Section Headings
Open vs. Closed Energy Systems
Data Energy ≠ Data Stream Energy
Mean Data Streams as Mathematical Systems
Energy Logic of Bodies, Cars, & the LA System
The Universe’s Closed Energy Network
The Living Algorithm (LA), the mathematical basis of our Theory of Attention, generates an energy system. What are the similarities and differences between this mathematical system and material energy systems?
There are two types of energy systems. One is open to and dependent upon external fuel for energy. The other is closed to external input from outside the system. The LA generates an open energy system.
Energy in an open system is part of a gestalt – a distinct process with fully integrated yet separable elements. A Transformer converts Fuel into Energy that powers the System. For instance, our stomach converts food into biological energy that powers our body, and an engine converts gasoline into mechanical energy that powers our car. Similarly, the LA transforms Data into numerical energy that powers the LA System.
Each of these open systems requires a regular infusion of fuel to continue operating. The incoming energy is completely consumed by the system and must be replenished. Only one type of energy powers the system.
Closed energy systems such as the Universe have a different internal logic. Energy is conserved and is transformed from one form to another. There are multiple types of energy that interact with each other.
What is the significance? Data Energy is linked with Mental Energy. Maximizing Mental Energy is linked with fulfilling potentials. Understanding Data Energy could assist us to fulfill our potentials.
The Living Algorithm (LA), the mathematical basis of our Theory of Attention, generates an open energy system based in numbers. In similar fashion to material energy, numerical energy has the ability to change the state of its system, i.e. the LA’s mathematical system. Further it is useful to conceptualize numerical energy in terms of kinetic and potential energy, just like material energy. (For more …)
Is this where the similarity ends? Or are there more parallels between numerical and material energy?
There are two types of energy systems, open and closed. An open system is open to and dependent upon external fuel for energy. These systems are generally based upon a single type of energy that is regularly consumed and replenished.
We are surrounded by open energy systems. Both our machines, i.e. appliances, computers and cars, and our bodies are open energy systems. The LA System is also an open system, albeit mathematical.
Open energy systems share many features in common. These features are not mere attributes or characteristics. Instead, they concern interactive relationships within a common system. In fact, the system could be called a gestalt, because the components are completely integrated yet separable. For instance, energy does not exist independently of a system. Yet it acts to change the system. Due to this complexity, we prefer to say that open systems share a similar logic.
For instance, open energy systems, including our machines, our bodies and the LA system, employ the same process. A transformer converts fuel into a single type of energy that powers each of these open systems. Further this energy is consumed and must be replenished if the system is to continue operating.
The other type of energy system is closed to external input from outside the system. The Universe is a closed energy system. Nothing enters or leaves the system. It is self-contained and self-generating.
Its logic has some distinct differences from the energy logic of open systems. For instance, energy is conserved, rather than consumed. While the open systems we mentioned are based around a single type of energy, the Universe consists of an energy network, where multiple forms of energy interact.
All material energy systems belong to the Universe’s energy network. As a purely mathematical construct, the LA’s energy system certainly does not belong to the Universe’s network. The congruence between numerical and material energy seemingly breaks down at this point.
Now that we have established a general context, we can now focus upon some details. This article addresses five questions. What is Data Energy? What is the LA System and why is it even considered a system? What is the Energy Logic behind open systems? What are the differences between open and closed systems? What is the significance?
To gain a deeper understanding of the LA’s open energy system, let’s first explore Data Energy in more detail.
The LA’s sole purpose is to digest data streams. This digestion process generates a mathematical system. Incoming data changes the state of this system. For this reason, we have likened it to numerical energy or Data Energy. Let us look a little closer at the relationship between the Data Energy and the System that it changes.
Energy has the capability of changing the state of a system. Electrical energy drives our computer systems. Biological energy runs our bodily systems. Data Energy has the ability to do work on the LA’s mathematical system.
Data Energy -> LA’s System
Data Energy is a purely mathematical construct with no direct connection to material reality. Further, it does not exist independently of the LA’s system. Data Energy only applies to the data stream systems derived from the LA process.
Data Energy only operates on LA’s System
The Data Stream that provides the energy is not the same as the Data Stream that receives the energy. However, the two data streams are linked via the LA’s process. In fact the Receiving DS is derived from the Providing Data Stream.
