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This is a work in progress - all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006-2007 Tony Giovia

 

24. The Mechanics of Perception

 

24.1 - A complex context is a set of dimensions organized by a Dominant Rule and one or more Recessive Rules.

24.2 – The structure of a complex context can be changed by the addition of subtraction of new dimensions.

24.3 – New dimensions are sourced from the physical senses, and from the nexus of dimensions both directly related and indirectly related to the existing dimensions in a complex context.

24.4 – The flow of new dimensions through Dominant and Recessive Rules are the mechanics of perception.

a) The integration of new dimensions into a context changes the definition of the context, and may change the Point Of View of the context.

24.5 - Contextual constructions are the logical and mathematical machines of understanding and meaning.

24.6 – New dimensions entering a context are equivalent to energy flowing into a context.

 

A complex context is a set of dimensions organized by a Dominant Rule and one or more Recessive Rules, where Rules are the logical or mathematical laws organizing the dimensions of the context. The DR is either the Objective Point of View or the Personal Point of View of the context. The DR serves as the primary filter of dimensions in the context, meaning that as new dimensions become available in the perceivable pool of dimensions, the key filter that will try to add that dimension to its structure is the DR. If the new dimension is not congruent with the logical or mathematical law of the filter, then that dimension is discarded. However, that dimension may be accepted by a Recessive Rule filter within that complex context.

The flow of new dimensions through Dominant and Recessive Rules is the mechanics of perception. Please remember that dimensions are also Ideas – and the construction of a dimension and its namesake Idea differs only in the contexts attached to them by the POV used. It is therefore accurate to say that the flow of new Ideas through Dominant and Recessive Rules is the mechanics of perception. In this light, contextual constructions are the logical and mathematical machines of understanding and meaning.

DR and RR are themselves contexts, and it is convenient to think of the various contexts composing a complex context as levels of that context, in the sense that new dimensions are tested for congruency by the separate logical or mathematical laws of those levels.

The mechanics of introducing new dimensions to a complex context brings up at least two questions:

1) Where do new dimensions come from?
2) How are new dimensions distributed and managed among levels?

Let’s look at the genesis of new dimensions first. The most obvious source is the senses – sight, hearing, smell and touch – and here I include “taste” as a form of touching. All the senses are at their essence touch based, wherein physical energy or molecular inputs are processed by physical structures in the brain and body. The distinctions among the named four senses appear to be qualitatively different, with each processing a different type of defined energy. I am not here now to argue what is and what is not a sense, although in fact this is a critical issue that must be addressed. The number of senses – the number of complex context processing units – will dramatically affect the POV structure of any comprehensive metaphysical geometry of ideas.

A second source of new dimensions come from the complex context itself. Every context is an organization of dimensions, and each dimension is a defined object which is itself a context – in other words, any definition of a dimension must include the other dimensions required to define it. Each of these additional defining dimensions are themselves contexts containing dimensions, which are themselves contexts, and so on into the very depth and breadth of the nexus of dimensions we call existence. This means that a complex context has access to an unlimited number of dimensions, limited only by the Point of View employed to view dimensions.

As to the question of how new dimensions are distributed and managed among levels, I can only speculate until a working model is produced. However, it is educated speculation. Experience shows us that there are both hierarchal patterns and equality patterns in everyday life. In a hierarchal model a new dimension must first be processed by the logical and mathematical laws of the Dominant Rule. If the new dimension is compatible – that is, if the physical structure of the dimension can port to the DR’s physical structure – then that dimension is added to the structure of the DR, changing the DR’s physical definition. If it is not compatible, it is rejected. At that point, whether accepted or rejected, one of two paths can be taken. The new dimension can be passed to the Recessive Rule that shares the most dimensions with the DR, or it can be passed to all the Recessive Rules at once. I don’t know the answer, but my best guess is that if the DR implies a hierarchal model, it is most likely the former.

 In an equality model the new dimension is presented to all the levels of the complex context at once, with similar acceptance or rejection processes occurring at each level. This may involve the production of multiple copies of the new dimension to allow separate simultaneous processing (for example, think of a breaking news report, or a batted ball in a baseball game). Alternatively, we must consider that the complex context has a physical form. The physical design of the complex context may allow the simultaneous processing of a new dimension by all the levels of the complex context.

Of course, as experience also shows, it may be a mixture of both hierarchal and equality models. My best guess (again, in the absence of a working model) is that the DR, which is also the Point of View of the complex context, is the deciding factor in determining how new dimensions are managed.

Let’s take a high level look at how adding a new dimension to a DR changes not only the physical structure of the DR, but possibly also the relationship of the DR to its Recessive Rules, and thereby possibly affect the entire meaning of the complex context.

When a new dimension is congruent to a Point of View, the dimension is added to the structure of the POV, changing the physical definition of the POV. This new dimension includes other dimensions required for its definition. The new definition expands the structure and validity of the DR, however the additional dimensions required for the definition of the new dimension may change the Point Of View of the DR. A simple example of this is a murder mystery. All the evidence points to Suspect A, who is a Recessive Rule in the complex context of the mystery. Then the murder weapon is found. The murder weapon fits the DR, however the murder weapon belongs to Helpful Witness B, who is another RR in the complex context. Adding the dimension that the weapon belongs to the Helpful Witness changes the POV of the DR from Suspect A to Helpful Witness B.

Finally, we should mention another Point Of View concerning the machinery of perception. Dimensions are objects, and therefore they are composed of energy. It is therefore accurate to conceive of new dimensions entering a context as the flow of energy into the context.

 

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