I work with vulnerable teenagers in an association and I want to build a system (using a metaphor) that reduces the time and cognitive cost it takes them to turn their mission and vision into microtasks for moments of low confidence.
My hypothesis is that my main problem is not that their attention is misaligned because they are incoherent, but that it is misaligned because multiple legitimate processes (agents) are competing for a scarce resource without a good map.
The conflict between multiple agents increases.
↓
The noise increases
↓
Direction is lost…
So, a question algorithm that reduces the complexity of their processes (on your ship) would be useful to me. But:
How do I translate an abstract purpose (mission, vision) and allocate your attention and time and decision-making capacity?
Literature review in LessWrong
I reviewed some posts here on Lesswrong and I first idea, It would be a "One Piece" treasure for me, that could to unify a little more all the productivity philosophy I've found into something mechanically designed, using processes similar to something I saw here:
I would like help reviewing its coherence and cost-benefit analysis. I'm currently using cybernetics and systems theory as a foundation.
I reviewed several productivity and mapping proposals I found here on LessWrong, and each one had interesting points I could incorporate. I want to briefly present each idea, its key question of what it's about, and then a proposal for unifying a little more for they.
Minsky , Society of Mind asks: How is the mind constructed?
- how a society of simple agents forms hierarchies and teams.
What's missing? It doesn't explain where that society is headed, or how it organizes itself for external purposes.
Dehaene / GNW , Consciousness and the Brain asks: How do agents compete for consciousness?
- Through a global workspace where only one piece of content can be visible at a time.
What's missing? It's a static amphitheater: it describes the competition, but not the direction or the course.
Schwartz (IFS) , Internal Family Systems asks: How do the parts heal?
- Each part is an agent with its own intentions; healing comes from listening and the leadership of the Self.
What's missing? It's therapeutic, not a planner. It doesn't connect with daily goals or specific tasks.
Culadasa / TMI , The Mind Illuminated asks: How to train sustained attention?
-Through progressive levels of introspection and distraction control.
What's missing? It trains the instrument (attention) but doesn't connect it to a map of external objectives.
Kaj Sotala / A Mechanistic Model of Meditation asks: How does introspection detect conflicts between subsystems?
- A sensory channel that improves with practice, revealing competence among internal agents.
What's missing? There's no protocol to translate that detection into organized action towards goals.
GTD / OKRs / Classical Productivity asks:
How to organize goals and tasks?
- Hierarchies of goals and concrete actions.
What's missing? It doesn't model the internal agents that block execution. It's like having a map without knowing the ship's status.
“One Pace” , What question? How do we translate an abstract purpose into a temporary coalition of attention that produces concrete actions?
- Taking the competition, the division by agents (IFS), and ways of aligning them, the workspace (amphitheater) and giving it direction (ship). It would detect at what level of the ship or territory there is mutiny over the rudder, and organize them so that the agents cooperate towards the course.
What's missing?...
Metaphor
I wonder if they could achieve greater focus, less perceived internal conflict, and more clarity by choosing micro-actions with a well-constructed roadmap based on their medium- to long-term personal vision and mission. From conquering the treasure of "One Piece" and becoming the "King of the Pirates" to "cleaning the helm." (Of course, you can't read the anime literally; perhaps a parody would have to be created.)
I want to discover if, with a map of their territory, of the crew, they could manage their constantly shifting attention in the face of the violent sea of randomness.
I want to know if, with the kind of maps and definitions I will propose here, they could navigate with greater precision, if they could better steer their own course.
Algorithm proposal
I'm working on it, I'll post briefly if there's community interest in discussing or building something similar together.
Conclusion
I don't know if it will work, but I'd like to talk about how to begin testing whether systems theory applied to adolescent attention would be useful. I've been treating the mind as a complex control system to reduce rumination before meditation.
Could I treat the mind as a complex system that I could map and better understand?
Could I map the stages of focus in: input, process, output, and feedback?
Could I map complex functional layers, such as: bodily-reactive, intellectual-predictive, motivational-evaluative, or social-identity?
Mostly, I would like help with the following:
Review whether the proposed algorithm would help reduce noise and perceived internal conflict, and if it left any gaps.
The challenge would be:
Would an algorithm's questions result in fewer priority conflicts, better time allocation, and improved decision-making?
Perhaps we could outline a specific experiment to consider how to test it and avoid getting lost in abstractions.
