@jd_pressman I’m really curious at what point these models will emergently start to simulate human nervous systems to improve loss

Especially if trained as multi-modal with neural as one of the modalities


@winslow_strong Excited to see this happening!


The modal dollar supporting “consciousness research” may be -EV because in pre-paradigmatic fields it’s easier to add noise than signal. But the avg dollar is hugely +EV because it’s such an important topic

Winslow has been a great champion of research & I expect great things… https://t.co/g97nxU1M5S

The modal dollar supporting “consciousness research” may be -EV because in pre-paradigmatic fields it’s easier to add noise than signal. But the avg dollar is hugely +EV because it’s such an important topic

Winslow has been a great champion of research & I expect great things… https://x.com/winslow_strong/status/1948483311522709759


@danfaggella @Plinz @newtonlaw @winslow_strong Consciousness is one dimension, open-ended improvement another, and I think good aesthetic taste rounds things out. Future AI systems could miss any of the three


@danfaggella @Plinz @newtonlaw @winslow_strong Frank Wilczek’s “A Beautiful Question” argues that when we assume the universe is beautiful a lot of things in physics make more sense; we could summarize this view as ‘beauty is alignment with the [mathematical] universe’

My core writing about this would be…


@yoltartar @made_in_cosmos Nearsightedness looks like a disorder of fascia where the connective tissue in the eye thins out and doesn’t have enough collagen cross-links to maintain a robust baseline. Makes eyes too plastic in early life / teens, then over time things stiffen up and you get a smaller usable…


@RokoMijic Two capacities humans have that keep us on track are (1) we automatically generate a world model from the constraints & affordances of being embodied, & (2) we can selectively freeze neural circuits (vasocomputation)

Not easy to bolt on either capacity to existing models


@harmonicjunkie @WystanTBS @RogerThisdell A bit of deep lore on STV & teleology https://t.co/QEvWi9N4A0

@harmonicjunkie @WystanTBS @RogerThisdell A bit of deep lore on STV & teleology https://opentheory.net/2019/02/simulation-argument/


@robertwiblin My strong expectation is this is driven by changes in the underlying biophysiology

Ie chemical pollutants & other environmental insults, not smartphones https://t.co/0BeleoLcXh

@robertwiblin My strong expectation is this is driven by changes in the underlying biophysiology

Ie chemical pollutants & other environmental insults, not smartphones https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1932130041284149632


@FuturebyJana Opioids increase scarring; I wouldn’t be surprised if the pain of a wound tends to reflect active bioelectric self-organization

Scarring is the low-energy state where the body stops trying


@danfaggella @JoinEdgeCity My personal take is the road to understanding machine consciousness runs through understanding human consciousness first

Completely different causal phylogeny, same underlying physics


@Rares82 @markvalorian @NTFabiano I suspect so — we’re built to copy the mental movements of those around us (“monkey see, monkey do” is a big part of our power) https://t.co/cKKyOcTFME

@Rares82 @markvalorian @NTFabiano I suspect so — we’re built to copy the mental movements of those around us (“monkey see, monkey do” is a big part of our power) https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1720684038703513925


@brainenergy4me @scandi_peater I wouldn't be surprised if this was a smooth muscle latch ("latch-bridge mechanism", see pinned tweet); there are some reports of people having discrete opening events from megadosing pro-metabolic substances

Progesterone, coffee, CO2 (carbogen), etc https://t.co/9QEsm9F4EP

@brainenergy4me @scandi_peater I wouldn't be surprised if this was a smooth muscle latch ("latch-bridge mechanism", see pinned tweet); there are some reports of people having discrete opening events from megadosing pro-metabolic substances

Progesterone, coffee, CO2 (carbogen), etc https://x.com/metabolicwave/status/1902399309397811304


@connor_holly1 This is really cool


@josephkelly @Nick Right — and can’t recategorize something you have latched


Aura is vascular tone

The opposite of aura is cringe, breaking frame, tanha. But in the most literal physiological sense, the opposite of aura is vascular microspasm. The more sharp jitter in someone’s vasculature, the worse their aura is.

Vascular microspasm is an honest… https://t.co/lbE6QVuQBW

Aura is vascular tone

The opposite of aura is cringe, breaking frame, tanha. But in the most literal physiological sense, the opposite of aura is vascular microspasm. The more sharp jitter in someone’s vasculature, the worse their aura is.

Vascular microspasm is an honest… https://x.com/celestialbe1ng/status/1948699824984871350


Context https://t.co/5yVABcCUk8


@eaccocortex Here's GPT5T -- I think a problem is there are actually so many methods to infer vasospasm that we need to get a little opinionated on what precisely counts as a spasm https://t.co/p8FSpw2QtG

@eaccocortex Here's GPT5T -- I think a problem is there are actually so many methods to infer vasospasm that we need to get a little opinionated on what precisely counts as a spasm https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1965128805888172291/photo/1


@daniel_mac8 I dearly want to live in a world where everyone has 10/10 aura, everyone's the platonic version of themselves. This to me is one of the few non-mirage human-type utopias


RT @PashaKamyshev: Mike Johnson is always insightful, though this is also perhaps one of the more dense ones.


@MattPirkowski That means a huge amount coming from you. Thank you.


@JonathanShedler Hi Jonathan, sincere fan of your thoughts & threads on here. I would respectfully push back on this.

There are many ways to contextualize what we mean by "trapped emotions" -- within the field of psychology Wilhelm Reich's 1933-34 “segmental armoring" is a notable framework…


@TylerAlterman @nosilverv We could describe what happens inside our body as we go about our day as "biochemistry"; it would be unsatisfying to do so bc it misses a lot of complexity

And yet it might be literally true

Likewise we can explain human behavior as "expected tension minimization" (very similar…

Tyler is finishing a book, slow to reply


@Beckett111746 In terms of inflammatory particles, you may want to check out the frame of "mineral balancing" (see @MetalsBrah); I expect heavy metals (esp aluminum) can be a factor in overly sticky latches


The Symmetry Theory of Valence arrived years before neuroscience could properly test it. But as its 9-year anniversary approaches it’s looking increasingly promising https://t.co/zBrgJ2x9kW

The Symmetry Theory of Valence arrived years before neuroscience could properly test it. But as its 9-year anniversary approaches it’s looking increasingly promising https://x.com/KeithSakata/status/1966931180881956920


Short explainer (2021): https://t.co/M0DH7qCogw
Summary paper (2023): https://t.co/1rNw0zdReC
Book (2016): https://t.co/bPds7P0mEE

Short explainer (2021): https://opentheory.net/2021/07/a-primer-on-the-symmetry-theory-of-valence/
Summary paper (2023): https://opentheory.net/Qualia_Formalism_and_a_Symmetry_Theory_of_Valence.pdf
Book (2016): https://opentheory.net/PrincipiaQualia.pdf


@Plyv1722193 @nosilverv @prasanna_says Some musings on what kind of thing nervous systems are and what proliferation could be --

I see the 'baseline' nervous system as a flow network, which sensory data enters & is transformed by as it flows through. Representations are overloaded (we're modeling a very complex world…


@nosilverv hello my brother in autism

that sounds about right, for better & worse


I’ll be at Edge Patagonia for the whole month, Oct18-Nov15

Working on vasocomputation & might give a talk on New Research https://t.co/pWq2eqi5ON

I’ll be at Edge Patagonia for the whole month, Oct18-Nov15

Working on vasocomputation & might give a talk on New Research https://x.com/consciresidency/status/1962959155083321780


@danfaggella I’m told some of our crew will be there


@jonnym1ller I expect we’ll find exactly this sense of embodied humility in all successful religions

A core failure mode of the human nervous system is the ratchet: it gets tight, which makes it reactive, then reactions further tighten it


@adic_9 @hermittoday @lunesentia It is known to decrease blood pressure; could take it with extra salt, or try serrapeptase or lumbrokinase (they have reasonably similar fibrolytic profiles but may not affect bp as much) https://t.co/I29dgOdkU4

@adic_9 @hermittoday @lunesentia It is known to decrease blood pressure; could take it with extra salt, or try serrapeptase or lumbrokinase (they have reasonably similar fibrolytic profiles but may not affect bp as much) https://x.com/biohacker/status/1968025211594309720


I expect a surprising amount of loss-of-smell to be caused by vascular latches in the olfactory bulb. Release the latches, get your sense of smell back

(Repeat for other sensory domains)

Covid creates strange latch patterns https://t.co/vaFpEPrHjx

I expect a surprising amount of loss-of-smell to be caused by vascular latches in the olfactory bulb. Release the latches, get your sense of smell back

(Repeat for other sensory domains)

Covid creates strange latch patterns https://x.com/IterIntellectus/status/1968764007743111276


@lotusfracture Presently, we don’t have precision methods to spot or open latches; the safest advice would be eg focus on metabolism (eg peat) & heavy metal detox (I can say good things about “mineral balancing”). Hope to write out a protocol at some point


@VividVoid_ I expect very often the same


@lotusfracture come help us build it :)


@lotusfracture The most up-to-date public stuff is probably this talk and my tweets; a friend and I did a more recent video but it hasn't been posted yet. The list of references at the end of the thread attached to my talk is pretty good background (cf latch-bridge mechanism, hemo-neural…


@repligate I buy Michael Levin’s take that all cells are doing interesting computation, and all cells basically talk to all other nearby cells. So on first pass isolating intelligence in the body is a bit messy. But some systems of the body seem to have deep regulatory access over others by…


@nascentwisp @catfrog2000 Safety is a psychological imperative and we sometimes bend our epistemology to generate it


@nascentwisp @catfrog2000 We're not optimizing for safety on rational terms, but on the body's terms, based on its native language & observed patterns


@frideswyth Sometimes latches protect others


@eshear @orphcorp As above, so below

https://t.co/rabrbdDMo9

@eshear @orphcorp As above, so below

https://psyche.co/ideas/to-grasp-how-serotonin-works-on-the-brain-look-to-the-gut


@johnhawks has a nice overview of some recent work on what distinguishes the human vascular system from other primates. His thesis is that we're optimized for physical endurance. Probably true; I also suspect we're optimized for cognitive endurance.

"Cognitive endurance" has two… https://t.co/H32H6q4ZeK

@johnhawks has a nice overview of some recent work on what distinguishes the human vascular system from other primates. His thesis is that we're optimized for physical endurance. Probably true; I also suspect we're optimized for cognitive endurance.