Providing DS ≠ Receiving Data Stream
LA x Providing DS = Receiving DS
On the simplest level, the data stream that provides the energy consists of raw data – a Raw Data Stream. The data stream that receives the energy consists of Means, i.e. ongoing central measures, that are derived from the raw data – a Mean Data Stream. The LA operates upon a Raw DS to generate a Mean DS. The Mean Data Stream is our primary concern.
LA x Raw DS = Mean DS
The Mean Data Stream indicates the ongoing middle of the Raw Data Stream. As the middle, these Means are a component of the Raw DS’s Meaning. In this sense, the LA transforms Raw Data into Meaningful Info. From this perspective, the LA becomes a meaning-maker.
LA x Raw Data = Meaningful Info
The LA could also be viewed as an energy transformer, as it transforms raw energy into refined energy. It transforms the total energy from the Raw Data Stream into the refined energy of the Mean Data Stream. The LA refines the original raw data energy into mean data stream energy. As a refiner and transformer, the LA could be considered an alchemical process.
LA x Raw Data Energy = Refined Data Stream Energy
As the entire amount of original energy has been transmitted, the Raw Data Stream possesses no residual energy. Lacking energy, the Raw Data along with its stream becomes immediately irrelevant as soon its elements enter the LA System. As it contains all the energy, only the Mean Data Stream is significant.
Raw Data Stream (No Energy) = Irrelevant
Mean Data Stream (Energy) = Significant
Why is the word system associated with the LA’s Mean Data Streams? To answer this question, let us first get a better comprehension of a system’s innate features.
Let us define a system simply as a connected set of parts that determine a whole. Under this definition, a bicycle is a material system. A human is a living system. Calculus is a mathematical system.
Raw Data Streams are not a numerical system because there is no connectivity between the individual parts. If there is not any numerical connection between the data points, the Data Stream, whether Raw or Processed, is not a system.
Raw Data Streams ≠ System
Only after being processed/digested by the Living Algorithm does Raw Data become part of a system. By sacrificing his independence, he becomes part of a greater whole. In a parallel fashion, Food is not part of our biological system until it passes through our digestive system. It enters our system after it passes through our mouth.
LA digests Raw Data -> System
What is the numerical system that is equivalent of our biological system, our body? The Living Algorithm’s computational process transforms Raw Data Streams into Mean Data Streams. Mean DSs are systems because there is a distinct connectivity between the individual parts. Reiterating for emphasis: the Raw Data Stream that produced the Mean Data Stream is not a System.
Mean Data Streams = Mathematical Systems
How is the connectivity achieved? The LA blends Raw Data with the Past Mean to generate the Current Mean. Put another way, the Current Reality is merged with Past Info to create New Info. In similar fashion, living systems such as ourselves blend new data with past conceptions to form a new conception.
Current Mean = Merging of New Data & Past Mean
With every iteration, the LA blends the Incoming Data with the Past Mean to create a more up-to-date Mean. Due to this weaving process, the Current Mean is connected to every element that preceded it in both the Raw Data Stream and the Mean Data Stream to which it belongs.
Current Mean connected to all Preceding Data
While there is no numerical connection between the Raw Data entries, each Mean is connected to every Raw Data Point that preceded it. As an example of this hyper-connectivity, if any piece of Past Raw Data is changed the Current Mean is also changed.
If any Raw Data Changed, Then Mean Changes
Each new Data Point exerts an influence on the System. Because it does work on the System, we have conceptualized the Raw Data as Data Energy. However, the Raw Data only becomes Energy after passing through the LA’s digestive system. Yet it is this synergy between the Raw Data and the LA that generates the connectivity that both creates and sustains the System.
Raw Data Energy -> LA -> System
The Data Energy definitely changes the state of its System. Are there any other parallels between Data Energy and Material Energy? More significantly, are there any similarities between the internal logic of the two types of energy?
Data Energy’s Internal Logic ≈ Material Energy’s Internal Logic?
To answer these questions, let us examine 3 common types of energetic systems in comparison to the LA’s mathematical system. We will compare the underlying logic of biological energy (the body), mechanical energy (the car) and the universal energy (the Universe) with the LA’s numerical energy. Is the energy logic of each system the same or different?
