Society of Mind

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(New page: Although consciousness is complicated and confusing, it is like pain/displeasure and joy/pleasure an emergent phenomenon, which arises from the local ...)
 
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This page is about the question how the various
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phenomena of mind emerge from the interactions of many mindless
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agents. The term '''Society of Mind''' has been coined by
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Marvin Minsky. Bateson's idea of an [[Ecology of Mind]] and
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Minsky's idea of a "Society of Mind" have much in common.
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Both are similar because they try to describe a whole system of
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interacting entities - species for ecology and agents for society.
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Although [[Self-Consciousness|consciousness]] is complicated and confusing,  
Although [[Self-Consciousness|consciousness]] is complicated and confusing,  
it is like pain/displeasure and joy/pleasure an [[Emergence|emergent]]
it is like pain/displeasure and joy/pleasure an [[Emergence|emergent]]
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violin solo, or relish an incredible meal.", see [http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6278],
violin solo, or relish an incredible meal.", see [http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6278],
but the general phenomena are maybe very simple.
but the general phenomena are maybe very simple.
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At least we can try to model consciousness, pleasure/joy, displeasure/pain,
 
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humor, insights and other emergent phenomena with agent-based systems or
 
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multi-agent systems. This page is about the question how the various
 
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phenomena of mind emerge from the interactions of many mindless
 
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agents.
 
