# A Question about State of Mind

**URL:** <https://discourse.numenta.org/t/a-question-about-state-of-mind/6762>\
**Category:** Lounge\
**Created:** [October 28, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/a-question-about-state-of-mind/6762 "2019-10-28T12:13:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 18

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**Author:** ![Bitking](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/bitking/32/3099_2.png) [@Bitking](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/Bitking)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/a-question-about-state-of-mind/6762/18 "2019-10-30T17:14:01Z")

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The brain is not a static machine.  
Start with the general process described in this post:

> [@Affordance Competition Hypothesis](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/affordance-competition-hypothesis/6683/7):
>
> Not looking to start a long drawn out fight here but there is more than one way to look at an object. We are used to thinking of an object as some pattern or sequence in a map that reliably signals some object - usually some perceived object. When you think of a behaviour you have to ask “how is that stored in the cortex.” Again, it is likely to be some pattern or sequence. This is about the same thing as an object; cortex is pretty agnostic in what is stored in it. I see an affordance as the…

This describes a continuous process that senses, processes, plans, and acts; what happens in the sensed stream closes this loop. The interaction between the feed-forward and feedback paths enhance maps to strongly activate certain ones as anchors to the streams of information. Some of these contents are perception, some are need states or unfolding plans. As hinted at with the last picture - there are multiple loops combining the sensing to the planning stages, and feedback from the execution units to cancel self-motion and filter the senses - see the cocktail effect in hearing for an example.  
In these general paths, there are “side chains” of connections that are formed dynamically to shape and engage maps as this signal path is used. Please reflect on this diagram from Dehaene as a meditation focus.

 ![Global%20Workspace%20-%20figure%201](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/numenta/original/2X/d/d89914f8fcc94d4ff0b04312cd7d738f87ad6995.png)

I said this before but it bears repeating: this all happens in a continuous stream and could be considered as a purely parallel process.

In my mind, I think of these links as snapping from node to nodes like the sparks in a lightning ball, being guided by the contents of the maps and the degree of matching in the maps in the path. I sometimes think of animating the Dehaene maps to look something like this …

Thalamus to sensory cotex projections:  
 ![lightning%20ball](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/numenta/original/2X/8/814034b750616202bedae92b74c7236b51f3ddf5.jpg)  
Map to map dynamic fiber track connections:  
 ![Blue-Ball-Lightning-Vector-03](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/numenta/original/2X/7/7e9d80d17c1a9f7a3e831d8ecb5d03ef899e1656.jpg)

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