Letters: Antidream Machine

Dream when you’re feeling blue?

Not any more—if a machine reported in a recent issue of the Naval Research Reviews is put into use. By measuring brainwaves through the use of electrodes, a device no larger than a pack of cigarettes can gauge a person’s level of concentration. If his mind begins to wander, a tone sounds, jolting him from his reverie. If he continues to daydream, another alarm goes off, notifying his boss, his teacher or some Big Brother who can promptly set the dreamer straight.

This instrument of wakefulness, designed by Scientist Karel Montor, was first tested on midshipmen volunteers at the U.S. Naval Academy. When their minds strayed from their assignment to thoughts about a girl friend or their next leave—bong! they were found out.

Like the fear of being hanged, the machine wonderfully concentrates the mind. Hitched up to a truck or bus driver, an airline pilot or an air-traffic controller, it may prevent accidents. Generally, it could be used to teach people to keep their minds on the matter at hand. But the right to daydream—the right not to pay attention—should be rigidly respected and, if need be, fiercely fought for, even if it is not listed in the Bill of Rights. A machine that could banish idle reveries would be a nightmare.