I just saw a Batman cartoon (the most credible source in the world) where they mentiond that you can’t read in your dreams. Has anyone ever heard this before? I wouldn’t think that this question could be answered scientificaly at this point, and even if this is a popular myth I was unaware of it.
That said the philosophical question can be answered if the question is phrased “can you dream about reading” (yes).
I wrote something down on a newspaper in a lucid dream and it was blurry. So I couldn’t read that and I don’t think I’ve ever read in a dream.
I read short things in dreams pretty often, like panels of two or three words on a game show. The thing about text in dreams is that if you look away and look back, the letters usually get all messed up*, so reading something longer than a line or two would probably not happen much.
*In fact this is a well-known test to figure out if you’re dreaming, for people trying to lucid dream, which is probably why it was on Batman
I think that may have been what happened in the cartoon. The text just got jumbly when concentrated on, or viewed with a second glance. I never heard of this test though. That makes sense I guess. I still don’t think there is anything in science to really discuss this, it is kind of just people talking about their personal dreams.
From personal experience, the only thing I remember are chunks of “lucid” dreams. And in it I am more of a spectator who is watching TV and realize that I am asleep and can wake up at will, and even somewhat aware as to the time of day. So I can’t really make any divide on dream states (lucid and non lucid). It is just small chunkes of things to me that I seem to tune out or wake up from.
There is a reference to being unable to read in one’s dream in a movie called Waking Life.
I believe I have read in my dreams.
I’ve read short things like signs or newspaper headlines in my dreams, and I don’t have trouble with clocks or wristwatches either. Long pieces of prose are probably not going to be stable - you need to concentrate too much to keep the image static and realistic.
These tricks to figure out if you’re dreaming or not only work if you expect them to. You have to already know to check your wristwatch for anomalies, which means you must already half-expect to find that you’re dreaming when you do. I’ve had so many dreams in which I’m very distracted because I’m late for something, and the clocks all work perfectly fine then. 
I saw that episode about 12 years ago and I’ve been trying to read in my dreams since. I have the same experience as AJ on this one.
By the way, William, the term “lucid dream” is a term used to refer to a dream that isn’t just clear, but where the dreamer is aware that they are in a dream and able to exert some types of “god-like” control over what happens. It’s a hobby of sorts.
So it isn’t just self awareness that can choose to “tune out” the dream, but a control of the dream?
I checked my psych 101 book, and my cog psych book none of them mention lucid dreams, so I can’t really define it so well.
Yeah. There’s tons on the net about it. I can understand why; getting to control your dreams could be like having your own personal holodeck, if it’s actually possible to get that good at it.
I remember that episode of Batman The Animated Series, it featured The Riddler. I have tried to read in my dreams since seeing that episode. I have had dreams where I could read in them. Upon waking, I tried examining what happened and I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t actually reading but thinking what I expected to read. For example, suppose I had a dream where I was an infamous criminal. If I picked up a newspaper in my dream, I might expect to read how I was wanted for some crime. When I pick up that newspaper in the dream, I end up “reading” that idea when I’m actually just thinking it would say that.