Structure of the Universe

We've been given the incredible power of choice. It is entirely possible that choice is an emergent phenomenon, an illusion that we want to believe to avoid the sinking fear that we are simply machines responding to our senses via pattern recognition. Yet the fact that we have subjective experiences based on our senses suggests that we are not simply complex machinery (well technically according to the concept of solipsism, I can only be sure that I personally have subjective experiences, but my empathy makes me believe that others do as well).

We are capable of directing our willpower to influence the universe around us. Gravity, left unchecked, would dictate that the rock would quietly sit there on the ground for years. Yet we can choose to use the strong and weak nuclear forces to contract our muscles and pick up that rock. If you had no willpower, the rock's trajectory through time would have remained unchanged.

But what is the mechanism behind this choice? This is one of the greatest questions of modern science. How does our willpower act through our neurons?

Let's delve into our neurons at a micro scale as we go deeper into space and time and arrive at the present moment.

1. Our bodies move by contracting muscles through nerves.
2. Those nerves are directed through our neurons.
3. Our neurons are capable of pattern recognition (see any current research on artificial neural networks to learn more regarding the process of neurons yielding regression and classification decisions).
4. Our neurons have action potentials based on neurotransmitter chemicals.
5. Those chemicals are made up of protons, neutrons, electrons etc.
6. Those are made up of subatomic particles (quarks, etc.) at different energy levels. 

At this point we have to pause. Because deeper than that, we come to the realm of probabilities. There are probable energy levels in which the subatomic particles and electrons may exist. However, there is no clear understanding of how nature decides on which probabilities to collapse. As time flows forward, the probabilities collapse into a given energy level. In fact, the particles likely exist in all possible energy levels simultaneously until time flows forward and they have collapsed (Schrödinger's cat).

Yet imagine what would occur with different combinations of these subatomic particles' energy levels being at different states. By collapsing those probabilities. By having a unique combination of the energy levels, this yields different states of the neurons and eventually human bodies. It's my assertion that the collapsing of those probable energy levels is the mechanism behind which free will operates. The energy levels with the highest probabilities could result in the human body unmoving, just swaying in the wind, so-to-say. Yet there are some combinations of energy levels which would result in the human body taking a step.

Or perhaps the most probable energy levels wouldn't be a static but, but would result in a person just acting out of his instincts.

If we assume that free will exists, then I assert that the mechanism through which it operates is a collapsing of the energy levels of the subatomic particles in our neurons.

If you keep dividing time, quantum physics talks about probabilities. Probabilities of different events as the primordial soup of the universe. This makes sense if you think about the fact that there are probabilities of different things happening given our choices. Our consciousness is us being aware of these states as we flow through “realizing” these probabilities come together. Consciousness is the convergence of the probabilities to an actual event (the particle actually moved in this direction). The collapse of the probabilities is us moving through time and “observing”.

We try to make the best choice given our actions. We can follow general population trends and know on average what occurs, but instinctually we always know that there was a chance our choices could have yielded a different output.

What does that mean? It simply means that you are using pattern recognition to guess the probabilities, and making a choice collapses those probabilities.

The structure of the universe is probabilities and choice projects us through the realization of being the observer. Trying out our sense of memory by thinking back in the past to known probability outputs, and looking into the future by seeing different probabilities.

Quantum physicists are slowly realizing the the basic physical structure of the universe isn't just geometry and raw energy, but also probabilities. Which to me represents possibilities, and a mechanism through which free will may operate.

Moods

In all my posts about senses, I've been discussing our senses as an awareness of different properties of the universe. We get feedback from the world around us, and make choices based on that feedback. We get feedback from our memories, from our sense of sight, from our brain's pattern recognition, from our rational abstract thoughts, from our current emotional state (run! I'm afraid of the tiger!), and we make a choice based on that feedback.

Our choices are actually based on all that feedback combined with our DNA, in addition to things such as our feeling of an ingroup versus outgroup, and our moods. Our moods change our goals. When you're in a bad mood, you may still be just as rational as if you are in a good mood, given your different goals.

A bad mood may give you the desire to stay in your room and shut out the world. A good mood may give you the desire to laugh with friends. Your moods are then filtered through your personality and result in a given decision. Your personality will determine if you calmly shut the door or slam it when someone hurts you emotionally. Where you decide to go to dinner with friends when you're in a good sociable mood; what sort of ambiance you prefer. But ultimately, your mood is going to subtly influence every decision and action you take.

