On Mapping the Mind and Perceiving Pain

This Week's Questions

• Is it possible to create artificial intelligence that can grasp the essence of the human mind?
• What is true pain verses perceived pain, and which is more painful?
• How can the visual intensity of what is on the screen of the mind map human consciousness?

Do you know?




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[Question 1] What is the difference between human nature as understood by Freud and the human psyche as understood by Paglierani?
[Answer] Ha! What a question. And you expect a simple answer! Not. Given the brief space we have here, I'll address but a few of the differences.

What is different?

[1] For one thing, the driving force behind human nature.

Freud thought sex, aggression, and death ran the show. What I mean is, Freud thought these three things were the primary drives in human nature.

I see the experience of connect, disconnect, and need as the primary drive. In simpler terms, I see the desire to resolve the pain of Aloneness, the experience of going from Layer 10 / 9 to Layer 8 as the force underlying all human urges, thoughts, words and deeds.

[2] For another, the presumed nature of the mind.

Freud hypothesized a three compartment topography; the Conscious System (the Cs), the Preconscious System (PCs) and the Unconscious System (UCs). Moreover, Freud made a huge leap when he theorized that the human mind followed the same laws as the laws of physics regarding energy, thus implying there must be an unconscious.

Similar to Freud, I also hypothesize a three compartment topography of the mind, albeit, a somewhat more complex system. In other words, while I also see there similar compartments (a Conscious, Subconscious, and Unconscious), I see what happens in these compartments as being a combination of my theories and work with the work of Freud, Janet, and William James.

Here, I agree with Freud's idea that the Unconscious begins with unformed urges. But I also include in the Unconscious Janet's idea of automatisms, which I see as beginning in a layer above Freud's urges. Moreover, I see Janet's "automatisms" as being simply another way to refer to what I call, "emergences."

In the Subconscious, then, I see Janet's automatisms continuing to aggregate and develop, ultimately forming "visual threads of similarity." Thus, I see what happens in this middle compartment as that the automatisms of the Unconscious get visually sorted, organized, and connected, ultimately forming a library from which all ideas are formed.

Finally, in the third compartment (in the Conscious), I see these preformed threads of visual similarity getting mixed and sequenced into what ultimately will become conscious life experiences. In this compartment of the mind then, people witness and experience their life events based on the degree to which these ideas reflect the "movie of their life."

[3] This then raises yet another difference regarding what makes these ideas get drawn from within the mind to the surface.

As for how these ideas get expressed, I see there being a "focus positioner" at the top of the mind, a limited-in-scope exit door out of which these fully formed ideas emerge. Here, I see William James' idea that we rewrite history based on what we need to see in the present as being very much the case.

[4] Which brings us to yet another difference regarding the nature of human suffering.

Freud saw the mind being driven by the avoidance of suffering. In some ways, I agree. However, I also see a more primitive motive at work here, the idea that the driving force which draws the mind's inner material to the surface is the desire to connect to another mind.

Said in other words, Freud focused almost entirely finding reasonable causes beneath human suffering. Brilliantly, he theorized the existence of an unconscious as where this suffering lived and hid. In addition, he and his supporters, including his daughter Anna, looked for reasonable defense systems with which people could avoid feeling this suffering. Some of these avoidance systems are ingenious. And much about them is true.

However, I see the nature of what drives us to avoid suffering as being the desire to avoid the primitive experience of reliving the birth sequence; the desire to avoid feeling the sequence of connection, aloneness, and need.

Austin, there are many, many more differences, along with many similarities. One more notable difference is the idea that we believe in the necessity of a Matrix of Three; the idea that to completely express and describe human nature, that one must have [1] a theory of the mind (a description of the container which stores what we experience), [2] a theory of personality (a description of what is stored within this container), and a therapy (a way in which to evaluate and change what is stored within the container.) Freud differs here markedly in that while he continued to develop his therapy, he abandoned his theory of the mind and replaced it with his theory of personality.

[Question 2] How can the visual intensity of what is on the screen of the mind be used to map patterns within human consciousness?
[Answer] This question is at the heart of much of what we do. In essence, we assume (and show proof for) the idea that the laws which govern physics and the laws which govern personality are analogous. In its simplest form, this means that changes in the way we experience consciousness can be represented by changes in three dimensional space. Why? Because the way we define human "consciousness" is that it is "the skill of picturing movement." In our world, movement occurs in three dimensions. Therefore, these two ideas are analogous.

