Attention? What a mysterious concept!
The word processing dictionary defines it as 'mental focus' or 'concentration'. Virtually no one doubts its existence. Parents understand that their Attention is vital to the health of their children. Scientists have performed countless experiments devoted to studying the effect of a multitude of elements upon our ability to pay attention. Yet no one really knows what Attention consists of and/or the essence of its ultimate nature.
Let us offer a casual definition. Attention: the ability of living systems to attend/connect with some kind of information. This information could take many forms: for instance sensory, psychological or spiritual. It seems that Attention is a process that links an individual organism with the Universe.
Is this process electronic, digital, neurological, material, genetic or random? There is no consensus. Although many theories have been proposed, the mode or nature of the process that connects Life and Information has yet to be determined. Attention remains a scientific 'mystery'.
Ironically, while scientists don't know what Attention is, they have studied it extensively. In fact, they have established numerous scientific 'facts' regarding its nature. In a similar vein, although this entire series of articles is devoted to Attention, we never offered a technical definition of this illusive concept, nor will we. We consider it to be a theoretical primitive, i.e. an essentially undefinable term.
Information Dynamics provides a comprehensive theoretical structure that proposes some plausible explanations as to the ultimate nature of Attention. These theories are tied to scientific facts. The following article first reviews and then extends Info-Dynamics theory regarding Attention.
Section Headings
- The Synergy of Life, Mind, Living Algorithm & Attention
- The Relationship between Life, Attention & Body
The Synergy of Life, Mind, Living Algorithm & Attention
Life, Attention & the Living Algorithm form a gestalt.
According to our model, Life, Attention and the Living Algorithm form a gestalt, “in the sense that the parts make no sense without the whole.” Although each part has a different function, they operate as a unit. The purpose of this fully integrated unit is to extract relevant meaning from sensory input. In other words, Life, the Living Algorithm and Attention are a meaning-making synergy.
Working Definitions
Following are the working definitions.
As the urge to fulfill potentials, Life focuses mental energy via Attention on relevant environmental input. The Living Algorithm digests the information employing the focus of Attention's mental energy.
Mind chooses how to invest Mental Energy.
Driven almost completely by raw urges, primitive life forms invest mental energy nearly automatically with very little reflection. However, an increase in reflexivity accompanies the evolutionary increase in neural connectivity. With this increase increased along with
To better understand this process from the human perspective, let's add another component to this trio. Let's define Mind as the decision-maker. In this capacity, Mind chooses how to invest mental energy.
Mind/Life structure reflected in the neural anatomy of our Brain.
This structure is reflected in the neural anatomy of our brain. Every living system from the one-celled amoeba to the multi-cellular human has the urge to fulfill potentials. This is Life. In higher organisms, we speculate that this urge is associated with our primitive emotional 'lizard' brain – our limbic system. In contrast to other animals, humans have what some call our 'thinking' brain. It consists of the thin layer of neurons on the outside of our brain. Anatomically our 'thinking' brain surrounds our 'emotional' brain' – our limbic system. Our 'thinking' brain has the ability to temper the automatic emotional responses of our 'lizard' brain.
Jill Bolte Taylor on Emotional vs. Thinking Brain
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor summarizes these relationships in her bestseller – My Stroke of Insight:
"The superficial layers of the cortex, which we see when we look at the external surface of the brain, are filled with neurons that we believe to be uniquely human. These most recently 'added on' neurons create circuits that manufacture our ability to think linearly – as in complex language and the ability to think in abstract, symbolic systems like mathematics. The deeper layers of the cerebral cortex make up the cells of the limbic system. These are the cortical cells we share with other mammals."
"The limbic system functions by placing an affect, or emotion, on information streaming in through our senses. Because we share these structures with other creatures, the limbic system cells are often referred to as the 'reptilian brain' or the 'emotional brain'. When we are newborns, these cells are wired together in response to sensory stimulation. It is interesting to note that although our limbic system functions throughout our lifetime, it does not mature. As a result, when our emotional 'buttons' are pushed, we retain the ability to react to incoming stimulation as though we were a two-year-old, even when we are adults."
"As our higher cortical cells mature and become integrated in complex networks with other neurons, we gain the ability to take 'new pictures' of the present moment. When we compare the new information of our thnking mind with the automatic reactivity of our limbic mind, we can reevaluate the current situation and purposely choose a more mature response." (Taylor, 2009, pp. 15-16)
Mind (choice) & Life (meaning) act as synergistic unit to focus mental energy of Attention
In terms of our model, Mind and Life act as a synergistic unit to invest Attention's mental energy on specific data streams. Although Mind chooses which course to take, Life, as the urge, determines the motivation. There is no meaning without Life. There is no choice without Mind.
Attention (mental energy) & the Living Algorithm (algorithm) synergy digest Data Streams.
