Portions of the brain fall asleep and wake back up all the time
I think we are getting closer to furthering the concept that dreaming isn&#x27;t just a side-effect of thinking (or simply a defrag&#x2F;clean-up routine upon the previous day&#x27;s thoughts or the mind&#x27;s expectations for tomorrow).  It <i>is</i> itself the key to the thinking process, and sits above and commands the other &quot;agents&quot;.  It helps us deal with uncertainty and lack of rationality inherent in the universe and our incomplete understanding of it.