking, more often toward the irrational!