Energy Logic: Body, Car, Universe, LA
Let’s first examine the energy logic behind the process. The LA transforms Data into Energy that powers its System. The stomach transforms Food into Biological Energy that powers our body. Our engine transforms gas into mechanical energy that power our cars.
The internal logic is straightforward. A transformer converts raw materials into energy that powers a system. Put simply, three components, i.e. raw materials, a transformer, and a system, have a dynamic relationship with energy.
Transformer x Raw Materials = Energy -> System
Re raw materials: the Raw Data is the numerical equivalent of food and gasoline. Re transformer: the LA is equivalent to the stomach and the engine. Re energetic system: the LA’s mathematical system, the Mean Data Streams, are equivalent to the Body and the Car.
LA ≈ Stomach ≈ Engine
Raw Data ≈ Food ≈ Gas
LA System ≈ Body ≈ Car
These three energetic systems, i.e. numerical, biological, and mechanical, have another feature in common. They are all open systems. They receive raw materials from outside the system.
Body, Car, LA System = Open Systems
Further, each of the systems is dependent upon a regular infusion of external raw materials to continue operating. Raw materials are converted into the energy that powers the system. Humans need food to survive; cars require a regular infusion of gas to move; and Mean Data Streams, i.e. the LA System, require Raw Data to continue.
Body, Car, LA System: dependent upon regular infusion of external materials
Due to the necessity of external energy, these open systems die or come to a standstill without a regular infusion of energy. Without new food, a living system dies. A car won’t start without gas. Similarly, without the New Data Energy, the Mean Data Stream stops. Put another way, the LA requires more Data, if it is to continue creating a System, i.e. the Mean Data Stream. [Note: 0 is considered to be Data.]
Body, Car, LA System: Cease Operating without Fuel
These open systems also require something to transform the raw materials into a useable form – energy. Our stomach transforms food into a form that will sustain us as living systems. Engines transform gas into energy that will power a car. The LA transforms Data Energy into Data Stream Energy.
Engine, Stomach, LA: Energy transformers
There is yet another feature that these open systems share in common. The energy that enters the respective systems is completely consumed in one fashion or another. After energy is consumed, it must be replenished for the system to continue operating. After our stomachs have converted all our food into biological energy, we need more food. After our car’s engine has converted all the gas in our tank into mechanical energy, we must fill our tank with more gas. In similar fashion, the LA converts all the data entering the system into numerical/data energy that drives the Mean Data Stream. Just as our body stops operating without additional food and our cars come to a standstill without more gas, the Mean Data Stream drifts to 0 without more Data Energy.
Open Systems = Complete Consumption of Energy
The Energy Logic of the open systems that we examined is exceedingly similar. Each system employs the same integrated process. A Transformer converts Raw Materials into Energy that powers a System. To continue operating, each energy system requires a regular infusion of raw materials. Finally the energy that is generated from the raw materials is completely consumed.
Open: Body & Car & LA System ≈ Energy Logic
Rather than an open system, the Universe is a closed energy network. Its logic has some distinct differences from the energy logic of the open systems we have examined. Nothing enters from the outside – neither raw materials nor energy. As matter and energy circulate freely, the Universe does not require a transformer. As a self-enclosed energetic system, the Universe never stops.
Energy Logic of Closed Universe ≠ Energy Logic of Open Systems
While the incoming energy is completely consumed in the open systems we have highlighted, energy is conserved in closed systems. Rather than requiring more fuel to continue operating, the Universe is self-sustaining. Energy is regularly converted from one form to another.
Closed System = Conservation of Energy
The closed equations of Calculus are especially applicable to closed systems such as the Universe. Closed equations, in similar fashion to the closed systems they describe, are not open to new information or new energy. They are sealed tight. Nothing gets in. The relationships that they describe are invariable, unchanging and based in content.
Closed Equation -> Closed Systems
Living systems are certainly open, as they require a regular infusion of food for survival. Could it be that closed equations and open systems are incompatible? Could this be why calculus has been such a miserable failure regarding living behavior? Is it possible that open equations, such as the LA, are more applicable to open systems, such as Life. Open equations, in similar fashion to the open systems they describe, are open to new information and/or new energy. They are not sealed tight. The relationships that they describe are probabilistic, dynamic and context-based.
