virus: Self-ref systems, f'back, consciousness

Dave Pape (davepape@dial.pipex.com)
Tue, 6 May 1997 22:11:41 +0100 (BST)


Hey, now I reckon that self-referential thought-processes giving rise to
self-replicating emergent phenomena could explain what happens when you
learn a new concept.

Say... I was learning how to highlight a stretch of text in bold type.

At the start of the learn, I'd be... pressing the mouse button at the start
of the stretch, dragging the mouse (without letting go of the button) over
the text, letting go of the button, then clicking the Format menu, choosing
Format Text, and choosing "Bold".

At the end of the learn, I'd just be MAKING THE TEXT BOLD. (I think...
because everything else is automatic... I'm not conscious of the little
ideas...)

Now what I'm wondering is... at the start of learning a new concept, is it
the case that:

The new concept isn't autocatalytic.

Dave Pape
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