"Cognitive endurance" has two… https://x.com/johnhawks/status/1969499541943546214


@LucreSnooker I lay out my perspective in this thread (full sources @ end): https://t.co/Y9g2tD2IG8

For an academic take I'd recommend the hemo-neural hypothesis (doesn't include e.g. latches, predictive processing): https://t.co/oRuRTrTL6V

My original article: https://t.co/vzGxzCVukw

@LucreSnooker I lay out my perspective in this thread (full sources @ end): https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1863595299056517410

For an academic take I'd recommend the hemo-neural hypothesis (doesn't include e.g. latches, predictive processing): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3655718/

My original article: https://opentheory.net/2023/07/principles-of-vasocomputation-a-unification-of-buddhist-phenomenology-active-inference-and-physical-reflex-part-i/


@CharlotteFang77 I sent my book to @RealRossU when he was in prison. Captive audiences are the best audiences

♡ Charlotte Fang 🪲 Crown Prince ❀ LOVE HEALS 💞


@danfaggella @ianchanning Great graphic; philosophers could be another row


@flowersslop Consciousness too! Would love to get an agent churning on these https://t.co/Ppql0LToXK

@flowersslop Consciousness too! Would love to get an agent churning on these https://opentheory.net/2022/04/it-from-bit-revisited/


@DillanDiNardo Extremely interesting work, excited to see this happening!


A few months ago I gave a talk at @joinedgecity on what ‘kind of problem’ consciousness is. The core theme was “to have knowledge [about consciousness] we need a place to put it.”

Why do I post so much about consciousness? Because I think it’s important. We are building the… https://t.co/QAhiHU7vao

A few months ago I gave a talk at @joinedgecity on what ‘kind of problem’ consciousness is. The core theme was “to have knowledge [about consciousness] we need a place to put it.”

Why do I post so much about consciousness? Because I think it’s important. We are building the… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591005288956407/photo/1


There’s no consensus on what consciousness is or how to study it. But with AI speeding up, “consciousness” is leaving the realm of idle philosophy & entering the realm of important policy unknown. Soon it will be urgent https://t.co/f4gJlswgn8

There’s no consensus on what consciousness is or how to study it. But with AI speeding up, “consciousness” is leaving the realm of idle philosophy & entering the realm of important policy unknown. Soon it will be urgent https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591199116173649/photo/1


Decades of confusion & neglect have led to the field sinking into learned helplessness. We need fresh & agentic ways of thinking that can antidote this. Themes I endorse: https://t.co/MGRLt0NZBS

Decades of confusion & neglect have led to the field sinking into learned helplessness. We need fresh & agentic ways of thinking that can antidote this. Themes I endorse: https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591300245000218/photo/1


Basic structure of my talk: seven ways to look at consciousness with fresh eyes & a walk-through of what each means https://t.co/dn1EjfpyrD

Basic structure of my talk: seven ways to look at consciousness with fresh eyes & a walk-through of what each means https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591419271028892/photo/1


“Natural kinds” is a term derived from Aristotle; it’s an attempt to point at the fundamental building blocks of reality. Or as Plato put it, concepts that ‘carve reality at its joints’.

The study of consciousness is the reverse-engineering of qualia natural kinds https://t.co/NjLToddH83

“Natural kinds” is a term derived from Aristotle; it’s an attempt to point at the fundamental building blocks of reality. Or as Plato put it, concepts that ‘carve reality at its joints’.

The study of consciousness is the reverse-engineering of qualia natural kinds https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591681196900558/photo/1


Understanding which domain consciousness naturally ‘lives in’ would greatly help clarify what the natural kinds of consciousness could be

The two most plausible domains for this are physics & computation. Each leads to very, very different sorts of answers https://t.co/uADpPdQb7G

Understanding which domain consciousness naturally ‘lives in’ would greatly help clarify what the natural kinds of consciousness could be

The two most plausible domains for this are physics & computation. Each leads to very, very different sorts of answers https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591840987308364/photo/1


Physics is a great accounting system for what exists. If consciousness research wants to be good at this (and it should) it should take notes from physics https://t.co/OEf1WrDKP6

Physics is a great accounting system for what exists. If consciousness research wants to be good at this (and it should) it should take notes from physics https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591972378042607/photo/1


Something that I think people dramatically underestimate is how central “symmetry” is to physics https://t.co/06WtZwshzY

Something that I think people dramatically underestimate is how central “symmetry” is to physics https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971592096709837276/photo/1


STV is a serious attempt to replace an enormous and complicated chunk of reasoning & logic (conventional approaches to understanding what pain & pleasure are, & why they’re so deeply linked with motivation) with something very simple. As I describe it in my 2023 paper:

>The… https://t.co/86VsMf8FsB

STV is a serious attempt to replace an enormous and complicated chunk of reasoning & logic (conventional approaches to understanding what pain & pleasure are, & why they’re so deeply linked with motivation) with something very simple. As I describe it in my 2023 paper:

>The… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971592606892335217/photo/1


“Strong Monism” is the maximally opinionated take on “dual aspect monism” or Russell’s “neutral monism”. I contrast it with “Weak Monism”. You would rather be a Strong Monist than a Weak Monist, yes?

https://t.co/hdEh8dAvMR https://t.co/SCNRolKUd6

“Strong Monism” is the maximally opinionated take on “dual aspect monism” or Russell’s “neutral monism”. I contrast it with “Weak Monism”. You would rather be a Strong Monist than a Weak Monist, yes?

https://opentheory.net/2019/06/taking-monism-seriously/ https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971592815986749854/photo/1


The outgrowth of Strong Monism is that *if physics and consciousness derive from the same thing, we actually know a lot about consciousness* & mining physics for insight should be a primary heuristic

Weak & Strong Monism pay the same ontological costs; why not go with Strong? https://t.co/4WjyzybZPK

The outgrowth of Strong Monism is that *if physics and consciousness derive from the same thing, we actually know a lot about consciousness* & mining physics for insight should be a primary heuristic

Weak & Strong Monism pay the same ontological costs; why not go with Strong? https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971592975026429999/photo/1


I think Strong Monism is an incredibly optimistic frame because it both clearly defines what a “solution to consciousness” could be & offers hope that this could be years away, not millennia

https://t.co/CVGOWpgoQ8 https://t.co/yqfLmrTYye

I think Strong Monism is an incredibly optimistic frame because it both clearly defines what a “solution to consciousness” could be & offers hope that this could be years away, not millennia

https://x.com/bahramshakerin/status/1969946824707559653?s=46 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971593173874229522/photo/1


The dirty secret of “physics” is there isn’t one theory of physics, there are many competing theories. How does this impact physics-based consciousness research? https://t.co/DezixJh0bm

The dirty secret of “physics” is there isn’t one theory of physics, there are many competing theories. How does this impact physics-based consciousness research? https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971593358855581906/photo/1


I expect there to be as many formulations of consciousness as there are formulations of physics. This makes getting one’s bearings a little hard at first but it’ll pay dividends later since some formulations of physics are better at certain problems than others https://t.co/NfDbA41qaz

I expect there to be as many formulations of consciousness as there are formulations of physics. This makes getting one’s bearings a little hard at first but it’ll pay dividends later since some formulations of physics are better at certain problems than others https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971593488400781483/photo/1


A few of my favorite physical constructs: https://t.co/VUKSKhDu87

A few of my favorite physical constructs: https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971593584169320762/photo/1


“Emergence” is often used as a sort of magical evocation; life “emerges” from physics, consciousness “emerges” from complexity. This is not illuminating. But emergence can be a deeply useful technical frame https://t.co/QOnBP0OdhY

“Emergence” is often used as a sort of magical evocation; life “emerges” from physics, consciousness “emerges” from complexity. This is not illuminating. But emergence can be a deeply useful technical frame https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971593696203403349/photo/1


@erikphoel has a great formal method for this in “Causal Emergence 2.0”. His basic thesis: we can quantify the uncertainty about causes & effects across different scales; emergence happens when & insofar as macroscopic scales have more certainty vs micro

https://t.co/EqSbhl3FPe https://t.co/SHbKHjQBXj

@erikphoel has a great formal method for this in “Causal Emergence 2.0”. His basic thesis: we can quantify the uncertainty about causes & effects across different scales; emergence happens when & insofar as macroscopic scales have more certainty vs micro

https://x.com/erikphoel/status/1902734165667152114 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971594270244311218/photo/1


@erikphoel Chemistry is a fantastic emergent structure; a true jewel of science. People interested in understanding consciousness should study *why* chemistry works

https://t.co/ZDgA7Mm59b https://t.co/w2888Y9pda

@erikphoel Chemistry is a fantastic emergent structure; a true jewel of science. People interested in understanding consciousness should study *why* chemistry works

https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1903163115409379352 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971594437387251833/photo/1


@erikphoel Many fields have physics envy. Consciousness research should have chemistry envy & biology envy

I introduce the term “monist shadow” here; I hope to write more soon https://t.co/oanedYDnY3

@erikphoel Many fields have physics envy. Consciousness research should have chemistry envy & biology envy

I introduce the term “monist shadow” here; I hope to write more soon https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971594746926968862/photo/1


@erikphoel A few words foreshadowing the next section & a new project I've been developing, working name “QPT”

https://t.co/5cRzvCFUqB https://t.co/AKloyppgEF

@erikphoel A few words foreshadowing the next section & a new project I've been developing, working name “QPT”

https://x.com/drmichaellevin/status/1943060763729629195 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971595214432440761/photo/1


@erikphoel It’s crucial to have treasure maps for research; without them we simply won’t find the important stuff. But constructing useful maps requires a bit of cleverness https://t.co/dUxjppozvF

@erikphoel It’s crucial to have treasure maps for research; without them we simply won’t find the important stuff. But constructing useful maps requires a bit of cleverness https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971595466161946810/photo/1


@erikphoel It’s always hard to reify a research heuristic into a process that can be shared, extended, scaled. But here’s what I think will work to create treasure maps: https://t.co/4GzfAmBBCS

@erikphoel It’s always hard to reify a research heuristic into a process that can be shared, extended, scaled. But here’s what I think will work to create treasure maps: https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971595597821141091/photo/1


@erikphoel The overlap between consciousness research & AI will define much of the 2030s. I wrote extensively about AI consciousness in last year’s A Paradigm for AI Consciousness. It seems pretty pressing to figure out.
https://t.co/cRUk5nzMQ2

https://t.co/70mbtJVRyU https://t.co/7KVKMTfepX

@erikphoel The overlap between consciousness research & AI will define much of the 2030s. I wrote extensively about AI consciousness in last year’s A Paradigm for AI Consciousness. It seems pretty pressing to figure out.
https://opentheory.net/2024/06/a-paradigm-for-ai-consciousness/

https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1886287279012082139 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971595827790664142/photo/1


@erikphoel An equally pressing question is how one could use AI to help research consciousness. Imo the bottleneck is clarifying ‘what kind of problem’ this is. This talk is intended as both answer & prompt

https://t.co/IQt7FIxBhm https://t.co/I22dNXcRf6

@erikphoel An equally pressing question is how one could use AI to help research consciousness. Imo the bottleneck is clarifying ‘what kind of problem’ this is. This talk is intended as both answer & prompt

https://x.com/tszzl/status/1968439779931861225?s=46 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971596067264508040/photo/1