Creating a model of our psyche could look something like the following:

We have a range of possibilities available to us, but those will be affected by, and therefore limited by, our mood as well as our personality.

Each of our senses simply gives us additional feedback about how our decisions changed the universe (did we catch the ball?). In addition, our senses also give us information on the current state of the universe (such as our own levels of hunger) in order for us to properly exert our will to achieve our goals.

We see pixels on a computer screen through the sense of sight and know the price of a given stock. We use our sense of memory to remember our investment plan. We use our sense of pattern recognition to determine probable financial results for ourselves. Our chemical makeup based on our DNA may affect our mood (whether we're extremely competitive and likely to take risks or not), and the other events in the day (taken in by our senses) will also affect our mood. We eventually arrive at a decision regarding whether to buy a given stock and repeat the process.

At the core, we are simply using our senses as input, using our brain to give us possible outcomes (which include not just which is "best" but also how we'll feel after each decision), make a choice (this is key; I don't believe in determinism), and then direct our body to implement our output decision.

This is the purpose of our senses. To allow us to be aware of the feedback from the universe to make different choices. Our senses are filtered through our moods to arrive at a decision.

Willpower: Awareness of Probabilities

In the article about pattern recognition simply being sight into the future, I alluded to the ability to make a choice.

There are a few subjective experiences which our current model of physics doesn't properly explain, one of which is the experience of willpower. Willpower is the process of choosing your thinking (directing your neurons), using those neurons to physically move (directing your body). Your body then is used to modify the rest of physics (the physical universe) as you see fit.

You are aware of the different choices in front of you. You can see the future (by visualizing the outcome of different choices). Yet in addition to seeing the result of those choices, you are deeply aware that you are able to direct your body. That there are different possibilities. That the world is going to be continuing on its path defined by simple physics unless you choose to change it.

Without willpower, the ball thrown at you would hit you square in the chest. But you are aware that you can direct your neurons to direct your hand to intercept the ball. You have essentially used your willpower to modify the "traditional" course of physics.

If we look on a more micro level, there are probabilities. Probable outcomes based on our choices. This will be more deeply explained in my future post about the universe's structure, but suffice it to say that there are probable outcomes based on our decisions. While pattern recognition is the awareness of those different choices, the fact that we can direct which probable outcome will actually occur gives us the subjective experience of willpower (which is different from the experience of visualizing the future using pattern recognition).

Choice, willpower, free will. While the topic of free will versus determinism is hotly debated, I assert that willpower is simply an awareness that there are probable outcomes in our universe, and that our neurons can affect those outcomes.  My previous definition of a sense as "an awareness of some property of the universe through time" is important, because the awareness of us making choices through time and affecting the physics around us allows us to define the subjective experience of willpower as a sense.

Our senses list now looks like the following:

Sense	Awareness of...
Sight	Photons
Sound	Energy Waves
Touch	Nuclear Force
Taste	Chemical Structure
Smell	Chemical Structure
Emotions	Hormone Levels
Logic/Rationality	Mathematics
Empathy	Other Awarenesses
Memory	The Past
Pattern Recognition	The Future
Willpower	Probabilities

Pattern Recognition: Awareness of the Future

In the previous post, I discussed memory being (or at least including) an awareness of the past.

But what about the future? When we think about the future we imagine good or bad outcomes. We can start to predict what will happen. When a ball is thrown at you, you can predict where it's going to be and move your arm out to catch it. You used your pattern recognition to make a prediction of the future. You timed the movement of your arm to coincide with your prediction of the future.

You knew instinctively that your guess was based on the future. You had a deep awareness that your actions (putting your hand up) could change the future. Without your pattern recognition, the physics of the ball's motion could possibly place it square in your chest and injure you. We evolved an awareness of the future, and a method in our brain to predicting how our willpower and decisions (such as putting your hand up) could modify the future.

Animals do it a little worse than us, although they certainly can be taught some things of prediction; think Pavlov’s dog. Yet we don’t necessarily do it very well ourselves.

Even the best chess players can’t see too many moves into the future. And people try to make career choices based on their predicted value to a potential company, but are frequently wrong. We try to invest intelligently and frequently fail. Yet some things we do very well. We can know the cause and effect of eating certain foods on our bodies or going to certain events.