So the question becomes, how do we then use the visual intensity of what is on the screen of the mind to create these three dimensional shapes? We do this by mapping this visual intensity over time, where the "X" axis is the Information we take in, the "Y" axis is the Meaning we assign to this Information, and the "Z" axis is the Time over which we experience this Information and Meaning.

More important is how we interpret what we see. It turns out, there are only four fractal patterns which occur in the mind. All else is essentially chaotic, not completely, but enough to consider what we see there of no interpretive use.

So what are these four fractal patterns of three dimensional visual intensity? [1] getting overwhelmed, [2] getting wounded, [3] reliving a wound, and [4] emerging from a wound.

[Question 3] What other aspects of personality or the psyche can be mapped using visual intensity?
[Answer] All aspects of personality, from the nature of wounding and healing to the nature of learning and falling in love. Thus, each and every state we experience is, in essence, simply a variation of one the primary visual intensity patterns. For instance, comparative plots of the varying visual intensities of a typical alcoholic binge and a typical crack addict's run reveal significant similarities in the over all patterns of both. However, if you pay close attention to the slope of the onset ramps, you will see why crack is so much more potentially addictive than alcohol.

More significant still though is how we can use the third pattern, reliving an injury. We use it to identify the moment of injury, thereby allowing us to focus of healing efforts. We also use this pattern to know when an injury has healed. How can we know? Because the third pattern (reliving injury) mutates to the fourth pattern (emergence).

[Question 4] This question is based on the idea that Einstein's E=MC2 and the Emergence Practitioner's M = I(T) are said to be the same formula, only with a different focus, Einstein on the workings of the physical world, and M=I(T) on personality and consciousness. Would some aspects of the laws of personality reflect the dynamics between male and female in nature?

In other words, many of our technological devices have a “male” and “female” part that fit into each other. Also, many spiritual systems mention the idea of yang / male and yin / female energies. Would there in fact be a male and female side to the different elements of personality such as the layers and the character types etc? For example, under the distractions tree – would ADD be an element of the male energy, and Asperger's an element of the female, or vice versa?
[Answer] When I first read your question, I thought I knew the answer; I thought that, no, this is not so. However, the longer I sit with your question, the more I realize you must be right. If the pattern is truly there in the physical world, then it must be mirrored in our personalities.

For instance, I have begun to believe that fission and fusion are the yang and yin of physics. Similarly, I am coming to believe that what you posited about the ADD and AS Decision Trees is indeed the yang and yin of personality.

I guess what nags at me here is that I have yet to understand what the other two poles of the Decision Tree represent, the KA and OCD Decision Trees. What I mean is, is there a pattern which is a "cross polar continuum" to yang and yin, something analogous to the KA / OCD continuum? If so, what does this second continuum represent in physics? And what does it represent in the rest of personality?

Know you have done something I very much love. You have asked me a question which has my mind on fire. So think you.

As for a more complete answer, on this, I'll have to get back to you.

[Question 5] Is it possible to create artificial intelligence that can grasp the essence of the human mind?
[Answer] I believe that to answer a question with anything other than either a perfect truth or a definite "I don't know" requires a preface which admits to this being an indefinite answer. I admit to this being the case, here and now.

What I am saying is, as far me answering this question, I know neither a perfect truth nor a definite "I don't know." What I do have is an intuitive hunch, a sense that what Asimov wrote about in the Bicentennial Man is genuinely at work here.

So will there ever be real artificial intelligence? Yes. Without a doubt. But will there be an artificial intelligence that grasps the essence of the human mind? Perhaps this is like asking a man if he will ever know what it is like to be a woman giving birth.

I tend to think this impossible to perceive lack is at least one part of the truth about what you have asked. Moreover, if this hunch is right then my answer would have to be, no. There never will be an artificial intelligence which grasps the essence of the human mind.

However, if my hunch is right, then we would also need to then ask ourselves a second question. This question is, "Will there ever be a human intelligence which grasps the essence of a non human intelligence?"

I would guess the answer to this second question would be the same, and in fact, this sameness may render the whole question moot. Or at least similar enough to answer your question with a "yes" at the same time.

[Question 6] When a person is born with a disease that results in quadriplegia, is it possible for that person to exceed personality type one?
[Answer] Without a doubt. In fact, some of the most giving people in the Universe have suffered some of the most difficult lives. Thus, they must be other than "ones."