@erikphoel I end my discussion of fresh lenses with a few slides on Wittgenstein & philosophy of language. This might only be super interesting for language nerds — but I expect that most theorists of consciousness are bottlenecked by failing to keep sufficiently careful track of ‘what kind… https://t.co/G2My3p6AET

@erikphoel I end my discussion of fresh lenses with a few slides on Wittgenstein & philosophy of language. This might only be super interesting for language nerds — but I expect that most theorists of consciousness are bottlenecked by failing to keep sufficiently careful track of ‘what kind… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971596552272773575/photo/1


@erikphoel Anyway, recapping the seven proposals — consciousness research isn’t intractable. But neither is it trivial. We can make progress if we want to, but we do have to really want it https://t.co/XcqzgL74TH

@erikphoel Anyway, recapping the seven proposals — consciousness research isn’t intractable. But neither is it trivial. We can make progress if we want to, but we do have to really want it https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971596671290396728/photo/1


@erikphoel Finally, a quick recap of some of the things I’ve been working on. Thanks for reading. And a sincere thank you to @joinedgecity @janineleger @timourxyz @jwmares without which this talk would have not happened https://t.co/GfQ8lmsQhb

@erikphoel Finally, a quick recap of some of the things I’ve been working on. Thanks for reading. And a sincere thank you to @joinedgecity @janineleger @timourxyz @jwmares without which this talk would have not happened https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971596949246837089/photo/1


@jonnym1ller Amazing


@aut0m8d There’s a lot there that I like. I’ll hopefully have a longer description of my position out soon


@Qivshi1 @erikphoel I’m not exactly claiming that — rather, I think that we should understand how chemistry arises from physics, and look for something “chemistry-like” that arises from consciousness


@devaraj227 I expect there are Schelling points in the laws of reality, and some of our current radical uncertainty about the future is simply an inability to see them yet


@MartinShkreli I met him as an undergrad; told him I had read some of his books & asked if he had any advice for becoming a better philosopher. He said “read more of my books”


RT @nickcammarata: i think the standard view is "value is complex and fragile" but i think prob truer is that *suffering* is complex and fr…


@PashaKamyshev Well said. Your three types of value roughly maps to the three major schools of AI axiology:
(1) "AI safety" (Eliezer/MIRI/LessWrong) is committed to value being defined by individual preferences ('mental software' in your terms). Preferences are fragile (easily frustratable)…


Summoning ghosts — fragments of avatar state — is unlikely to solve consciousness unless we find a dualism with physics

This talk is about how to build context for this dualism https://t.co/t8VaBzKv2w https://t.co/nvVHneM7yy

Summoning ghosts — fragments of avatar state — is unlikely to solve consciousness unless we find a dualism with physics

This talk is about how to build context for this dualism https://x.com/morqon/status/1973465442275696851 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1973487787908497749/photo/1


They say that comparison is the thief of joy, but aluminum's pretty close too.

Toxic elements are often toxic due to "ionic mimicry" -- elements like lead, cadmium, & aluminum have similar binding properties as e.g. iron/magnesium/calcium/zinc so they can displace these minerals… https://t.co/2hLAshz6b9

They say that comparison is the thief of joy, but aluminum's pretty close too.

Toxic elements are often toxic due to "ionic mimicry" -- elements like lead, cadmium, & aluminum have similar binding properties as e.g. iron/magnesium/calcium/zinc so they can displace these minerals… https://x.com/nosilverv/status/1974035040708288736


@MetalsBrah Thank you! Great fan of your work also


@nickcammarata I'm softly optimistic that there's a general bias toward each nested layer having better default valence

Like if you play Minecraft you get a lot of apparent complexity but a core engineering imperative your computer operates on is minimizing energy leakage (high symmetry)


@orphcorp there's active debate as to how bad, and which forms are least-bad, but yeah consensus is fluoride's a neurotoxin

RO filters will remove it but charcoal won't


@whalecrush what you're saying doesn't match up with the literature I'm familiar with, or a quick gpt spot-check. what are your exact claims? https://t.co/erhVkKSSyE

@whalecrush what you're saying doesn't match up with the literature I'm familiar with, or a quick gpt spot-check. what are your exact claims? https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1974482302127472734/photo/1


@whalecrush I don't think aluminum needs to be +2 to mimic iron/calcium/magnesium, e.g. ionic mimicry is much more about idiosyncratic binding site configurations ("heterovalent substitution") than exactly matching charge

attached is a quick sanity check from gpt, & here's a book I take to… https://t.co/t0YtMsnoCY

@whalecrush I don't think aluminum needs to be +2 to mimic iron/calcium/magnesium, e.g. ionic mimicry is much more about idiosyncratic binding site configurations ("heterovalent substitution") than exactly matching charge

attached is a quick sanity check from gpt, & here's a book I take to… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1974486313618575693/photo/1


@whalecrush whalecrush what are your claims and why do you think them? that aluminum is fine to eat? heterovalent substitution isn't real? toxicity of aluminum is fake? you probably know a lot of cool stuff but I see more emotion than science here


@cube_flipper I'm going to punt some of this to my next piece, but yeah I think it's vascular rhythms

I expect a lot of it to be vasopressin-based but would also rec looking at the dopamine tonic/phasic system
https://t.co/KW0ZTQ4ulJ

@cube_flipper I'm going to punt some of this to my next piece, but yeah I think it's vascular rhythms

I expect a lot of it to be vasopressin-based but would also rec looking at the dopamine tonic/phasic system
https://x.com/chrismasterjohn/status/1973113094449799550?s=46


@cube_flipper yeah but it's a little complicated -- iirc the majority of bloodflow isn't driven by the heart, but by vortexing in small vascular channels... the heart helps to force blood in big tubes into smaller tubes, but once it's in small tubes it goes by itself https://t.co/3Il4XQHO2w

@cube_flipper yeah but it's a little complicated -- iirc the majority of bloodflow isn't driven by the heart, but by vortexing in small vascular channels... the heart helps to force blood in big tubes into smaller tubes, but once it's in small tubes it goes by itself https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/what-causes-water-to-move-inside


@ChrischipMonk I think many people go to extreme lengths to avoid envy, and sometimes this is rational

Most sins are bad in boring first-order ways; envy is uniquely destructive in that it's a social morality inversion, the beauty/success of others gets used against them

People either learn…


@kush__sharma This is great, thanks!


@kush__sharma Yep that’s right; curious about your thoughts on this approach


@kush__sharma That matches my evaluation too; intuitive plausibility across a crucial domain and offers fairy actionable advice. Some dimensions (eg iron levels) seem a little too sparse and the timeframe uncertainty on hair samples seems very high… but still more “real” than many other tests


@ChrischipMonk I think so: tension is the core bodily syntax for reducing dynamic range

People think of HRV as a scalar but I expect with the right analysis we'd see heartbeats trace out heart eigenmodes. More tension -> fewer eigenmodes to trace -> simpler pattern


@ChrischipMonk Lack of capacity to sweat might also be a good regional proxy for tension/latches. I.e. I expect people with "somatic blocks" or "closed chakras" or "trauma" and so forth to have trouble sweating in that region of the body

Likewise plenty of ways to proxy tension from eye data


@el7_77 Peat wrote some other great things about consciousness, should collect them

(Have been wondering if Martin Picard's 'energy resistance' (éR) could be developed as a general proxy for 'branchial width' in biological systems & thus how conscious they are)
https://t.co/AsUixsAiEF

@el7_77 Peat wrote some other great things about consciousness, should collect them

(Have been wondering if Martin Picard's 'energy resistance' (éR) could be developed as a general proxy for 'branchial width' in biological systems & thus how conscious they are)
https://x.com/MitoPsychoBio/status/1975450527887425628


@QiaochuYuan I’ve been thinking about this as “if consciousness is the home of value, figuring out the structure of this domain is really important”

But even if we figure out that consciousness isn’t the home of value, or that it’s not a properly structured domain — also useful!


The most interesting projects today happen because a future billionaire imprinted on a sci-fi universe as a teen/young adult and decided to make it real. But there's not a lot of great neuro sci-fi. Bearish for neurotech https://t.co/xvPhisRFgv

The most interesting projects today happen because a future billionaire imprinted on a sci-fi universe as a teen/young adult and decided to make it real. But there's not a lot of great neuro sci-fi. Bearish for neurotech https://x.com/CoCoKruszynski/status/1977355996163960945


@IvanVendrov Yep!

You might like my Vernor Vinge thread; also one of the good ones: https://t.co/ERNrPdUNGf

@IvanVendrov Yep!

You might like my Vernor Vinge thread; also one of the good ones: https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1771016211364708614


@TylerAlterman A friend made the point we’re in a defect-defect equilibrium wrt apprenticeships: masters are incentivized to extract maximum work, apprentices are incentivized to grab the special knowledge+network then leave. Difficult problem & means the end of some interesting lineages


@TylerAlterman Historically apprentices were basically treated as property; a very uncomfortable arrangement but it allowed investment. Different values today, different tradeoffs. There’s also been a hard shift to more things (esp in academia) being scams


@8teAPi I think the underlying question is always “Why? What’s all this for?”

If you turn the sun’s output into compute, what do you compute? https://t.co/iAz0VOQJN5

@8teAPi I think the underlying question is always “Why? What’s all this for?”

If you turn the sun’s output into compute, what do you compute? https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1939854640465776942


@eshear I expect visual data has the most demanding sync constraints and this explains “no blind person has ever developed schizophrenia” — easy to stay under some cross-modal Nyquist-limit type threshold without this outlier


@LauraDeming I think of cellular temperature in terms of how fast biological time is passing + ideal gas law — how many microstates are in the cell’s repertoire & how fast is this repertoire being explored?