For example, a crossover experiment (N=1) (EEG) comparing classical labeling with this systemic mapping of attention as preparation for meditation.
I work with vulnerable teenagers in an association and I want to build a system (using a metaphor) that reduces the time and cognitive cost it takes them to turn their mission and vision into microtasks for moments of low confidence.
My hypothesis is that my main problem is not that their attention is misaligned because they are incoherent, but that it is misaligned because multiple legitimate processes (agents) are competing for a scarce resource without a good map.
The conflict between multiple agents increases.
↓
The noise increases
↓
Direction is lost…
So, a question algorithm that reduces the complexity of their processes (on your ship) would be useful to me. But:
How do I translate an abstract purpose (mission, vision) and allocate your attention and time and decision-making capacity?
Literature review in LessWrong
I reviewed some posts here on Lesswrong and I first idea, It would be a "One Piece" treasure for me, that could to unify a little more all the productivity philosophy I've found into something mechanically designed, using processes similar to something I saw here:
From Philosophy to math to engineering
I would like help reviewing its coherence and cost-benefit analysis. I'm currently using cybernetics and systems theory as a foundation.
I reviewed several productivity and mapping proposals I found here on LessWrong, and each one had interesting points I could incorporate. I want to briefly present each idea, its key question of what it's about, and then a proposal for unifying a little more for they.
Minsky , Society of Mind asks: How is the mind constructed?
- how a society of simple agents forms hierarchies and teams.
What's missing? It doesn't explain where that society is headed, or how it organizes itself for external purposes.
Dehaene / GNW , Consciousness and the Brain asks: How do agents compete for consciousness?
- Through a global workspace where only one piece of content can be visible at a time.
What's missing? It's a static amphitheater: it describes the competition, but not the direction or the course.
Schwartz (IFS) , Internal Family Systems asks: How do the parts heal?
- Each part is an agent with its own intentions; healing comes from listening and the leadership of the Self.
What's missing? It's therapeutic, not a planner. It doesn't connect with daily goals or specific tasks.
Culadasa / TMI , The Mind Illuminated asks: How to train sustained attention?
-Through progressive levels of introspection and distraction control.
What's missing? It trains the instrument (attention) but doesn't connect it to a map of external objectives.
Kaj Sotala / A Mechanistic Model of Meditation asks: How does introspection detect conflicts between subsystems?
- A sensory channel that improves with practice, revealing competence among internal agents.
What's missing? There's no protocol to translate that detection into organized action towards goals.
GTD / OKRs / Classical Productivity asks:
How to organize goals and tasks?
- Hierarchies of goals and concrete actions.
What's missing? It doesn't model the internal agents that block execution. It's like having a map without knowing the ship's status.
“One Pace” , What question? How do we translate an abstract purpose into a temporary coalition of attention that produces concrete actions?
- Taking the competition, the division by agents (IFS), and ways of aligning them, the workspace (amphitheater) and giving it direction (ship). It would detect at what level of the ship or territory there is mutiny over the rudder, and organize them so that the agents cooperate towards the course.
What's missing?...
Metaphor
I wonder if they could achieve greater focus, less perceived internal conflict, and more clarity by choosing micro-actions with a well-constructed roadmap based on their medium- to long-term personal vision and mission. From conquering the treasure of "One Piece" and becoming the "King of the Pirates" to "cleaning the helm." (Of course, you can't read the anime literally; perhaps a parody would have to be created.)
I want to discover if, with a map of their territory, of the crew, they could manage their constantly shifting attention in the face of the violent sea of randomness.
I want to know if, with the kind of maps and definitions I will propose here, they could navigate with greater precision, if they could better steer their own course.
Algorithm proposal
I'm working on it, I'll post briefly if there's community interest in discussing or building something similar together.
Conclusion
I don't know if it will work, but I'd like to talk about how to begin testing whether systems theory applied to adolescent attention would be useful. I've been treating the mind as a complex control system to reduce rumination before meditation.
Could I treat the mind as a complex system that I could map and better understand?
Could I map the stages of focus in: input, process, output, and feedback?
Could I map complex functional layers, such as: bodily-reactive, intellectual-predictive, motivational-evaluative, or social-identity?
Mostly, I would like help with the following:
Perhaps we could outline a specific experiment to consider how to test it and avoid getting lost in abstractions.
For example, a crossover experiment (N=1) (EEG) comparing classical labeling with this systemic mapping of attention as preparation for meditation.