🚀 go-pugleaf

What is consciousness? What is the mind? KIBO questions. Let me lay out 
some ideas, though.

The initial processing of sensory data involves both sensations of
external objects (afference) and internal expectations (reafference).
These are merged via an integral transform (involving weightings defined
on neural cell assemblies) to produce a distributed output signal. This
can take two forms:chaos expressing novelty or distributed coherence
(synchronization) signaling the existence of a known pattern. Detection of
chaos can trigger an orienting reflex. The synchronized signal can either
be processed simply as a signal that something known is being detected, or
the associated sensory data can be processed further by downstream
elements in a way similar to the processing of novel data. The gain of the
system can be varied for optimum sensitivity. High gain tends to see
artifacts as well as real patterns; low gain is insensitive. 

Hence, objects of interest to the organism are dual to these (continuously
varying) patterns of more-or-less coherent dynamics in the brain--the
mind.  Note that these patterns are fundamentally semantic, although
syntactic processing can be performed by the mind. Attention is the
process by which these patterns emerge (are generated). The self is the
internal pattern dual to the physically experienced body. Loss of
consciousness is literally the loss of these patterns--loss of mind. 

This suggests that if we develop a capability of monitoring these 
coherent dynamics, we will have a way of objectifying the mind.

--
Harry Erwin
Internet: herwin@gmu.edu 
Just a dumb graduate student working on Katchalsky network models....
(And if you believe that, I have a ranch in California to sell you.)