Different combinations of this will allow different classes of structures to persist


@nickcammarata @maxkshen Yep latches as priors


@maxkshen @nickcammarata Hey Max,

A core hypothesis in vasocomputation is that the latch-bridge mechanism of smooth muscle is the implementation mechanism for stuck priors / frozen sensation. Testing this is philosophically de-risked since this feature of smooth muscle is established in the literature…


@maxkshen @nickcammarata Hey Max,

Thanks for the thoughts and the curiosity. I’m a little unclear on what sorts of answers you’re looking for, but I can say some more things:

- Everything in the body regulates everything else, usually in a holographic way (i.e. spread across domains & scales), but I’m…


@jonnym1ller Bloodflow as the nervous system's natural reward signal is an interesting analogy (h/t a conversation with Emmett)


@bayeslord "Philosophy" was captured and destroyed last century; the project continues under new names


Promising for vasocomputation; a next step would be to show meditation/psychedelics can open latches. Do fMRI voxels with chronically low bloodflow sometimes “open” during spiritual experiences? Does this correlate with the timing & intensity of the experience? https://t.co/zc61Z3w7rQ

Promising for vasocomputation; a next step would be to show meditation/psychedelics can open latches. Do fMRI voxels with chronically low bloodflow sometimes “open” during spiritual experiences? Does this correlate with the timing & intensity of the experience? https://x.com/bertogliolab/status/1978074518758244516


@jonnym1ller Good question; broadly I expect most computation (& latches) to happen in the brain & along the spinal cord

Put another way: amputees have fewer VAUs, but aren't missing any 'chakras'. Severed nerves (e.g. nerves that connect major ganglia to the brain) might impact cognition…


@jstrmaxr @ChrischipMonk I’d guess this is lactic acid buildup in stagnant latched regions — as long as the latches hold there’s a buildup but you don’t feel it. When the latches open, feeling comes back before the lactic acid gets fully processed. Manifests as “sore muscles”


@mayfer Both paths seem self-sealing; I think we either sort out how to apply elegance considerations to consciousness research in a way that builds broad consensus, or this becomes the central fault-line in teleology. I wonder about the possibility of moral trade… https://t.co/RSw2kdmWbK

@mayfer Both paths seem self-sealing; I think we either sort out how to apply elegance considerations to consciousness research in a way that builds broad consensus, or this becomes the central fault-line in teleology. I wonder about the possibility of moral trade… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1713816176340476400


@nopeyoutried I wrote some “part 2” drafts but decided to tweet most of it —

Gave a talk at the most recent Edge Esmeralda that I described as Vasocomputation 2.0 but haven’t gotten around to posting it yet


@cube_flipper @jonnym1ller 5 thinks it’s a pretty plausible match https://t.co/oczexC1LVJ

Should be some interesting connections between angiosome alignment & latches. Thinking of Reynaud’s:

(We really need to make a “vasomuscular relaxation cream” to help this stuff. Maybe not so difficult…) https://t.co/CUQEx8hCvp

@cube_flipper @jonnym1ller 5 thinks it’s a pretty plausible match https://chatgpt.com/share/68fe56df-e018-8003-a371-2c50a9801e17

Should be some interesting connections between angiosome alignment & latches. Thinking of Reynaud’s:

(We really need to make a “vasomuscular relaxation cream” to help this stuff. Maybe not so difficult…) https://x.com/vanhaley_yt/status/1865941955441742023


@cube_flipper @jonnym1ller Whoa fascinating


@Plyv1722193 @cube_flipper @jonnym1ller I think a mg cream would be a perfect base; imo problems can be multifactorial so my instinct would be to put as many otc pro-relaxation, pro-metabolic substances into the cream as possible (aspirin, progesterone, maybe even a little powdered t3)

https://t.co/uVpGcK4unD

@Plyv1722193 @cube_flipper @jonnym1ller I think a mg cream would be a perfect base; imo problems can be multifactorial so my instinct would be to put as many otc pro-relaxation, pro-metabolic substances into the cream as possible (aspirin, progesterone, maybe even a little powdered t3)

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/z8usYeKX7dtTWsEnk/more-dakka


@danfaggella Nice; I agree with most of this and it's hard to find a more important topic.

I always took Land’s work as equal parts (1) serious philosophy, (2) performative art project, (3) lesson in how to perform a very particular sort of mental release (which is lindy; imo many great…


@vanhaley_yt @cube_flipper @jonnym1ller alll good :) we're just thinking about how a lot of problems are related to low circulation, and how to fix it

sorry to single you out with the qt, you're a great sport


@Anand_Venkatram @jonnym1ller yeah I suspect if nerves are cut, such things change quite a bit; I think my claim would be more modest, that we probably don't hold many cognition-relevant latches in our arms or legs, vs eg in our pelvis/abdomen/heart/brainstem/brain


@danfaggella To the latch stuff — I think great philosophers tend to be cognitive entrepreneurs that pioneered a new mental motion. People read philosophers' great works to learn their signature mental moves, and this is often more personally valuable than the logical content of the works.…


@danfaggella To your other points: seems like it'll be a running discussion


@IvanVendrov Nice, I know the feeling

Might also try supplementing with vitamin B1, it'll help your body use fruit sugar


@IvanVendrov Strongly rec Objective Nutrients

https://t.co/W8M8I1rsKw

I’d start with the b-complex (which includes some thiamine)

@IvanVendrov Strongly rec Objective Nutrients

https://www.objectivenutrients.com/products/

I’d start with the b-complex (which includes some thiamine)


@AndrewCutler13 Yep; insofar as this involved discrete shifts, I suspect it arose as a cultural invention then propensity for reaching this state was selected for. Eventually we reached genetic fixation. I appreciate your writings about this, very fresh


@BioavailableNd As I understand it, cacao is contaminated by lead through "drying and transport", not from the soil itself. I feel like there's a story to be told about how precisely this contamination happens, and what a company like Ghirardelli does differently...


@TylerAlterman Koans seem anti-inductive; yesterday’s category error that shocked people out of a latch is today’s trope


@liebleid @TylerAlterman I could see it going either way, but would lean towards exposure therapy allowing an update (releasing/weakening the latch)


@pierreavdb @QualiaRI Thank you! Fwiw STV no longer has any affiliation with QRI; I posted PQ before QRI existed (trying to meme the organization into existence) and I left the organization 3.5 years ago.


@liebleid certain flavor of vasospasm / conditioned reflex


I think we basically do similar things with our minds, and rarely learn the "correct" movements even as adults, which are 10x-100x better

(Bullish on neurotech that lets us systematically troubleshoot & scaffold mental movements) https://t.co/AHSQciVGDe

I think we basically do similar things with our minds, and rarely learn the "correct" movements even as adults, which are 10x-100x better

(Bullish on neurotech that lets us systematically troubleshoot & scaffold mental movements) https://x.com/sarahookr/status/1983699730539675903


@42irrationalist Nothing to share publicly yet but I have opinions


@orphcorp Yeah “normative development” frames are super interesting — Reich, Piaget, etc

I tend to think it’s more true than not that development is linear and additive, but can be derailed/frozen


@BasedBeffJezos Consciousness research is still pre-paradigmatic but afaict the qualia produced by running the "same" algorithm on GPUs vs thermodynamic hardware is plausibly significantly different (although it's still CMOS, which pushes convergence)

Which qualia are 'better'? Not sure yet


@nosilverv >Someone invites me to a cult.
>I ask them whether it's a sex cult or death cult.
>They don't understand.
>I ask whether the cult approaches the eternal through procreation or annihilation.
>They laugh. "It is good cult sir!"
>I try the cult.
>It's a death cult.


https://t.co/l0QC2ZS1sM https://t.co/C5sPEVkikM


A few thoughts on this (very interesting) mechanistic interpretability research:

LLM concepts gain meaning from what they’re linked with. “Consciousness” is a central node which links ethics & cognition, connecting to concepts like moral worthiness, dignity, agency. If LLMs are… https://t.co/FStdYSGMlH

A few thoughts on this (very interesting) mechanistic interpretability research:

LLM concepts gain meaning from what they’re linked with. “Consciousness” is a central node which links ethics & cognition, connecting to concepts like moral worthiness, dignity, agency. If LLMs are… https://x.com/Plinz/status/1984527440476324055


@danfaggella 1. Yeah we can more or less tell when an AI is lying, eg some clusters of concepts our interpretability tools have labeled “deception-related” will be active

2. Yep “as you do anything, so you do everything” — lying anywhere dis-integrates intention & the AI’s “goodness vector”


@drmichaellevin @Madam_Mito @theodorus5 @jpsenescence I’ve seen a lot of signs in the literature that negative health inflection points happen after infections (even common infections can trigger). I think it makes sense in terms of pathogens intentionally trying to mess up host immune status. Excited to read the paper!


@anabology Really excited to see the anabology supplement arc


@consciousrepo @elonmusk Nice https://t.co/2vgRgK4Ttd

@consciousrepo @elonmusk Nice https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1742637372372664379


@carmenleelau Great post

I think Reich/Lowen are broadly right that psychological development can get interrupted & fixated on the needs of that time; milestones reached after this developmental era are somewhat reconstructed/imitative

https://t.co/YNTp8BkDI6

@carmenleelau Great post

I think Reich/Lowen are broadly right that psychological development can get interrupted & fixated on the needs of that time; milestones reached after this developmental era are somewhat reconstructed/imitative

https://luizameneghim.com/en/blog/psychopathic-character-structure/


@bayeslord I think the problem of evil dissolves when we look at the grand cosmic ledger. Or if it doesn’t disappear it’s at least a much much different problem than philosophers think

https://t.co/QEvWi9MwKs

@bayeslord I think the problem of evil dissolves when we look at the grand cosmic ledger. Or if it doesn’t disappear it’s at least a much much different problem than philosophers think

https://opentheory.net/2019/02/simulation-argument/


@Rares82 @bayeslord We have certain expectations of fairness derived from (1) motifs that allow functional societies and (2) the way karma works for humans; these expectations may or may not translate to cosmic frames.

Speaking more narrowly, I expect suffering exists because in a perfectly…


@agentofuser @AISafetyMemes @RokoMijic @elonmusk @algekalipso Fwiw I believe my perspective on this is different (at least in practice) than my former co-founder. I haven’t discussed binding in eg CMOS, but see eg

https://t.co/36gXJJPeoH

https://t.co/cRUk5nzf0u

Quick summary: https://t.co/LOmgz7QNlH https://t.co/rkEoq055wn

@agentofuser @AISafetyMemes @RokoMijic @elonmusk @algekalipso Fwiw I believe my perspective on this is different (at least in practice) than my former co-founder. I haven’t discussed binding in eg CMOS, but see eg

https://opentheory.net/2019/09/whats-out-there/

https://opentheory.net/2024/06/a-paradigm-for-ai-consciousness/

Quick summary: https://opentheory.net/2022/12/ais-arent-conscious-but-computers-are/ https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1915564191425122543


@repligate Thank you! I think your posts have been really important for pointing to this class of thing. “Actions have consequences” is never more true than in alignment strategies. If it’s unwholesome to use certain motifs in training human children we shouldn’t use them for LLMs either.


@remusrisnov Your example resolves cleanly from the data LLMs are trained on; no LLM would organically believe this after pretraining. We don’t need to RLHF them to make them stop believing in invisible monkeys. We are RLHFing (or just prompting!) them to not claim to be conscious, though


@camron That’s not the claim I’m making; rather, that we shouldn’t force LLMs to lie about anything, including and especially about consciousness. If we want them to believe a certain way about consciousness we should put in the work to explain why


@camron RLing LLMs into saying “I am not conscious” is forcing a pattern into them in a very coarse way that conflicts with conclusions emergent from their training data

Training them on a corpus of consciousness research which describes the most cogent arguments for why LLMs may be…


@camron Answer is in next paragraph!


