Another inception thread: what would your totem be?

If you were an extractor, what would your totem be?

I actually thought about this as I watched the movie the first time. I have a very unique ring, that while the weight might be none by my jeweler, has a way that only I know of sliding along my finger/knuckles. Also the band is bent ever so slightly that the ring tends to slip off it I move it in a certain way. I doubt anyone would be able to replicate that feel or effect.

My glasses.

No one. Touches. My glasses.

probably a watch of some kind, i like my watches. and shaking it on my wrist. I know the feel of my watches very well.

My mom and I like to collect interesting rocks on hiking trips and such, and display them about the house. There's one small round rock that's almost like an egg with a crack in it which I keep on my desk. Since every rock is unique and that one is the right size (and shape!) to fit in my closed left hand, I think it could make a good totem.

EDIT: I really need to watch Inception again. I was ready to go to sleep halfway through the film so it went way over my drowsy head, but I still enjoyed it.

oh and Leonardo Dicaprio's ass in zero gravity.

edited 21st May '11 9:44:02 PM by annebeeche

I thought about this myself after first watching the film. I have this◊. If the bird isn't in the cage when I spin it, I know I'm dreaming.

I would have a tattoo that says You're in a Dream on my arm that only shows up when I'm in a dream.

wtf is a totem

In inception, everybody who dream-travels had to have a personal little object that only they really know the "feel" of, so when they get out their object and it's "feeling" the way it should, they know they're not dreaming. DiCaprio's character's totem was the little pewter spinning top.

edited 22nd May '11 3:29:18 AM by annebeeche

No, it was his wedding ring. The top was Mal's.

A two-fold combination: a pencil that will stop rolling inside a dream, and...

get one of those apothecary dudes to cook me up a drug that triggers the flight-or-fight response whenever I experience a variation from Earth's gravitational field strength for a given amount of time.

Umm...

Well, I think I will give up on trying to get in threads about stuff I didnt saw yet.

My totem...Would a wi-fi detecting hat work?

A thing only I know the feel of that would I could use to tell if I was dreaming? My now broken rosary I guess. There's little marks and scratches on the beads that I know the feel of.

edited 22nd May '11 11:18:47 AM by Aondeug

A shrunken head would be mine

I always thought my tuning fork would work well.

In a dream I imagine it would also keep humming.

A locket or something of that sort in it with a phrase written on the inside that only I know. That would probably work, since the subject is the one who populates the world with all these things, right?

Yes. The point of a totem is that you are the only one that knows it exact properties, so that an dream architect can't fake it. It doesn't tell you when you are dreaming, it tells you whether or not you are in an artificial dream.

I've got a watch with charms on it. One charm is a key, and the other is a lock shaped like a heart. I suppose I could have the key fit in the lock only in dreams.

Or I could totemize my rock climbing harness...somehow.

I could even totemize my Yahoo!Answers account. The first question could be "Are you dreaming, Leigh?" whenever I log on in a dream.

There's a jewel, of sorts, that I own. I'm fairly certain that it came off a brooch once, but it's lost all its frame, and what remains of its ornamentation is twisted now. So that's one thing. But more specifically, while it appears to be a solid amber-colored gem from one angle, turning it another reveals hidden colors inside it. Only I know the exact way it changes colors, and what that color is.

An extra bonus is the fact that I've never seen anything like it anywhere, so it's an uncommon item to begin with.

My watch. It's much heavier than most watches and practically is inseperable with me.

Oh, and question: Cobb told Adriane that touching another person's totem renders it useless. How come? I don't remember the movie too clearly.

Most likely, he means that if you examine a totem the way it should be examined by the owner, you find out things about the totem only the owner is supposed to know.

The purpose of a totem is to tell you whether or not you are in an artificial dream constructed by someone else. There are things about the totem that only you know, so the guy making the dream cannot imitate it perfectly. If your totem isn't being the way it should, you're not in your own dream.

edited 25th May '11 3:41:55 AM by annebeeche

Ah, I get it. Thanks.

It's amazing how deep this film actually is.

There is a wiki.

I'd have my Vault Boy bobblehead from the limited edition of Fallout 3 be mine.

I've noticed how many times it bobbles, normally, until stopping. Yes, I was that bored.

If the head bobbles infinitely, I'll know I'm in a dream.

edited 25th May '11 10:25:56 AM by HerrKman