Why and how is it possible that we are able to think of things that aren't real?

Question

How can we dream of things that are fictional? How can we imagine things that don't exist? How IS this POSSIBLE?

For example where do we get fairies and Greek gods and unicorns from. How are these things a figment of our imagination? Does it seem logical at all to know things you've never heard of?

I'm flattered to know that you all think this is a good and intelligent question because I'm only 13. I was just extremely curious. Thanks for the answers!

Answer 1

Imagination springs out of curiosity. The fact that you asked this question is a proof that curiosity plays a big role in imagination. The what ifs of everything could seem so deep but we could always make an easy way out of it and it would be imagination. You just have to seek it in yourself and you will discover that the greatest of mysteries that are fictional are the ones you make out of personal likes and dislikes meshed up in one single platter. This is a very nice question for someone 3 years younger than me.

Answer 2

Humans are the only ones capable of imagination and abstract thinking, that's part of evolution and brain structure and function; our imagination is greater when we don't know how to explain natural phenomenons. Mythology and legends are good examples of very creative imagination trying to explain thinks such as why we are in this world, what is out there in the universe, etc. On the other hand, science and reasonable thinking give us reasonable theories that eliminate myth and legends, but even theories start as hypothesis, and hypothesis are also imagination and creativity, the only difference is the hypothesis look for material prove and real facts.

Answer 3

We have the ability to think and create answers to explain what we don't know. The creation of a heirarchy of mythical gods was done to explain why things happened to ancient civilizations. It becomes easier to understand things if we can relate the concepts to which we are familian. Mermaids were figments of imagination created by sailors at sea. Minotaurs were created by Greek Kings to frighten people in accepting that some behavior was not wanted in that society. I will sentence you to prison with the minotaur. Are our stories of aliens and UFOs any different in our modern age than such creatures as Centaurs and Griffins and Dragons one thousand years ago?

Answer 4

A very intelligent question. Try this on for size: We've all lived many lives, in many different bodies, in many different realms. We've forgotten these lives, of course, yet, the experience of these lives are all stored in our minds. All these experiences sort of "leak" out time to time, (like in dreams) and because we cannot remember our past life experiences, we attribute these "leaks" to being our "imagination." Everything has a source....all of our thoughts and musings and imagination, has a source. We just can't remember those sources. So we mitigate our confusion by arriving to a conclusion that kind of satisfies us, for the moment, but not in the long run. Simply put, saying that something is "not real" only means that we, personally, have not experienced it in our own recent memory. What's "not real" to us, may be very real to someone else, who has experienced it, and may remember it. Remember, there's an awful lot going on "out there" that our little minds cannot comprehend, or for that matter, remember.

Answer 5

First of all, who is to say they aren't real? Before anything could be built someone had to imagine it. Logic is a tool, like a hammer or screwdriver, it isn't meant to circumvent the multi-verse. Have you ever actually seen Moscow or the Forbidden City of China? Do you then ask how anyone can believe they exist? The world is an endless and wondrous gift. Why fight what is all around you?

Answer 6

The thing to remember about a lot of mythical creatures is that these stories were created a very long time ago to explain phenomenon beyone our ancestors' scope of understanding.

For instance, in medieval times (and before) people found dinosaur bones--the dragon myth was born to explain them.

Gods, from any region, are societies' means of understanding and giving meaning to events that are hard to grasp otherwise. Famine, death, birth, etc.

I can't tell you the exact origin for unicorns or fairies, but it's all based in older cultures.

Answer 7

Some of the best minds in the world claim that they got their inspiration while sleeping. They felt that they were divinely inspired (i.e. from god). Some people believe that we carry some talents and information between lives in reincarnation. I believe that it may be a combination of sources and that sometimes, the sub-conscience puts various stray thoughts together and comes up with something new. The old legends, I believe, refer to strange beings that may have existed at some point in our lost history.

Answer 8

All of these things are people trying to make sense of the world in which they lived. It may seem unreal that people once believed in fairies, but then again, the people who lived in that world were largely illiterate, poor, uneducated, and brutally oppressed by famine, wars, the plagues and unjust rulers. Being uneducated and largely fearful, these people sought to make sense of a world largely unfamiliar and dangerous. No technology to help them, no lights at night except fire light, a world shared with animals of the woods, their world mostly farmland and woods, these people often sought excape from the harsh realities through fantasy and music and dance and rituals, religious and otherwise, strongly salted with superstition. So yes, people from far away times did use their ample imaginations fired by all of these conditions and more, both to escape from their brutal existence and to make sense of it just as we do today for largely the same reasons, both to make sense of our existence (poetry, art, novels, movies, etc.) in this cold and cruel world and to escape from it (science fiction, movies, art, etc.)

Answer 9

Good question. I believe all our thoughts have some amount of reality in it. I mean even those who think of inventions had something to go by to come up with what they invented. For example, airplanes are similiar to birds. Its like you need to have a some basic made of reality in order to imagine. I don't know what the hell I just said.

Answer 10

Some myths and stories were invented to explain phenomenon that weren't understood.

Others are just a result of one of humans' greatest gifts, the imagination. Starting a sentence with "What if...?"