Open Equations -> Open Systems
While the open systems we mentioned are based around a single type of energy, the Universe consists of an energy network, where multiple forms of energy interact. Open material systems belong to the Universe’s closed energy network. Scientists and engineers are better able to understand the operations of any energy system from the perspective of the Universe’s closed energy network.
Open Material Systems belong to Universe’s Closed Network
As a purely mathematical construct, the LA’s energy system certainly does not belong to the Universe’s network. The congruence between numerical and material energy seemingly breaks down at this point.
LA System does not belong to Universe’s Closed Network.
However, the LA’s numerical energy seems to provide an effective model for Attention’s mental energy. Further, an abundance of circumstantial evidence indicates that mental energy exerts an influence upon our body, which in turn exerts an effect upon the physical world.
Could this linkage between numerical, mental and material energy be the ticket that enables the LA numerical energy system to join the Universe’s network?
The following table summarizes our results. We examined four types of systems, i.e. biological, mechanical, mathematical and the Universe. In each case, energy changes the state of the system. The energy logic of open systems, those that require external fuel to operate, is relatively equivalent. However, the energy logic of closed systems, like the Universe, has significant differences from the energy logic of open systems, like our body, cars, and the LA System.
Energy Systems |
Body |
Car |
Data Stream |
Universe |
Energy Changes System |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
System Type |
Biological |
Mechanical |
Numerical |
All |
Relation to External |
Open |
Open |
Open |
Closed |
Fuel Type |
Food |
Gas |
Data |
None |
Transformer |
Stomach |
Engine |
L. Algorithm |
None |
Fuel Consumed? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Conserved |
No More Fuel |
Dies |
Stops |
Stops |
Ongoing |
Real? |
Yes |
Yes |
Imaginary |
Yes |
We can now answer the question we posed at the beginning of the article. Is the energy logic of the LA system the same as the energy logic of material systems?
It is evident that the LA’s energy logic is quite different from the Universe’s energy logic. On the most basic level, energy is conserved in the Universe, while it is completely consumed in the LA System. In this case, the answer would certainly be ‘No’. The energy logic of the two systems, one material and the other mathematical, are clearly not the same.
Energy Logic of LA’s Open System ≠ Energy Logic of Universe’s Closed System
However, the Universe is closed, sealed and shut tight, while the LA’s system is open to external input. Our body’s biological system and a car’s mechanical system are also open. While different than the Universe, the energy logic of the three open systems, biological, mechanical, and mathematical, is nearly identical. In this case, the answer to our original question would certainly be ‘Yes’. The Energy Logic of the LA system is the same as the Energy Logic of, at least some, Open Material Systems.
Energy Logic of LA’s Open System = Energy Logic of Open Systems: Body & Car
Due to these congruencies, it seems safe to use the word ‘energy’ in connection with the Data that enters the LA system. While this energy is mathematical or numerical, it shares many similarities with our Body’s biological energy and our Car’s mechanical energy. They belong to a similar process that shares the same components and features.
Open Systems: Data Energy ≈ Biological Energy ≈ Mechanical Energy
However, there is one significant difference that we haven’t addressed. Material energy has many forms and they all interact. For instance, biological energy is converted into mechanical energy when we ride a bike. All the interacting forms of material energy exert an influence upon the Universe.
Material Energy -> Universe
In this sense, material energy, whether electrical, mechanical, or biological, is real. In contrast, Data Stream Energy neither interacts with any of the material energies, nor does it exert any influence upon the Universe. In this sense, Data Stream Energy is imaginary. Its only influence is upon an imagined mathematical system.
Material Energy = Real
Data Stream Energy = Imaginary
What is the relevance of this abstract mathematical knowledge? What is the significance of Data Stream Energy?
Evidence indicates that Attention employs an algorithm very much like the LA as a computational interface with environmental data streams. If so, then the insights regarding Data Stream Energy could very well apply to Attention’s Mental Energy. A better understanding of Mental Energy could easily enhance our ability to fulfill our potentials. In such a way, an understanding of Data Stream Energy is linked with fulfilling personal potentials – certainly an important goal.
Understanding Data Energy -> Understanding Mental Energy -> Fulfilling Potentials
We will explore these topics in subsequent articles.