arXiv subjects

L. Gabora

Publications and source records attributed to L. Gabora.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Cross-Domain Influences on Creative Processes and Products

According to the honing theory of creativity, the iterative process culminating in a creative work is made possible by the self-organizing nature of a conceptual network, or worldview, and its innate holistic tendency to minimize inconsistency. As such, the creative process is not limited to the problem domain, and influences on creativity from domains other than that of the final product are predicted to be widespread. We conducted a study in which participants with varying levels of creative experience listed their creative outputs, as well as influences (sources of inspiration) on these outputs. Of the 758 creative influences, 13% were within-domain narrow, 13% within-domain broad, 67% cross-domain, and 6% unclear. These findings support the hypothesis that to trace the inspirational sources or 'conceptual parents' of a creative output, and thus track its cultural lineage, one must look beyond the problem domain to the creators' self-organizing, inconsistency-minimizing worldview at large.

q-bio.NC↗

arXiv2003

Quantum morphogenesis: A variation on Thom's catastrophe theory

Non-commutative propositions are characteristic of both quantum and non-quantum (sociological, biological, psychological) situations. In a Hilbert space model states, understood as correlations between all the possible propositions, are represented by density matrices. If systems in question interact via feedback with environment their dynamics is nonlinear. Nonlinear evolutions of density matrices lead to phenomena of morphogenesis which may occur in non-commutative systems. Several explicit exactly solvable models are presented, including `birth and death of an organism' and `development of complementary properties'.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Amplifying Phenomenal Information: Toward a Fundamental Theory of Consciousness

Fundamental approaches bypass the problem of getting consciousness from non-conscious components by positing that consciousness is a universal primitive. For example, the double aspect theory of information holds that information has a phenomenal aspect. How then do you get from phenomenal information to human consciousness? This paper proposes that an entity is conscious to the extent it amplifies information, first by trapping and integrating it through closure, and second by maintaining dynamics at the edge of chaos through simultaneous processes of divergence and convergence. The origin of life through autocatalytic closure, and the origin of an interconnected worldview through conceptual closure, induced phase transitions in the degree to which information, and thus consciousness, is locally amplified. Divergence and convergence of cognitive information may involve phenomena observed in light e.g. focusing, interference, and resonance. By making information flow inward-biased, closure shields us from external consciousness; thus the paucity of consciousness may be an illusion.

adap-org↗

arXiv1999

Autocatalytic closure in a cognitive system: A tentative scenario for the origin of culture

This paper presents a speculative model of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the transition from episodic to mimetic (or memetic) culture with the arrival of Homo erectus, which Donald [1991] claims paved the way for the unique features of human culture. The model draws on Kauffman's [1993] theory of how an information-evolving system emerges through the formation of an autocatalytic network. Though originally formulated to explain the origin of life, this theory also provides a plausible account of how discrete episodic memories become woven into an internal model of the world, or worldview, that both structures, and is structured by, self-triggered streams of thought. Social interaction plays a role in (and may be critical to) this process. Implications for cognitive development are explored.

adap-org↗