== The Society of Mind ==
== The Society of Mind ==
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Therefore the '''mind-as-person''' metaphor is not very  
Therefore the '''mind-as-person''' metaphor is not very  
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helpful. Among the many metaphors for the mind, it
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helpful to understand how the mind works. Among the many metaphors  
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is probably the least helpful if we want to explain
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for the mind, it is probably the least helpful if we want to explain
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how the mind works. Many metaphors have been invented
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and describe how the mind works. Many metaphors have been invented
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over time to do this, and the brain always seems to be  
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over time to do this. George Lakoff said:
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one of the most advanced technologies that we humans  
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currently have, as Rodney Brooks says:
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: "When you start to study the brain and body scientifically, you inevitably wind up using metaphors. Metaphors for the mind, as you say, have evolved over time -- from machines to switchboards to computers." [http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/lakoff/lakoff_p2.html George Lakoff]
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Curiously the brain always seems to be one of the most advanced technologies  
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that we humans currently have, as Rodney Brooks argues:
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: If we look back over recent centuries we will see the brain described as a hydrodynamic machine, clockwork, and as a steam engine. "When I was a child in the 1950's I read that the human brain was a telephone switching network. Later it became a digital computer, and then a massively parallel digital computer. A few years ago someone put up their hand after a talk I had given at the University of Utah and asked a question I had been waiting for for a couple of years: 'Isn't the human brain just like the world wide web?' The brain always seems to be one of the most advanced technologies that we humans currently have." - [http://www.edge.org/q2008/q08_5.html Rodney A. Brooks]
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: "If we look back over recent centuries we will see the brain described as a hydrodynamic machine, clockwork, and as a steam engine. When I was a child in the 1950's I read that the human brain was a telephone switching network. Later it became a digital computer, and then a massively parallel digital computer. A few years ago someone put up their hand after a talk I had given at the University of Utah and asked a question I had been waiting for for a couple of years: 'Isn't the human brain just like the world wide web?' The brain always seems to be one of the most advanced technologies that we humans currently have." - [http://www.edge.org/q2008/q08_5.html Rodney A. Brooks]
In the '''mind-as-machine''' metaphor the mind is a  
In the '''mind-as-machine''' metaphor the mind is a  
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to modulate the volume, and to evaluate the overall
to modulate the volume, and to evaluate the overall
performance.
performance.
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== Are there any friends, families or social networks ? ==
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Yes, there are. And they are important.
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Daniel C. Dennett writes in his book "Brainchildren -
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Essays on Designing Minds", (Penguin Press Science, 1998)
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: "In ordinary runs of affairs, large families of beliefs travel together in our mental lives. At one instant, Mary believes that her purse in on the bed, and believes her handbag is on some horizontal surface, and believes that the item containing her comb is supported by the article of furniture one sleeps in, and so forth. Now do all (or many) of these distinct states have to light up and team up to cause Mary to run upstairs? Or is there just one each from the belief family and the desire family that are chosen to do the work?"
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The 'society of mind' metaphor becomes interesting if we
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consider the [[Social_network|social networks]] inside the society. The value
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of the human mind lies in its vast network which connects
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the individual agents. To illustrate this point, Marvin
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Minsky compares in section 4.3 "The Soul" of his book
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"The Society of Mind" the mind to a painting:
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: "The art of a great painting is not in any one idea, nor in a multitude of separate tricks for placing all those pigment spots, but in the great network of relationships among its parts. Similarly, the agents, raw, that make our minds are by themselves as valueless as aimless, scattered daubs of paint."
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Relationships exist for example between agents which
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represent similar objects or situations, or between
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agents of the same function.
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According to the BDI model one can identify a belief family,
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a desire family and an intention family, as Dennett does.
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Friendships exist if there are any analogies and
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metaphors (see below).
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The social network as a whole is of fundamental importance,
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because it offers a solution to the [[Hard problem of consciousness|hard problem of consciousness]]:
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'''the social network of the mind determines the kind of subjective experience.'''
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Everyone has a uniqe “society of mind”, and a unique social network.
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Each of us is adapted to a slightly different world (or different “slice”
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of the same world). Already William James said
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: "The peculiarity of our experiences, that they not only are, but are known, which their ’conscious’ quality is invoked to explain, is better explained by their relations – these relations themselves being experiences – to one another."
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== Who decides which agent is active? ==
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First the agents themselves, each active agent activates
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certain agents in turn, and second the critics in the
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"jury". Minsky illustrates and describes this idea in his book
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"The Emotion Machine", where he proposes a coarse “critic-selector”
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model of the mind, where a number of critics evaluate situations
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to activate certain selectors, which in turn activate or deactivate
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clouds of agents. The modulation idea is not bad, although it is
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not very new or original. Yet critics are a good cue: imagine for
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example a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_theater cartesian theater]
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or a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Workspace_Theory Global Workspace]
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proposed by Baars, where not a single self is sitting in
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the audience, rather the representatives of the body, like the
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members of a jury (the physiological counterpart maybe the limbic system
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and the brainstem). On stage there are agents which represent the current
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state of the world. The critics in the jury now evaluate every
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situation, and are able to choose between thumbs up and thumbs down.
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If they say “Yes, I want to see it again”, then the agents on the
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stage are likely to appear again, if they say “No, I don’t want to see it”.
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A nice picture: if a person falls in love, then the critics for love
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always want to see the same persons on the stage.
== What happens when agents disagree ? ==
== What happens when agents disagree ? ==
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[[Image:sink_for_flow.png|left|thumb|300px|Sink for neural flow]]
[[Image:sink_for_flow.png|left|thumb|300px|Sink for neural flow]]
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Conflicts are unpleasant for the mind (or population),
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The basic idea is simple. Agreement is good, disagreement is bad.
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because it means tiresome deactivation of agents.
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Agreement among the agents in the society of mind is associated with
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Contradictions between agents, for example  
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pleasure. '''Pleasure''' is a state of physical integrity and
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effortless '''action readiness''' of the body. The body signals
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that it is ready for work, that there are no obstacles or objections
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for action. It is reflected by an internally consistent representation
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(no contradictions, consonance, agreement). On the contrary,
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'''pain''' is a state characterized by '''violation of the physical integrity'''
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of the body. The body signals that some actions should be
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avoided, or that it is tired and depleted. This state is
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reflected by an internally inconsistent representation
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(contradictions, dissonance, disagreement).
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This model means that physical integrity of the body is
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connected to the "mental integrity" of the mind.
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In general, conflicts between agents are bad, while consensus is good.
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Conflicts represent a situation of [[Cognitive dissonance|cognitive dissonance]].
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They are unpleasant for the mind, society or population,
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because it means tiresome inhibition or deactivation of  
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agents. Contradictions between agents, for example  
an incongruity in meaning, lead to confusion  
an incongruity in meaning, lead to confusion  
and displeasure. The mind must activate more agents,
and displeasure. The mind must activate more agents,
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To put it in more abstract terms, displeasure arises  
To put it in more abstract terms, displeasure arises  
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from a drain for the neural information flow: activity
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from a drain for the neural [[Flow|information flow]]: activity
is decreased, agents are deactivated or lost. In the  
is decreased, agents are deactivated or lost. In the  
terms of nonlinear dynamics, graph and chaos theory, pain  
terms of nonlinear dynamics, graph and chaos theory, pain  
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is a sink for neural flow, where agents dissappear. Pain  