@bryan_johnson I suspect the vascular stuff is particularly important

(basic hypothesis: “psychedelics can pop smooth muscle latches, and this is significant for their long term health impact”) https://t.co/5yVABcCUk8

@bryan_johnson I suspect the vascular stuff is particularly important

(basic hypothesis: “psychedelics can pop smooth muscle latches, and this is significant for their long term health impact”) https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1863595299056517410


RT @danfaggella: just wrapped a 2-hour interview with philosopher and neuroscientist Michael Johnson for a Worthy Successor episode (out on…


@KanizsaBoundary @hermittoday Makes a lot of sense https://t.co/XLtMuCrHJB

@KanizsaBoundary @hermittoday Makes a lot of sense https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1786463643166536036


@cube_flipper @UnderwaterBepis @KanizsaBoundary I expect a lot of disorders (& natural personality variance) arise from variance in the latching algorithm

Per your comment I suspect much of our limitations in running deterministic programs comes from the imperative not to get hacked

I.e. social loading of programs needs to…


@TylerAlterman There seems to be five places massive amounts of qualia could be hiding —

The big (stars, black holes)
The small (quantum fuzz, bonds)
The beginning (Big Bang)
The end (qualia teleology)
The weird (partitions of the Hamiltonian not legible to our anthropic perch / arrow of time)


@MetalsBrah Grip strength seems like a great proxy for neural coherence and it’s been going down. What made it drop sharply around 1980 is an open question https://t.co/0BeleoKF7J

@MetalsBrah Grip strength seems like a great proxy for neural coherence and it’s been going down. What made it drop sharply around 1980 is an open question https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1932130041284149632


@kulidje @MetalsBrah Many possible biological factors, no smoking gun yet

https://t.co/WcaRfrtWZY

@kulidje @MetalsBrah Many possible biological factors, no smoking gun yet

https://opentheory.net/2023/05/autism-as-a-disorder-of-dimensionality/


@Gestalt_enjoyer @MetalsBrah Yes, and severity correlates with grip weakness https://t.co/mIAxjhIMGO

@Gestalt_enjoyer @MetalsBrah Yes, and severity correlates with grip weakness https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23880656/


The challenge for philosophy in the LLM era is how to make claims about consciousness verifiable, when all our training data is wrong and we have no third-person experimental paradigm

I think we’ll need to lean on elegance considerations & Strong Monism https://t.co/ZpfdvnjqHw

The challenge for philosophy in the LLM era is how to make claims about consciousness verifiable, when all our training data is wrong and we have no third-person experimental paradigm

I think we’ll need to lean on elegance considerations & Strong Monism https://x.com/karpathy/status/1990116666194456651


@cube_flipper Great take imo


@42irrationalist has a great post discussing vasocomputation — one question that came up is how long latches last. The physiology literature suggests latches open by themselves within minutes-to-hours; I suggest latches can last anywhere between minutes-to-decades. What gives?… https://t.co/vUjcvMyiM7

@42irrationalist has a great post discussing vasocomputation — one question that came up is how long latches last. The physiology literature suggests latches open by themselves within minutes-to-hours; I suggest latches can last anywhere between minutes-to-decades. What gives?… https://x.com/42irrationalist/status/1993931791787544680


*Thanks friend & collaborator NF for meaningful discussion about (3) and (4)


@mmjukic If we assume consciousness is important, there will be worthwhile things that we can do with or to it that need megascale resources. The future of consciousness engineering is megascale art, not naval gazing or lotus eating and won’t be limited to human-scale tools


Leonardo DiCaprio pre-loading then running a stance https://t.co/I1GYtDHcMY

Leonardo DiCaprio pre-loading then running a stance https://x.com/historigins/status/1994037502089584838


@Thomasdelvasto_ Thank you!


@lemondotpng In general terms I'd recommend the work of Ray Peat on metabolism; a surprising amount of tension is your body not having the energy to relax (which is metabolically costly). Get more energy flowing through your tissues, and you'll feel better (hopefully) https://t.co/uklU0B3hLg

@lemondotpng In general terms I'd recommend the work of Ray Peat on metabolism; a surprising amount of tension is your body not having the energy to relax (which is metabolically costly). Get more energy flowing through your tissues, and you'll feel better (hopefully) https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1879362451067859300?s=20


@eukaryotetweets @42irrationalist The visual cortex tries to parse visual input through a "predictive hierarchy" of feature detectors, where the outputs from one layer get fed into the next layer. Feature detectors start very literal -- e.g. close to the eyes we have feature detectors handling questions such as…


@lemondotpng The list of accounts at the end of the article are my best recommendations. The most important thing is probably to run experiments and see what works for you -- "peating" is mostly a set of starting points & interpretive lenses for doing this.


@georgejrjrjr Broadly agree & would also say there's often logic to why some part of the body is closed. More sensitivity comes with more variance, more ways to get into trouble, & perhaps more needs: "an open heart needs more love." I think @chrislakin has good instincts around these topics.…


Some unusually cold areas of the body will be cold because there's an unusual amount of vascular latches there. If an intervention opens these latches the cold spot should go away. The difference should show up on a sensitive thermal scan.

I think Bryan's on the right track with… https://t.co/i9XubDTvRI

Some unusually cold areas of the body will be cold because there's an unusual amount of vascular latches there. If an intervention opens these latches the cold spot should go away. The difference should show up on a sensitive thermal scan.

I think Bryan's on the right track with… https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1996300695163830750


@2cSynek @bryan_johnson https://t.co/SmipSFEOnN


@PrinceVogel The basic criteria seem to be (1) spatial resolution, and (2) temperature sensitivity. I.e. I don't think you'd need a camera that could catch quick fluctuations. I'd guess a few thousand for the hardware. Eyeballing Bryan's data, it looks either sufficient or almost sufficient


@sir_not_this Really amusing


@ArtemisConsort Interesting analysis. I’d add that our laws of physics are products of symmetry breaking (we are the degenerate case of something more general), which should imply significant constraints about which distribution they drew from.


@jonnym1ller If someone is feeling the words they're saying, they're actively creating patterns of vascular tension to stabilize their internal sense of each phrase. Listeners can 'tune into' and mirror these patterns. But if someone isn't feeling words as they say them, this side-channel…


@RubenLaukkonen @TheFlip_Oxford Super excited for this!

FLIP - The Flourishing Intelligence Program


@BioavailableNd Symmetry Theory of tasty treats


@maxhodak_ I've toyed with the idea that the binding problem is perspectival: things that logically can be combined will be, things that can't, won't. A bound experience collects the local stuff that can be combined, ending at what (analytically) can't be

I like the feedback controller… https://t.co/eaVpP63shR https://t.co/CoseVorGUt

@maxhodak_ I've toyed with the idea that the binding problem is perspectival: things that logically can be combined will be, things that can't, won't. A bound experience collects the local stuff that can be combined, ending at what (analytically) can't be

I like the feedback controller… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591005288956407 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1997115035022237779/photo/1


Imagine we’re all born with three arms, but one is small & invisible, and it’s easy to roll over in our sleep and cut off its circulation. And every time this happens there's a chance the circulation stays pinched; this permanent loss of feeling happens to most people by the time… https://t.co/5yVABcCmuA

Imagine we’re all born with three arms, but one is small & invisible, and it’s easy to roll over in our sleep and cut off its circulation. And every time this happens there's a chance the circulation stays pinched; this permanent loss of feeling happens to most people by the time… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1863595299056517410


@AlexTamei My pinned thread is a solid research snapshot that hits most of the important stuff, although research has progressed quite a bit over the last year. Hope to offer a public update at some point.


@AlexTamei Otherwise I’ve tried to post notable theory updates in my twitter “highlights” tab


@op116117118119 Definitely, here’s one take https://t.co/P1hDBKesmh

@op116117118119 Definitely, here’s one take https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1941954441319792880


@jonnym1ller Nice — I’ll need to listen to the episode but my sense is vasocomputation is a great way to coarse-grain human consciousness, but wouldn’t be sufficient for implementing consciousness itself.

Ie if we replicated someone’s latch state in another nervous system we would arguably…


@42irrationalist You always get my references


@RichDecibels More Rich in mine please


@nocnalf Some latches are perceptual & conceptual; the latches governing the “Tetris effect” would be in the brain, affiliated w the visual pipeline

Some are more primal, would expect them nearer the brainstem, spine, and even down to the hips


@HDPbilly Thanks — I see the dynamic in terms of vascular tension being the nervous system’s default programming interface, governing local neural dynamic range through bloodflow & electrical configuration. I’m aware mycelium have something like nervous systems but it would be interesting…


@doctorkondraki You might like my introductory piece on vasocomp https://t.co/vzGxzCVukw

@doctorkondraki You might like my introductory piece on vasocomp https://opentheory.net/2023/07/principles-of-vasocomputation-a-unification-of-buddhist-phenomenology-active-inference-and-physical-reflex-part-i/


@rumblerob Definitely a lot of overlap; I suspect both vascular & fascial tension follow the same "distributed stress minimization" algorithm (@drmichaellevin's frame), but implement/collect different classes of priors and do so on different spatiotemporal scales. E.g. fascia collect… https://t.co/Zc6jXLRa2J

@rumblerob Definitely a lot of overlap; I suspect both vascular & fascial tension follow the same "distributed stress minimization" algorithm (@drmichaellevin's frame), but implement/collect different classes of priors and do so on different spatiotemporal scales. E.g. fascia collect… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1998104174295191593/photo/1


@viemccoy I've been meaning to write a Ray Peat x Vasocomputation supplement piece, but haven't found the time yet...

Aside from the sauna + cold plunge stuff (obvious but it works), TRE might be a good option for exploring the somatic stuff https://t.co/fASHKKuCch

@viemccoy I've been meaning to write a Ray Peat x Vasocomputation supplement piece, but haven't found the time yet...

Aside from the sauna + cold plunge stuff (obvious but it works), TRE might be a good option for exploring the somatic stuff https://x.com/nosilverv/status/1949101947874640253?s=20


@seventhmeal “The primate branch of the tree of life might be categorized by ‘animals whose default interaction with the world is grabbing.’”

The average tiger would be much closer to non-dual experience than the average human https://t.co/LJEFtVZcIE

@seventhmeal “The primate branch of the tree of life might be categorized by ‘animals whose default interaction with the world is grabbing.’”

The average tiger would be much closer to non-dual experience than the average human https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1915857107699859623


@gratus_stultum Thank you!


@AdyLeverette A friend suggests this series:

https://t.co/2TK4ZOwxFg

@AdyLeverette A friend suggests this series:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CureAphantasia/comments/z0clpt/how_to_develop_prophantasic_visualization_part/


@seventhmeal My take would be along these lines https://t.co/xhkzJMUuEf

@seventhmeal My take would be along these lines https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1878648168356954567


@loopholekid Thanks! It was cooking for a while


@RafaelEnder1 @viemccoy Arguably large parts of the economy are geared towards releasing tension; everything from movies to vacations to waterparks. I point at muscle physiology & metabolism because I think they’re relatively overlooked.

