A Report on a Preliminary Investigation of the Nature of Thought

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The following is transcribed from blackboard lectures updating research into the Physics of Thought. ©Copyright 1978 - 2002 Advanced Research Consultants, Inc. A Report on a Preliminary Investigation of the Nature of Thought P1-8, P9-13, P14-17, P18-22, P23-30

A Report on a Preliminary Investigation

of the

Nature of Thought

Orishanimi Kenneth N. Brown

We begin by looking at what the world of Physics tells us is Real. We are given Einstein’s space-time, describable as a four (4) vector system representing Length, Width, Height and Duration. I show this space-time reality as a directed line (fig. 1). I call this line T (read as "special T" for "space-time"), where T contains all functions of x_i for i = 1, 2, 3 and 4 representing x, y, z and ct or length, width, height and duration.

where T = f(x_i); i = 1, 2, 3, 4;

x, y, z, ct

fig. 1

Everything Real is on this line. i.e. Contained in the space represented by T. If something has no length, or has no width, or has no height, or has no duration, it is not Real. It does not exist in our space-time ( T ) according to our present definition of Reality. Therefore anything that is not on this line is not Real.

If I can find something that is not on this line that is connected to this line in a real way, we will be forced to extend our definition of Reality beyond that which is represented by T .

In figure 2, I make a point not on the line T. I call it point A.

fig. 2

Point A is an Idea. The color blue is used to represent “blue sky” (dreams, not Real) schemes. It can be an idea to build a skyscraper, or an idea to write a book, or an idea to program a robot to perform skilled labor, etc. It can be any feasible idea. I can even mark the point in Real time (t) when the idea occurred (see figure 3); but in fact the skyscraper does not exist (has no length, width, height or duration); the book has not been written; the robot is not doing skilled labor; etc. The Idea is just a dream (a Thought) in someone's mind.

t T

fig. 3

Now consider a series of points B associated with our point A. In figure 4, I show a representative point B as a plan to make the idea a Reality. The Plan, a Thought also, is associated with the idea.

fig. 4

Since every possible plan will not work, some consideration must be given to the possible orientations of points B with respect to feasibility.

In figure 5, I show the line T , represented as a pencil pointing out of the paper with point A shown in arbitrary orientation.

fig. 5

The criteria for feasibility of the plan become visible in figure 6. The lines of Points B represent feasible plans of varying efficiencies. Points B' (read as "B prime") represent infeasible plans.

fig. 6

Those of us who have carried Research and Development (R & D) projects from IDEA to production/completion know that things don't always go according to the best of plans. We often expend considerable last minute effort to make prototypes work. This is seen here as bending of a line of points B to make this idea a reality (Intersect with line T ).

Much could be said about the envelope of feasible plans (points B) verses infeasible plans (points B'). This might be called research into the "Topology of Feasibility". For the present discussion, we say that some feasibility criteria exist such that: If our feasibility criteria are met then we can draw a line from point A (fig. 4) through points B extending to intersect our Reality line T at some point C. See figure 7.

C T

fig. 7

At this point, point C, the skyscraper is completed and occupied; the book is a best seller; the robot is docking a spacecraft in orbit; etc. We could say the result is a "Crystallized Thought". We could use many other metaphors. The fact is that an idea (pure Thought) has become a physical reality.

We know that we cannot get something real from something that is not real. Note that EVERYTHING MAN-MADE came from someone’s mind. This means that the idea and the associated plan were real in some way not included in our space-time reality. Therefore, we must extend our definition of reality to include our new reality. In figure 8, I have drawn a new axis and labeled it T^' (read as "Special T Prime")

T ^'

C T

fig. 8

Where T ^'contains all functions of x_j (read as "x bar j"), for j = 1 to n; the number dimensions may not be limited to the four (4) of our space-time.

At this point the new space, represented by T ^', only contains Thoughts (Ideas, Plans, etc.). Therefore, without stating a value for n (number of dimensions), I label what we see in figure 8 as Thought Space in figure 9.

T ^'

C T

where T ^'= f(x_j); for j = 1, ..., n

fig. 9

In our space-time there is an anomaly associated with the duration term: ct (c = speed of light, t = time). In the space-time arc length equation

1... s² = x² + y² + z² - c²t²;

the minus sign causes many of the four-vectors of our space-time to behave, under coordinate transformation, more like pseudo vectors than vectors. Do we have time related anomalies in our new space?

Consider a small interval of Real time dt (read as "delta t") as shown in figure 10.