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is a sink for neural flow, where agents disappear. Pain,
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is the decay of the system, a inevitable and unavoidable  
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the central mechanism of [[Self-Protection]], is caused by
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the decay of the system, by an inevitable and unavoidable  
civil war among agents where agents are inevitably suppressed and
civil war among agents where agents are inevitably suppressed and
the flow of information gets lost. Some agents continuously  
the flow of information gets lost. Some agents continuously  
fight other agents. While displeasure is merely a
fight other agents. While displeasure is merely a
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contradiction between agents, pain is a heavy struggle or  
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contradiction between agents, pain can be compared by
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fight between the individuals.
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a heavy struggle or fight between the individuals.
Pain enhances the thoughts of the pain-triggering body-part, but  
Pain enhances the thoughts of the pain-triggering body-part, but  
also suppresses strongly all actions involving these body-parts.  
also suppresses strongly all actions involving these body-parts.  
Some agents are inevitably suppressed, although they are constantly
Some agents are inevitably suppressed, although they are constantly
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activated.
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activated. Therefore it creates a 'Sink' for the neural flow, where neural  
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So it creates a 'Sink' for the neural flow, where neural flow is  
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flow is absorbed. Neural flow is the flow of information between the
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absorbed. Neural flow is the flow of information between the
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"Mind-agents". In general ''we find sinks for neural flow unpleasant,  
"Mind-agents". In general ''we find sinks for neural flow unpleasant,  
and sources enjoyable''.
and sources enjoyable''.
Why is a sink unpleasant?
Why is a sink unpleasant?
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An sink for neural flow is unpleasant, because it decreases
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A sink for neural flow is unpleasant, because it decreases
the ability of the body to act. It is associated with heavy
the ability of the body to act. It is associated with heavy
tasks, which require a large effort, and occurs for example
tasks, which require a large effort, and occurs for example
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[[Image:source_for_flow.png|left|thumb|300px|Source for neural flow]]
[[Image:source_for_flow.png|left|thumb|300px|Source for neural flow]]
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Pleasure is associated with a 'Source' of neural flow, for  
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Pleasure is associated with a 'Source' of neural [[Flow|information flow]], for  
example the unexpected perception of a desired object which  
example the unexpected perception of a desired object which  
triggers an action to enhance the perception of the object.  
triggers an action to enhance the perception of the object.  
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to enhance it, etc.  
to enhance it, etc.  
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If agents activate and acknowledge themselves,
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If agents activate, support and acknowledge themselves,
the mind can deactivate agents, spending less energy
the mind can deactivate agents, spending less energy
to resolve conflicts. It has a positive return on  
to resolve conflicts. It has a positive return on  
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In the worst case, this situation can lead to addiction.
In the worst case, this situation can lead to addiction.
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An source for neural flow is pleasant, because it increases
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A source for neural flow is pleasant, because it increases
the ability of the body to act. It is associated with easy,
the ability of the body to act. It is associated with easy,
effortless tasks and occurs if the body has offered a reward.  
effortless tasks and occurs if the body has offered a reward.  
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recognized by the body as positive, either in the environment  
recognized by the body as positive, either in the environment  
or in the body itself.
or in the body itself.
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A lasting form of agreement can be characterized as
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'friendship'. Friendship is a co-operative and supportive
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behavior between two or more agents. In the society
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of mind, metaphors and analogies are related to friendships.
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The process where agents become 'friends' is related
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to insights and understanding.
== What happens when agents change their minds ? ==
== What happens when agents change their minds ? ==
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[[Image:computational_humor_1.png|left|thumb|300px|Sink for neural flow caused by incongruity]]
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[[Image:Sink_for_flow_incongruity.png|left|thumb|300px|Sink for neural flow caused by incongruity]]
: "The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not from any single, perfect principle. [...] Eventually, very few of our actions and decisions come to depend on any single mechanism. Instead, they emerge from conflicts and negotiations among societies of processes that constantly challenge one another." --The Society of Mind, Chapter 30.8, page 308.
: "The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not from any single, perfect principle. [...] Eventually, very few of our actions and decisions come to depend on any single mechanism. Instead, they emerge from conflicts and negotiations among societies of processes that constantly challenge one another." --The Society of Mind, Chapter 30.8, page 308.
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later during the process of insight and understanding.
later during the process of insight and understanding.
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As said above, an incongruity can be modelled as a dispute  
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As said above, an incongruity can be modeled as a dispute  
or discussion between agents, where agents or coalitions of  
or discussion between agents, where agents or coalitions of  
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agents contradict each other. Such a form of incongruitiy is  
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agents contradict each other. Such a form of incongruity is  
an essential condition for humor, too. Humor involves the
an essential condition for humor, too. Humor involves the
recognition and resolution of an incongruity,
recognition and resolution of an incongruity,
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no incongruity.
no incongruity.
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[[Image:computational_humor.png|thumb|300px|Source for neural flow created by resolution of incongruity between two conflicting objects]]
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[[Image:Source_for_flow_insight.png|thumb|300px|Source for neural flow created by resolution of incongruity between two conflicting objects]]
During the punchline in jokes or at the moment of the  
During the punchline in jokes or at the moment of the  
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recognize sense in non-sense and the familiar in the  
recognize sense in non-sense and the familiar in the  
unfamiliar.
unfamiliar.
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Our brain is designed to to find meaning in confusion and
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to solve new problems. It seeks pleasure and happiness, and
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insights are pleasant while confusion is not.
== What happens when agents become aware of themselves ? ==
== What happens when agents become aware of themselves ? ==
If the population is large and complex enough, can it  
If the population is large and complex enough, can it  
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represent and recognize itself? Do we have a spirit of
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represent and recognize itself? And
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China "hovering over the room" in this case? How would
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what happens when agents become aware of themselves ?
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a recognition or representation of itself look like?
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An interesting question. See [[Collective consciousness|collective consciousness]].
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May you can describe it like this: when Agents become  
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aware of themselves, suddenly one agent (which represents
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the self) becomes very famous, and makes connections to
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nearly everyone else. A huge confusion arises in the
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population which agents should be activated.
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Consciousness is like a whirl or turbulence in the neural
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Consciousness of the self or self-awareness is like a whirl or turbulence  
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information flow: it is characterized by heavy discussions
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in the neural information flow: it is characterized by heavy discussions
with few results among *all* agents. [[Self-Consciousness|Self-consciousness]]  
with few results among *all* agents. [[Self-Consciousness|Self-consciousness]]  
is like the feeling of being strong because you have climbed a huge
is like the feeling of being strong because you have climbed a huge
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to act is constrained. The agents are confused and the system
to act is constrained. The agents are confused and the system
eventually shows chaotic behavior. Consciousness is complex.
eventually shows chaotic behavior. Consciousness is complex.
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It is the recognition of the familiar in the unfamiliar. It
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It is the recognition of the familiar in the unfamiliar.  
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leads for example to the insight of the own death. Insight
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Although it is based on the insight of the own existence,
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it leads to the recognition of the own death. Insight
causes pleasure, death the strongest displeasure. So
causes pleasure, death the strongest displeasure. So
consciousness is related to pleasure in displeasure.
consciousness is related to pleasure in displeasure.
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think it is important. But the insight of consciousness
think it is important. But the insight of consciousness
says in turn the system as a whole is only a part
says in turn the system as a whole is only a part
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of a much larger system. Consciousness is a reconcilation
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of a much larger system. Consciousness is a reconciliation
of the whole with the part, similar to eternity in a
of the whole with the part, similar to eternity in a
moment (Goethe's Faust), or a lifetime in a day
moment (Goethe's Faust), or a lifetime in a day
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(James Joyce' Ullysses). A continuous merging (aggreement)
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(James Joyce' Ullysses). A continuous merging (agreement)
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and splitting (disaggrement) of agents. A self-conscious
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and splitting (disagreement) of agents. A self-conscious
agent is able to see eternity in a moment and a lifetime
agent is able to see eternity in a moment and a lifetime
in a day.
in a day.
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to predict what someone will do (the stronger the free will
to predict what someone will do (the stronger the free will
we attribute to him, the more difficult it will be).  
we attribute to him, the more difficult it will be).  
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According to the french sociologist Émile Durkheim,
 