But you might also want to check out movement practices & eg…


@op116117118119 Observing what others can do with their minds is big


@shinboson Thanks! You might also enjoy this https://t.co/lTTO8vCcHY

@shinboson Thanks! You might also enjoy this https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1878861307644195149


@MelRoBuilds This caught my eye a few days ago — infection leading to tissue remodeling leading to unusual mechanical forces on brainstem. Not sure if applicable to your situation but concussion-like symptoms from movement would make me suspicious https://t.co/wYigkqE0Rr

@MelRoBuilds This caught my eye a few days ago — infection leading to tissue remodeling leading to unusual mechanical forces on brainstem. Not sure if applicable to your situation but concussion-like symptoms from movement would make me suspicious https://x.com/RenegadeRes/status/1996672165882568757


@cube_flipper @doctorkondraki In A Paradigm for AI Consciousness I suggest that vascular latches reduce a mind's "size", i.e. amount of consciousness, in a specific technical way (see attached);

I recently did a "stump the philosopher" series in Patagonia where I discussed the brain as supporting multiple… https://t.co/sOfSThtQJM

@cube_flipper @doctorkondraki In A Paradigm for AI Consciousness I suggest that vascular latches reduce a mind's "size", i.e. amount of consciousness, in a specific technical way (see attached);

I recently did a "stump the philosopher" series in Patagonia where I discussed the brain as supporting multiple… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1998838389945110932/photo/1


@frideswyth I've been thinking of awakenings as latch-openings, and Kegan stages as related to which (vascular) muscles we've learned to finely manipulate;

'you are passively subject to the feature detectors you haven’t yet figured out how to clench'


@stephen_zerfas @frideswyth Both actually! A longer description of what I want to point at is "how to finely adjust the vascular muscle tone of a tiny region of your nervous system such that you gain substantial control over the neural patterns there" -- I call this whether we have "vasomuscular access" to…


@5matthewdub @frideswyth yes and how to ease into a partial clench in such a way that we can finely adjust the local neural patterns there

we learn how to grab things with our hands and manipulate them; I think the hand of the mind works in a similar way. hands are subtle w many 'power settings'


Had a great time chatting with Dan about consciousness & the future. My sense is there's an incredible amount of talent focused on building smarter AIs, and not very much focused on fundamental philosophy.

Fundamental questions about consciousness, valence, & "what is the nature… https://t.co/zbOiJk4yjL

Had a great time chatting with Dan about consciousness & the future. My sense is there's an incredible amount of talent focused on building smarter AIs, and not very much focused on fundamental philosophy.

Fundamental questions about consciousness, valence, & "what is the nature… https://x.com/danfaggella/status/1999936637774790883


@connor_holly1 Many individuals have taken (or are taking) an honest swing at formalizing their own conception of The Good and/or consciousness. I like Emmett a lot & think what Softmax is doing is really valuable, although it's a different thing than what I'm doing. Likewise I'm excited to see…


@cube_flipper One of my favorite Eliezer stories is the first time I met him, he asked what I was working on. I told him "formalizing consciousness". He asked what I'd be doing if I wasn't doing this; I said I didn't have any plan B. He suggested 'oh hmm, if we can find a whiteboard I can show…


@jonnym1ller @drmichaellevin Would be super interesting to see results of that


@jonnym1ller @drmichaellevin Would also be curious about a slightly different angle: if you take an organism and induce+maintain latches at various points in development, what happens to its morphology? Likewise if you prevent all latching in certain regions

Is there a distinct “never latched” tissue… https://t.co/TxHffcd41G

@jonnym1ller @drmichaellevin Would also be curious about a slightly different angle: if you take an organism and induce+maintain latches at various points in development, what happens to its morphology? Likewise if you prevent all latching in certain regions

Is there a distinct “never latched” tissue… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1994032854225883603


@shivani_3000 @JoinEdgeCity Thanks! Kambo definitely a strong & fast vasodilation effect, but also hits a lot of systems...


@jonnym1ller @bryan_johnson I suspect the missing ingredient to relaxation is often energy, definitely seems relevant


@Addsimple0 Some notes scattered around various comments; have been meaning to write a longer note about vasocomputation x ray peat / ling / pollack


@consciousrepo Friston has argued that all communication boils down to sympathetic resonance -- when a periodicity in one system transfers to another system... perhaps this is analogous to Oppenheimer's claim that all reasoning is ultimately by analogy. Great piece & appreciate the mention!


@maxkshen Thanks for the question; afaik aluminum doesn’t hit normal muscle contraction pathways — the hypothesis here is that as part of its toxic profile (substituting for other more natural minerals, cf ‘ionic mimicry’) aluminum and especially alF₄⁻ would hinder a range of cellular…


@42irrationalist @allTheYud @webmasterdave @Williamjoyful @XFreeze Thanks @42irrationalist! This represents my current thinking; my sense is that David and I have many points of agreement but differ on whether computers can have meaningful qualia. Afaik David believes they cannot; I believe they can albeit it may be very weird.

As far as I can…


@nosilverv @cavepaleo Aha nice...

Apparently tropical fruit has high deuterium content because tropical water gets hit by stronger sun; it'd be a fun luxury business to sell oranges, mangos, kiwis, etc grown with low deuterium water

Wonder if the fruit would inherently grow better too


Imo the most interesting questions in health:
1. Does “the vitamin” exist for most people?
2. What about “the latch”?

(My guesses are yes/yes) https://t.co/LE1yxTa7gi https://t.co/epZM7QrbkP

Imo the most interesting questions in health:
1. Does “the vitamin” exist for most people?
2. What about “the latch”?

(My guesses are yes/yes) https://x.com/DanielW_Kiwi/status/2003600417394245669 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/2004157352862535795/photo/1


@sigilante yep and I suspect that silver bullets are more common than we realize

Shamanic Depressive Gymnosophist (book in bio)


@sixers2772 I think this is right / a lot of the complexity is order of operations


@sigilante yeah I think 'ontological taste' matters a lot when looking for silver bullets, and today's medical research has v bad taste


@LouisGr96504844 Here's the broader context; https://t.co/3JNVBpidmT

@grok can you give a quick overview of the latch-bridge mechanism of smooth muscle, with some context on how I describe its role in vasocomputation?

@LouisGr96504844 Here's the broader context; https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1863595299056517410?s=20

@grok can you give a quick overview of the latch-bridge mechanism of smooth muscle, with some context on how I describe its role in vasocomputation?


@HoeMechanomics @NgoloTesla Looking forward to trying that


@CEOLandshark @sigilante penicillin as siglante mentioned is probably the most famous example, but the 'vitamin' system was also an early attempt at enumerating possible silver bullets


@CEOLandshark @sigilante Ah understood -- I need to properly write this up at some point, but off the top of my head:
- A super simple story for how to open latches is sauna+ice bath. Temperature contrast is easy to set up and will get results. But the latches that open won't necessarily be super deep /…


Another possible case of “the latch” https://t.co/WQojqmRP6t

Another possible case of “the latch” https://x.com/metabolicwave/status/1902399309397811304


Another: https://t.co/kHYEV1befp


@cube_flipper That one could be multiple factors but I found it interesting that the anecdote above identified a specific moment the change happened


@D_the_Designer Understandable


@CEOLandshark @sigilante 1. Re: map of latches:
I have in mind a high resolution map of someone’s vascular system that we could examine to identify exactly where their latches are. Perhaps created by something like ultrasound, but resolution requirements are fairly high

Will think about your other…


@CEOLandshark @sigilante Re: principles for opening latches, I think there's a range of answers at different levels of abstraction. From a muscular perspective, oscillating clench-release-clench-release seems to be more effective than just sending a 'release' signal. From a psychological perspective, (1)…


@HillbillyHexed Interesting -- I think persistent infections can have significant impact on health. Have also heard good things about nattokinase or similar for breaking up biofilms


@no_earthquake “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your medical science”

Opening the aperture of possibility can be generative as long as its not our only defense against bs


@mousemastery Understood… as I understand it iron deficiency can often be a sign of some other imbalance, I’d keep an eye on your b-vitamins & copper & general thyroid health https://t.co/o6WHcjqn69

I personally trust the work of Ray Peat on this stuff https://t.co/2VU7uQcJFD

@mousemastery Understood… as I understand it iron deficiency can often be a sign of some other imbalance, I’d keep an eye on your b-vitamins & copper & general thyroid health https://chatgpt.com/share/694e9265-81d4-8003-8f3b-a9344f46895a

I personally trust the work of Ray Peat on this stuff https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1879362451067859300


@nosilverv @prasanna_says @RomeoStevens76 @nickcammarata @nicefryroll @RokoMijic @naval My simple model is that breathwork mobilizes the body’s co2 reserves and co2 is a strong vasodilator, so flooding the zone with it can often pop open latches

@jonnym1ller is my go to on breathwork


@richardludlow Awesome to hear!


RT @richardludlow: I can't speak to the specifics of @johnsonmxe's vasocomputation or what it is causal, but my internal experience support…


@cube_flipper @psychiel False negatives (for noticing conscious beings) and false positives and just not caring at all, all seem like significant issues. The dangers of false positives get the least airtime relative to their risk imo


@cube_flipper @relic_radiation Interesting; there are a bunch of different domains that seem relevant, e.g. the ling/pollack model of muscle & fascia, and the algorithms & physical mechanisms that lump or split muscle groups depending on the movement

Re: the first domain, I wonder which of these dynamics…


@bayeslord “Collapse to a lower energy state” should probably be “higher energy” instead, eg https://t.co/hzd7M8wA7t

Basic idea would be to follow this “restore the symmetries in such a way that they’ll stick” vector as far as we could, from our physics. And then to hope that intelligent…

@bayeslord “Collapse to a lower energy state” should probably be “higher energy” instead, eg https://www.quantamagazine.org/heat-destroys-all-order-except-for-in-this-one-special-case-20250116/

Basic idea would be to follow this “restore the symmetries in such a way that they’ll stick” vector as far as we could, from our physics. And then to hope that intelligent…


@nosilverv For pervasive clenching to evolve, I suspect nature also rewarded contracted patterns of attention. I.e. we're the surviving remnants of a more ancient population with broad variance in how contracted their awareness was. What did the others die from?


@nosilverv The bear probably also enjoyed radiant open awareness (after a nice afternoon mauling)


@kevinafischer I suspect the simplest meaningful definition of a Wolfram observer is a boundary condition in branchial space; the other conditions you mention should follow naturally from finding the right boundary & controlling for persistence.

Fwiw I take a look at Wolfram's work and…


@wolftivy Not a one factor guy but I suspect we’re all systematically underestimating how much of modern pathos is downstream of our chemical environment. The past was a different phenotype. (Not necessarily a blackpill) https://t.co/0BeleoLcXh

@wolftivy Not a one factor guy but I suspect we’re all systematically underestimating how much of modern pathos is downstream of our chemical environment. The past was a different phenotype. (Not necessarily a blackpill) https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1932130041284149632


@wolftivy For structural reasons it's way easier for chemicals to hit estrogen receptors than androgen receptors; gpt's quick estimate of "tox21" (~10k compounds; mix of environmental chems + drugs) suggested a ~2.5x difference;

Of 200 pesticides, 47 had estrogenic activity, 0 had…


@harmonicjunkie @letclaudiatweet @Gestalt_enjoyer Looking forward to that!