Imagining (which can include both goals and fears / anxieties) of different possible ways the world could be is sight into the future.

Our true "extra sense" is not communicating with the dead, or being a prophet knowing the future. Rather seeing into the past (memory) and future choices (pattern recognition). It’s an orthogonal vision to sight as discussed in Consciousness article.

Just as we discussed the emotions following a memory, we can similarly discuss the emotions (such as hope or fear) following a prediction of the future. We may use pattern recognition to believe that the charging bull will spear us. This thought will subconsciouly send the hormones associated with the emotion of fear through our bodies to force our conscious mind to act. We are aware of a negative future with increasing probabilities, and feel an emotion based on that. Or we see our winning lottery numbers appear on the television, and our pattern recognition projects positive changes to our future lifestyle, and we feel glee. This positive expected outcome likely evolved to reward us for the given behavior and continue actions which positively affected our lives.

Pattern recognition, cause/effect, educated guessing, hoping, fearing. All these are simply a deep awareness of the future and how our choices will affect the physics of the future with some probability.

Our senses list now looks like the following:

Sense	Awareness of...
Sight	Photons
Sound	Energy Waves
Touch	Nuclear Force
Taste	Chemical Structure
Smell	Chemical Structure
Emotions	Hormone Levels
Logic/Rationality	Mathematics
Empathy	Other Awarenesses
Memory	The Past
Pattern Recognition	The Future

Memory: Awareness of the Past

Memory. It can be deceiving, it can be hopeful, it can be depressing. Nostalgia, fondness, regret, and pride are some of the emotions associated with mental thoughts regarding our memories. When we feel these emotions, they are simply hormones and neurotransmitters being released in various quantities following a thought regarding a memory.

Memory itself has been known to activate the same parts of our brain as our actual "traditional" five senses. For example, when you imagine a visual scene, you will be partially activating the occipital lobe, which is also used to primarily process your actual sense of sight.

The subjective experience of memory may present itself to your "mind's eye" the same as sight. However, we have a deep awareness that even though the image shown to us is a visual interpretation, a daydream, it is from the past.

As such, that nearly imperceptible awareness we experience, a deep knowing of the fact that what is going on through our brain is from the past, is our next sense.

The emotions attached to memory are cognitive interpreting of the past, and those emotions have evolved through evolution. For example, regret likely evolved as a way for humans to survive longer by feeling a deep sense of "mistake" and "guilt" from memories which did not serve our lives positively. In addition to the past perhaps not benefiting ourselves, we can also empathize with another human and recognize how our past decisions affected someone's trajectory in life. We may recognize that it is not beneficial to our "tribe" and feel the emotion of shame.

The memory is experienced, our minds interpret the event (queue psychiatric advice on choosing to reinterpret a past situation differently), and our minds then release some hormone or neurotransmitter which causes us to feel an emotion. This feedback from our mind's interpretation of the event then allows us to adapt our behavior and choices.

I'm going to stop here, and save our choices of behavior after the memory for the next blog post, because I want to do The Future due justice.

However, one point I will mention before closing is a philosophy from the popular spiritual book The Power of Now, which aims to remind readers that the past is set in stone. Think about pining about the past. Reminiscing or feeling depressed or guilty. It’s truly a wasted exercise if it doesn’t positively benefit your future. Why? Because the past is set in stone. Think about yourself desaturated, in shades of grey.

"The past is written in ink." "No use crying over spilled milk." Nothing can be done about the past choices you made. It's obvious when explicitly stated, and yet many people carry with them emotional baggage, perhaps a feeling of shame or regret or sadness about the past. Our ability to remember the past is only useful insofar as it affects our present and future decisions.

But we can visualize these situations. Maybe learn from them to improve our futures. We can feel how we felt and essentially empathize with our former selves. We can empathize with our former self. These subjective experiences of memory are what we define as awareness of the past.

Our senses list now looks like the following:

Sense	Awareness of...
Sight	Photons
Sound	Energy Waves
Touch	Nuclear Force
Taste	Chemical Structure
Smell	Chemical Structure
Emotions	Hormone Levels
Logic/Rationality	Mathematics
Empathy	Other Awarenesses
Memory	The Past