Once the Mind/Life synergy has determined where to focus the mental energy of Attention, the Living Algorithm begins digesting data streams. Attention and the Living Algorithm form another synergistic relationship. The Attention/Living Algorithm synergy determines which data streams to digest. Attention channels Mind's mental energy and the Living Algorithm provides the algorithm for digesting information.
Mind/Life core & Attention/Living Algorithm shell form Attention Synergy.
The Mind/Life synergy is the core of our model. The urge to action and the decision as to how best invest mental energy to fulfill these urges originates here. However, this complex is not connected with the external world. The Attention/Living Algorithm synergy fulfills this function, acting as an intermediary between the internal world of Life and Mind and the external world. The four components act as an integrated whole. Life provides the intent; Mind focuses mental energy through Attention; and the Living Algorithm digests the information. For ease of communication, we refer to the whole package as Attention. Attention is the consequence of Life's urge and is the channel for Mind's mental energy. With Attention comes the Living Algorithm's digestive process. The four features of Attention are inseparable.
The Relationship between Life, Attention & Body
Life: a physical system that digests information to make survival decisions
Let us review Life's role in Information Dynamics, the mathematical system generated by the Living Algorithm.
• Life, as the urge to self-actualize, employs Body, her material tool, to do her bidding.
• First and foremost, Life is a physical system that digests information in order to survive. This digested information provides Life with relevant meaning concerning the environment. This meaning enables her to make choices that enable her to self-actualize. What are the components of this decision-making process?
Life requires the talents of Attention and the Living Algorithm to make decisions.
According to the Information Digestion Model, Life requires the talents of the Attention/Living Algorithm synergy to fulfill her potentials. These collective talents are required to transform environmental information into Experience. This Experience provides the relevant knowledge that is the basis of the choices Life makes to assist her in her quest to self-actualize.
Attention/Living Algorithm synergy translates instants to moments to experiences.
The environment continually generates information. Life requires a mechanism to translate these meaningless instants into moments. Instants have no meaning because they stand alone without context. A mechanism is required that places these instants into a temporal context that we call Moments. According to the Model, the Attention/Living Algorithm synergy provides this translation mechanism. However, Moments only provide a hint of meaning. Moments must be translated into Experience before they provide Life with any real meaning. Moments are translated into Experiences via the same Attention/Living Algorithm synergy.
Attention is to the Living Algorithm as the Hand is to the Tool.
What is the relationship between the Living Algorithm and Attention?
The Living Algorithm is Attention’s tool. Attention is the hand that uses the hammer. Without the hand to activate its talents, the hammer is just a peculiar arrangement of metal and wood. Similarly, without Attention to activate her, the Living Algorithm remains a mathematical curiosity – without any utility.
Life employs Attention as her hand-eye to employ the Living Algorithm tool to interpret her Sensory Environment.
Proceeding on this metaphorical path: without the eyes (or some other sense) to guide the hand, the hand flails helplessly - striking out in the wilderness without a guide. Similarly, the eyes drift aimlessly across the landscape without Life to focus their gaze. Life’s urge to self-actualize informs the actions of the hand-eye synergy to do her bidding. In like manner, Attention is helpless without Life to guide his path. Just as the hand/eye synergy has no motive power of its own, Attention also has no motive power. Neither operates independently. Both are dependent upon Life and her urges to guide their course. Without Life they are nothing. However, just as the hand/eye connection is the intermediary between the Mind intent that I embody and the hammer, Attention is the intermediary between Mind intent and the crucial information that the Living Algorithm provides about the environmental data streams that Life’s sensory mechanisms are continually generating.
Body & Attention allow Life to interact with the environment – one physically, the other with regards information.
It is evident that Body and Attention provide similar functions for Life. They both enable Life to interact with the environment – one physically, the other with regards to information. Life employs Attention to extract meaningful information from her surroundings. Life uses this relevant knowledge to direct Body. Body is the vehicle Life employs to interact with matter. For instance, Life employs Body to pick up an apple to provide nourishment.
Information digesting system determines Life’s relationship with Matter
It is evident that Life consists of the synergy of matter & information. Matter just is and responds automatically and instantaneously to external force. Body, as pure matter, must obey the material laws of the universe. But Life, as Mind-Intent, has the ability to guide her course. How? By employing the digested information that the Attention/Living Algorithm synergy provides. The material component of the environment interacts with Life’s material component in two ways – automatically/stimulus-response (matter to matter) and give-and-take/monitor-adjust (matter to information digestion). The information digestion system determines the nature of the second of these interactions. Emotions and drives might derive from this System.
How does Information interact with Matter?
This discussion raises a bundle of questions that center upon the interaction between the worlds of information and matter. By what mechanism is informational energy transformed into mechanical energy? Where does this occur? And what is the source that supplies the info energy to the Living Algorithm System? For some preliminary answers check out the next article in the series – Mind Intent.