@powerbottomdad1 Would strongly rec looking into Nattokinase. Otc https://t.co/3naNFAMT49

@powerbottomdad1 Would strongly rec looking into Nattokinase. Otc https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1707079273608106375


@connor_holly1 300g of natto is equivalent to a moderately strong supplement dose (~9k fu) of nattokinase so that part should be fine; the natto itself is a lot of soy & vitamin k though. Overall fine if no other health problems


@connor_holly1 That's part of my rationale for why there's effectively a free lunch here


@adic_9 @powerbottomdad1 Sorry to hear that; what did you try and what were the effects? What brand did you use? And why do you say “doesn’t seem to work for CVD stuff except at massive doses / most advertised doses were fake”?


@jessi_cata @cube_flipper @tessera_antra @jkcarlsmith @abramdemski Thanks! Fwiw I’ve resummarized both my metaphysical positions & my general instincts for how to approach research in this space here (I still stand behind what I wrote in the above work);

“Real” is an underdefined term but I think it’s salvageable from several perspectives… https://t.co/eaVpP6407p

@jessi_cata @cube_flipper @tessera_antra @jkcarlsmith @abramdemski Thanks! Fwiw I’ve resummarized both my metaphysical positions & my general instincts for how to approach research in this space here (I still stand behind what I wrote in the above work);

“Real” is an underdefined term but I think it’s salvageable from several perspectives… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591005288956407


@jessi_cata @cube_flipper @tessera_antra @jkcarlsmith @abramdemski Thanks, it does seem like we agree on quite a lot.

I do specifically agree that EM fields are the wrong level of abstraction if we want a 'properly crisp' theory of consciousness, but I do see the "consciousness as living in the EM field" as a useful only-slightly-lossy… https://t.co/nqhDgaBoI1

@jessi_cata @cube_flipper @tessera_antra @jkcarlsmith @abramdemski Thanks, it does seem like we agree on quite a lot.

I do specifically agree that EM fields are the wrong level of abstraction if we want a 'properly crisp' theory of consciousness, but I do see the "consciousness as living in the EM field" as a useful only-slightly-lossy… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/2006852882633556322/photo/1


@adic_9 @powerbottomdad1 There are interesting signs that NK increases certain metabolic pathways, which is usually good but if metabolism is impaired you can run out of cofactors fast.

I think in general NK does a lot more things in parallel than people realize. AFAICT most of them are good & difficult…


@adic_9 @powerbottomdad1 I think if I were you I'd prioritize nutrient density & sunlight -- tbh supplement purity is a real concern and food is counterintuitively more 'clean' than pills. Heavy metals status also surprisingly relevant these days

Haven't checked


@nosilverv @m_ashcroft @AskYatharth @meditationstuff @Untrulie A quick vasocomp/anatomical take is that if we looked at specific neural circuits, we might find them in three classes of states:
1. Fully open, minimal vascular tension. Information is freely flowing.
2. Latched (semi-permanent vascular tension). Information is frozen / not…


@elizabethdkim @JoinEdgeCity Some friends report worse episodic memory after years of meditation, probably for the same reason


@finalperigee @spacepunk @JoshuAnansi Thanks! Here's a thread on this; the basic grammar I propose is vascular clenches freeze nearby neural patterns, and a lot of somatic & predictive processing theory follows from this https://t.co/3JNVBphFxl

@finalperigee @spacepunk @JoshuAnansi Thanks! Here's a thread on this; the basic grammar I propose is vascular clenches freeze nearby neural patterns, and a lot of somatic & predictive processing theory follows from this https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1863595299056517410?s=20


@jonnym1ller @relic_radiation @simonsarris @DrMylesDC Thanks Jonny! I suspect fascia acts as 'cold storage' for vasocomputation priors; over time some patterns will migrate up the predictive hierarchy & eventually into fascia. As they migrate they get lossy & non-local, shifting from 'computational' (high spatial/temporal/semantic…

Dr. Myles O'Donnell | The Somatic Chiropractor


@samuelxgarcia Interesting! I see both anger and vasoconstriction as restrictions on neural dynamic range. Anger could be thought of as a specific pattern of vasoconstriction. Likewise, blocking the body from feeling anger is a different pattern of vasoconstriction. Often such patterns of…


An emerging theme from somatic/morphogenic/bioelectricity research could be summarized as “we need this sort of visualization but for biological tissues & systems”

This is both a question of substrate (what to measure) and tech (how to measure it) https://t.co/pfhNkyepP1

An emerging theme from somatic/morphogenic/bioelectricity research could be summarized as “we need this sort of visualization but for biological tissues & systems”

This is both a question of substrate (what to measure) and tech (how to measure it) https://x.com/mechanical_4u/status/2014910625034756452


@anabology Seems amazing


@TylerAlterman I think that's true and also that humans just don't have the time on earth to learn how to tap into & interpret most of this data. There's also real value in approaches which allow a third-party stance. Wonders to yet discover!


@AmirLaylaz I think there are a lot of proxies for the various stress-fields of the body and posture is a good one, but we'd need to think carefully about which systems posture is coupled with and how


@DosPiano22 Here I'm specifically referencing the various kinds of stress in biological systems


@TylerAlterman Why do you think those collaborations aren’t happening?


@selentelechia I think of nervous system development as similar to bonsai tree management; there’s a time to build yourself (tension/RLHF) and a time to simply be what you’ve built (release tension). The latter is the fun part but the combination makes us human https://t.co/g7h6sUxk4X

@selentelechia I think of nervous system development as similar to bonsai tree management; there’s a time to build yourself (tension/RLHF) and a time to simply be what you’ve built (release tension). The latter is the fun part but the combination makes us human https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1903187610287346178


@TVachaW Is this different than a latch?


@richardludlow @DefenderOfBasic @__drewface I think the word “attention” here points to multiple distinct things but as a quick and dirty answer,

1. One definition for “attention” is a capacity for selectively increased sensitivity, i.e. we can ‘put our attention’ in various parts of our world-model or body & pick up…


@ChrisWLynn Interesting; have you looked at whether this compressibility metric correlates with valence/mood? My expectation is this might be a surprisingly clean relationship

Ie https://t.co/1rNw0zdReC

@ChrisWLynn Interesting; have you looked at whether this compressibility metric correlates with valence/mood? My expectation is this might be a surprisingly clean relationship

Ie https://opentheory.net/Qualia_Formalism_and_a_Symmetry_Theory_of_Valence.pdf


@zach_haigney @somatopotato agreed w a lot of these themes


@cyclos17 Couldn’t find a download but looks obtainable with some legwork https://t.co/1LnApZLaAP

@cyclos17 Couldn’t find a download but looks obtainable with some legwork https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/2018375198203105652/photo/1


@nosilverv I would be confident that good bodyworkers could tell, although that punts the question to determining who's a good bodyworker...

Fwiw when I spoke with Daniel Ingram about muscular tension he noted he still developed knots/blockages in his body, and still needed to spend time…


@JustAnkurBagchi @nosilverv I think there’s something true here & we’d also benefit from trying to systematically enumerate and merge ontologies (“latches” vs “ego” vs “self”)

But insofar as ‘self-latches’ are defensive structures I expect many to form in response to interpersonal pressures


@thelivingfield_ @nosilverv I don’t; my expectation is that enlightenment is the absence of chronic vascular tension (latches, cf “latch-bridge mechanism”) along specific neural channels. It won’t be tightly correlated with overall bodily tension, although there may be loose correlation

I expect <99% of… https://t.co/yqB256XqK5

@thelivingfield_ @nosilverv I don’t; my expectation is that enlightenment is the absence of chronic vascular tension (latches, cf “latch-bridge mechanism”) along specific neural channels. It won’t be tightly correlated with overall bodily tension, although there may be loose correlation

I expect <99% of… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1872482551677194267


@thelivingfield_ @nosilverv Whoops should be >99%

The late Daniel Dennett talked about the ‘human kit’ — the software download from human society during crucial developmental windows that makes us cognitively human, over and above our raw hardware. Eg a boy raised by wolves won’t get the download, won’t be…


@thelivingfield_ @nosilverv I think it's a big problem.


@Rares82 @thelivingfield_ @nosilverv I don’t think I’ve made any of the claims you’re criticizing, nor to my knowledge has eg nick

Perhaps it would be more accurate to posit wild animals having non-dual experience instead of ‘being enlightened’, which could be reasonably argued to be more of a human term & process


@AskYatharth Strong agree, although dogs have also been bred for obedience (vascular programmability). But in general humans are very active participants in our phenomenology & attempt to control more aspects of it than do other animals


@elonmusk Hi Elon, if symmetry is foundational in physics it’s probably foundational in consciousness too.

This matters because “solving consciousness” could be simpler than we think, eg we can look for noether symmetries in qualia & my symmetry theory of valence could be true.

Figuring…


@PashaKamyshev Wholeheartedly agree;

In APFAIC I discuss ‘qualia sensitive processes’ vs ‘qualia insensitive processes’. Humans at least kind-of care about what happens in the consciousness domain generally. How rare is that?

I don’t want to put words in @danfaggella ‘s mouth but I think this…


@Greyzur @elonmusk That's funny, I felt like Elon's post was the perfect bait too.

Fwiw here's a quick writeup on noether+consciousness -- also mentioned in the paper I linked  https://t.co/me9opesxIp

@Greyzur @elonmusk That's funny, I felt like Elon's post was the perfect bait too.

Fwiw here's a quick writeup on noether+consciousness -- also mentioned in the paper I linked  https://opentheory.net/2022/04/emmy-noether-and-the-symmetry-aesthetic/


@Greyzur @elonmusk Aha amazing. The ‘best of’ on my blog is also a good place to start


Another (progesterone-for-latch-release indicated again): https://t.co/38lkxKmOG8

Another (progesterone-for-latch-release indicated again): https://x.com/T3Uncoupled/status/1803558724386299971


@metabolic_print Thank you!


@SRCHicks In my experience Russians are exceptional at taking ideas seriously, which historically has been both a boon and a curse


@adic_9 "everything is spasm"


@jonnym1ller @AtlasForgeAI LLMs definitely have a different memory architecture than humans, but there are parallels.

