Do Other Higher Mammals Such as Whales and Dolphins Dream?

I'm not sure if you're counting dogs, but I think everybody who has ever lived with one probably feels like they can answer that question without a study.

Entity Ninth Commandment spoke thus:

I think I've heard that all mammals dream, except for the Spiny Anteater.

I doubt that you can answer that question without a study... and get it right.

Dog's no doubt dream. What has that got to do with a whale? (Hint: not much!)

I don't know if whales dream, but off hand I don't see how they could. You see they don't quite function they way we do. They can't lay down and go to sleep, or they would drown. So they have a redundant brain, and half the brain sleeps while the other half continues to take the actions necessary for life.

Now, the thing is that I don't know much more than just what is stated there, and that leaves a lot of ground unknown. Is the whole brain duplicated or just parts? Do they continue to feed, or just breath? I don't know, and therefore I can't say that a whale does or does not dream.

But certainly whales *can't* dream in the same way we do.

Do whales dream? Other, more recent studies on larger whales kept in captivity (belugas and grey whales) have demonstrated episodes of sleep lasting several minutes accompanied by convulsive movements or muscular spasms.These spasms resemble the nervous tics that accompany paradoxical sleep in terrestrial mammals, which is the stage of sleep associated with dreams. However, it is imposible to draw definite conclusions concerning the existence and length of this stage of sleep in cetaceans.

'Floyd L. Davidson' < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it > wrote in message

Ninth's original e-mail bore on the subject line the question, 'Do other higher mammals SUCH AS whales and dolphins dream? Unfortunately, I responded, 'I'm not sure if you're counting dogs...' and then this silly disagreement ensued.

Look friend, you posted a statement enclosed in quotes and claimed it

'He said 'higher mammals SUCH AS whales and dolphins.' I suppose I was drawing the circle wider than you are.'

That is a fabrication.

What has that got to do with what the OP said? You are referring to an entirely separate article of yours, not the one that I responded to with this comment, and one which had not even been posted yet when you fabricated the quote that I took offense to.

You seem to be having a lot of trouble keeping track of what is in the articles you respond to.

So what? THEY didn't say it either. NOBODY said it. You manufactured it.

'He said 'higher mammals SUCH AS whales and dolphins.' I suppose I was drawing the circle wider than you are.'

did the site you are claiming is responsible.

I just want to massage this in a little: We have been arguing because you either cannot see or neglected to notice the subject line of the OP. I am going to assume that because of peculiarities of your newsgroup/e-mail setup it is not easily visible to you. It reads, 'Do Other Higher Mammals Such as Whales and Dolphins Dream?'

Entity Floyd L. Davidson spoke thus:

How do you know that? Because you believe yourself to be a superior lifeform? If we invented a device that would allow humans to remain underwater for as long as whales or dolphins that would be called 'high technology', yet persons such as you would insist those animals to be 'lower lifeforms'.

Your argument is an extension of chauvinism, the biblical imperative to 'dominate and subdue the earth'. Thanks to your ilk, we have rampant exploitation of resources, runaway extinctions and a total denial of the problem by the wealthy and powerful.

Use it up, wear it out...