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the term [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_consciousness collective consciousness]
 
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in societies refers to the shared beliefs and moral attitudes which operate
 
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as a unifying force within society. Religion plays an
 
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important role in uniting members through the creation
 
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of a common consciousness, just as the belief in the
 
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own self plays an important role in building a consistent
 
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single personality. The belief in a god is not that
 
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different from a belief in an own [[Self|self]].
 
== Links ==
== Links ==
see the Wikipedia entries for the
see the Wikipedia entries for the
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Room Chinese Room]
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Room Chinese Room], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_brain China Brain], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Mind_theory Society of Mind], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_consciousness Collective consciousness]
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_brain China Brain]
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Mind_theory Society of Mind]
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_consciousness Collective consciousness]
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* Guardian article about metaphors for the mind [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/oct/15/scienceandnature.society What's on your mind?]
* Guardian article about metaphors for the mind [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/oct/15/scienceandnature.society What's on your mind?]
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* Marcus Tullius Cicero, [http://www.epicurus.net/en/finibus.html De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum]
* Marcus Tullius Cicero, [http://www.epicurus.net/en/finibus.html De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum]
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[[Category:Complex Systems]]
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[[Category:Social Systems]]
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[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Consciousness]]
[[Category:Consciousness]]

Latest revision as of 08:49, 1 May 2011

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