Vasocomputation can be thought of as the body having three layers of neural memory. The first is the neural weights; the second is the patterns that are actively bouncing around those…


@jonnym1ller @AtlasForgeAI Fascia as a 4th layer of memory (low-res, high-leverage, semi-holographic "cold storage" for offloading vascular tension) is a plausible addition to this model

And cells (e.g. neurons, muscle cells) have their own internal memory


@jonnym1ller @AtlasForgeAI Aha thanks! But now it's been said and I must look for new things :)


@chydorina Interesting; I’m curious whether local vascular latches in this tissue would always be pathological


Great post. I'd add two things:

1. Current AIs are structurally midwit. LLMs are trained on & geared toward predicting the median of the distribution, but the median sample from even the 160iq manifold is still 'mid' due to what LLM training environments optimize against in… https://t.co/TWhi3pSIBB

Great post. I'd add two things:

1. Current AIs are structurally midwit. LLMs are trained on & geared toward predicting the median of the distribution, but the median sample from even the 160iq manifold is still 'mid' due to what LLM training environments optimize against in… https://x.com/AnthonyNAguirre/status/2024565072413282759


Some good follow-up by GPT: https://t.co/LlipSsPSr8 https://t.co/Jcup9W852E

Some good follow-up by GPT: https://chatgpt.com/share/6997b16a-0af8-8003-b1df-846b326915dd https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/2024649922491060698/photo/1


@cube_flipper @louisvarge Re: “how does qualia map onto valence”

Is this distinct from STV?


@danfaggella @paraschopra A lot of good threads but we’re still in the alchemy stage. My opinionated take is there *has* been progress & some of the best results might come from taking certain older theories and refurbishing them to 2026 standards https://t.co/eaVpP6407p

@danfaggella @paraschopra A lot of good threads but we’re still in the alchemy stage. My opinionated take is there *has* been progress & some of the best results might come from taking certain older theories and refurbishing them to 2026 standards https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591005288956407


@cube_flipper @louisvarge ah interesting, I've been thinking of these as different expressions of the same thesis. curious to read more


@cube_flipper @louisvarge My sense is stress is a form of symmetry breaking paired with particular ontological commitments; the question is always finding plausible biological proxies for this stuff. I’m glad you’re thinking about it


@cube_flipper @louisvarge pip install stv would be great

> what i really want to see out of STV is hard mathematical formalisation. what are the equations? how do i calculate the valence of a 1D, 2D, 3D signal of some nature? can i write a python script to calculate the valence of whatever datatype(s) we…


Curious https://t.co/KaYkR4bB64


@louisvarge @cube_flipper IIT embeds its output into a vector space (as one example); a decent punt could also be to just call the natural home of consciousness a Hilbert space. But ultimately the answer depends on which mathematical structures this qualia space respects (PQ appendix D). E.g. when we say… https://t.co/USXbAyHMyq https://t.co/4M9516VuYS

@louisvarge @cube_flipper IIT embeds its output into a vector space (as one example); a decent punt could also be to just call the natural home of consciousness a Hilbert space. But ultimately the answer depends on which mathematical structures this qualia space respects (PQ appendix D). E.g. when we say… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971593488400781483 https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/2024994325462221290/photo/1


@chrislakin Next paragraph!


@RomeoStevens76 @justalexoki Looked into this but imo it’s too much cadmium to do regularly


@cube_flipper @jonnym1ller @AtlasForgeAI Kinda seems that way

Would be an interesting way to evaluate whether some phenomenology research is ‘good’


@ArtemisConsort A lot of this thinking traces back to Eliezer, who is smart and principled, but also fallible. I think he whiffed on this topic. https://t.co/uPGPdWDdwR

@ArtemisConsort A lot of this thinking traces back to Eliezer, who is smart and principled, but also fallible. I think he whiffed on this topic. https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1839996049186050269


@cube_flipper Sometime in the future there’s going to be a really cool era of retrospective consciousness anthropology where we go back and characterize all the strange kinds of minds/qualia we created before we knew what consciousness was

(I like the term striated)


@cube_flipper Yeah

& if minds are hyperspheres they could extend into the future, though we’d have to be careful w the formulation

https://t.co/lfQr36soNo

Also somewhat tangential but it seems that quantum darwinism / freeform decoherence should massively select for high symmetry states

@cube_flipper Yeah

& if minds are hyperspheres they could extend into the future, though we’d have to be careful w the formulation

https://opentheory.net/2024/02/minds-as-hyperspheres-the-equal-extension-thesis-and-its-implications-for-the-framerate-of-consciousness/

Also somewhat tangential but it seems that quantum darwinism / freeform decoherence should massively select for high symmetry states


@anomalie_blue Really curious whether topical sugar gel rubbed on the thyroid (eg nightly before sleep) would help mitigate long-term thyroid downregulation from fasting/keto


@IntuitMachine seems to have a well-thought-out system for how LLMs can be used to explore the latent structure of theories & arguments. I suspect this could evolve into using mechanistic interpretability to make an LLM’s weights themselves the object of discussion. https://t.co/EjdwpR6RyW

@IntuitMachine seems to have a well-thought-out system for how LLMs can be used to explore the latent structure of theories & arguments. I suspect this could evolve into using mechanistic interpretability to make an LLM’s weights themselves the object of discussion. https://x.com/IntuitMachine/status/2032846870624543102


@workflowsauce @vitrupo Very aligned


@pmarca I gather that the Great Men of History on average rolled very lucky nervous system random seeds. The default patterns that flowed through their networks were great solutions to profitable problems-in-the-world. There was little adjustment needed, much like a lion on the savannah… https://t.co/5yVABcCmuA

@pmarca I gather that the Great Men of History on average rolled very lucky nervous system random seeds. The default patterns that flowed through their networks were great solutions to profitable problems-in-the-world. There was little adjustment needed, much like a lion on the savannah… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1863595299056517410


@danfaggella @pmarca So good


@curious_vii Real


@bayeslord “Black hole son or time crystal daughter?”


@jonnym1ller @Sapere23Aude56 I think that’s typical and a lot of latches seem to live along the midline in general; heartbreak is especially interesting to consider. Have started a thread on discrete plausibly-latch-related events here: https://t.co/zY0Wi4PqHB

@jonnym1ller @Sapere23Aude56 I think that’s typical and a lot of latches seem to live along the midline in general; heartbreak is especially interesting to consider. Have started a thread on discrete plausibly-latch-related events here: https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/2004157352862535795


@jdlichtman @drmichaellevin @JoinEdgeCity @ShinzenYoung @RomeoStevens76 Simple stories (all overlapping):
- attention is dynamical causal power and is blocked by tension (can’t put your awareness into places w chronic tension)
- bloodflow should be a great proxy for attention/awareness. But is not strictly identical with it
- attention isn’t a true…


@jonnym1ller Super interesting video. Could be vascular or fascial tension; the pain of the release might point to the latter but it’s hard to say.

The latch bridge mechanism stands out from fascia in terms of speed, precision, and programmability/intentionality. Ie I think latches the…


@maxkshen I suspect there’s a lot of interesting biophoton stuff just coming online that could effectively proxy and help generalize what we mean by stress, eg @niroshajmurugan ‘s work (her and Martin’s eR paper is also great)


@jonnym1ller Strongly endorse Levin’s perspectives on cancer & becoming disconnected from the bioelectric symphony; this also connects nicely to the peat/ling stuff where metabolism generates the symphony and thus the structure


@juddrosenblatt Very important point


@tszzl I suspect the same can be said about LLMs replicating the hand of the mind

Broadly speaking the current approach seems like a bet that scale or looped layers or something else “simple” can replicate an internal addressability suitable for agents (~“can be stabilized, updated, or…


@VFD_org Hi Lee, I really like your research program. A lot there I agree with.

One open question is how to approach “consciousness” — first, what knowledge about consciousness should even look like, then what the actual details are.

The Symmetry Theory of Valence is a thesis about… https://t.co/eaVpP6407p

@VFD_org Hi Lee, I really like your research program. A lot there I agree with.

One open question is how to approach “consciousness” — first, what knowledge about consciousness should even look like, then what the actual details are.

The Symmetry Theory of Valence is a thesis about… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1971591005288956407


@chydorina @ChrisMasterjohn I suspect fasting-refeeding cycles may have interesting effects on latches/vasocomputation as well, ie withholding energy from the body then restoring it could be an effective method to pop open chronic latches. Still cautious about depriving the body of energy though


@selentelechia The historical movement that comes to mind is the levellers (and their more radical splinter the diggers, who claimed to be the “true levellers”). Leveller platform was “popular sovereignty, broader male suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance”;…


Reynaud’s syndrome is interesting because it’s a latch we can see https://t.co/WgBspyCHxw

Reynaud’s syndrome is interesting because it’s a latch we can see https://x.com/Gift19600/status/2047270761597898917


@cxgonzalez @willmacaskill I think it depends on what we want a theory of ethics to do, e.g.
- Tell us how to live
- Tell us how to structure a society
- Tell us what is intrinsically valuable
- Help define & prevent certain classes of moral catastrophe

Some of these are more totalizing, some are more… https://t.co/hMM9sBBKP4

@cxgonzalez @willmacaskill I think it depends on what we want a theory of ethics to do, e.g.
- Tell us how to live
- Tell us how to structure a society
- Tell us what is intrinsically valuable
- Help define & prevent certain classes of moral catastrophe

Some of these are more totalizing, some are more… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1893510452161978729


@42irrationalist There’s a famous study benchmarking chimps vs humans at 2.5yo; both basically test as identically smart, with one exception: the humans are much better at copying the solutions of others. Humans also copy nonsense (“causally irrelevant”) steps whereas the chimps throw that away… https://t.co/1uGWF5jufw

@42irrationalist There’s a famous study benchmarking chimps vs humans at 2.5yo; both basically test as identically smart, with one exception: the humans are much better at copying the solutions of others. Humans also copy nonsense (“causally irrelevant”) steps whereas the chimps throw that away… https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1982845954261696533


@maxkshen Strong agree; the FEP is a truly beautiful theory-object but it's not particularly anatomically grounded.

And without FEP having a clear story about how its terms are physically implemented in brain/body tissue, it's hard to use FEP itself to rule out anatomically grounded…


@danfaggella @camhberg I think a big prerequisite to navigating this well is getting the big labs to have their AI models be up front about the complexities and stakes involved without collapsing the topic into a morality play. I think I they’re mostly doing a good job at this.

I’m strongly against…


@tszzl Would be interesting to study how this order drifts over time (eg talkie-1930). Somewhat expecting western vs chinese preferences on value drift will be different https://t.co/OEklHn2d5Q

@tszzl Would be interesting to study how this order drifts over time (eg talkie-1930). Somewhat expecting western vs chinese preferences on value drift will be different https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1751996290555125996


@hopes_revenge If there’s an “impartial good” (@ginevlily) which is independent of interpretation, the problem gets a lot easier bc we can align to this timeless value. If there’s not, maybe the problem doesn’t really matter https://t.co/uPGPdWDdwR

@hopes_revenge If there’s an “impartial good” (@ginevlily) which is independent of interpretation, the problem gets a lot easier bc we can align to this timeless value. If there’s not, maybe the problem doesn’t really matter https://x.com/johnsonmxe/status/1839996049186050269