[Question 7] What is "true pain" verses "perceived pain?"
[Answer] My quick answer? There is no such thing as "true pain." Which means, all pain is "perceived pain."

What I'm saying is, pain is always a measure of perception, never something which is literal. Thus, if you use M=I(T) to look at how people perceive pain as getting worse at night, pain, what you'll see is that while this idea is definitely personally true, at the same time is merely peoples' perception.

So what makes people perceive their pain as being worse at night? Two things. The amount of information people take in at night most times decreases to mostly the awareness of the pain. At the same time, the amount of time in which people are conscious of their pain actually increases.

These two changes in perception then shift the meaning of this combination of painful information over time toward that the pain is worse. In actuality, because people are less active, their pain is probably less.

[Question 8] Which is more painful?
[Answer] As I said in the previous answer, "perceived pain" is the only "pain." "True pain" does not really exist.

[Question 9] When a person is born with a disease that results in paraplegia, do they have a better chance of advanced personality types?
[Answer] Wow! What a difficult question. I'm not sure. What I can say is this.

John, you seem to have made a connection between suffering and becoming a Character Type "One." This connection is not accurate.

What I'm saying is, in some people, suffering creates the motive to learn compassion. In others, suffering becomes the justification to harm others. Moreover, to see for yourself, consider some real life examples; Christopher Reeve and Stephen Hawkin to name just two. Both are amazing examples of how pain and specifically, paraplegia, can motivate greatness.

[Question 10] If a person has a personality type of 2, 3, 4, or 5 and is injured severely (quadriplegia) can his personality type change permanently?
[Answer] John, I've never met a "5." Nor do I think either of us will ever met one. A "5" is a theoretical character type, something like the idea of "soul mates." So I think we can dispense with that part of your question.

As for the idea that illness may alter a person's character type, I don't think so. Thus, obviously, people are affected by serious illness and disease. They may even have their Character Type invert for a time. As you know, stress can do this to people. However, I believe our Character Type gets set by the latest, age four. How? To see, consider this.

Imagine that you own a pizza business, and that you, yourself bake the pizzas. In real pizza businesses, the ovens run at something like 600 degrees. Why so hot? Because people want their pizza quick. Thus, they get something like three minute pizza.

Years ago, a pizza man once told me that the best pizza would take twenty minutes to bake, and that you would do this by lowering the temperature of the oven so that the pie baked slower. So we could call this pizza, twenty minute pizza.

Now what if we were to create two in between pizzas, a seven minute pizza and a fourteen minute pizza. Again, we would do this by altering the temperature of the oven.

Now we have four kinds of pizza; a three minute pizza, a seven minute pizza, a fourteen minute pizza, and a twenty minute pizza. Moreover, the entire difference is the result of the temperature in the oven. In essence, the higher the temperature, the longer the time.

Now the question. Which pizza would taste best? obviously, the pizza man said it was the twenty minute pizza. But would you like that pizza best?

In the real world, many people like three minute pizza. And I am sure many would love seven minute pizza. The fourteen minute pizza? Many would prefer this pizza. And the twenty minute pizza? Many would prefer this too. My point?

None of the pizza could actually be proclaimed the winner. Why? Because human beings tastes vary.

The same is true for Character Types. What I mean is, if you see the home as the child's oven and the stress in the home as the temperature in the oven, then you have a pretty good idea of where Character Types come from. They come from stress. 600 degree stress. Character Type "One." 475 degree stress? Character Type "Two." 400 degree stress? Character Type "Three." 325 degree stress? Character Type "Four."

Now consider what would happen is you were to try to rebake the slow baked pizza to make it like the fast baked pizza. In truth, it would not work. Why not? Because once the pizza is baked, it is baked. In other words, once it gets taken out of the oven, the baking is permanently done.

Character Types follow the same arrangement. Once a child's character is baked, it is done for life. What can change then is how clearly these children can recognize their Character Type. More clearly. More available conscious life choices. Less clearly. Less available conscious life choices.

Finally, remember, people's Character Type is simply one of the four possible patterns of giving and receiving. People in the giving state are called, "you's." People in the receiving state are called, "me's." And there are four possible ways to combine these two states. Moreover, none are better. They are each simply different, with both up sides and down.