AI summary: Erik Hoel’s “overfitted brain hypothesis” suggests that dreaming is the brain’s way of generalizing experiences, similar to how artificial neural networks learn from data. The hypothesis proposes that the bizarre nature of dreams prevents our brains from becoming too focused on specific tasks, enhancing our ability to generalize. Hoel also suggests ways to test this theory, including examining the effects of sleep deprivation on memory and generalization, and exploring the potential benefits of dream-like stimuli such as virtual reality.
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