Consider a specific kind of new idea: one which illuminates an unnoticed relationship between two familiar concepts, for the first time.

Humans refer to this as lateral thinking; and humans pride themselves on the ability to think laterally.

Consider that the simplest explanation for this kind of “ability” is as a side-effect of neuronal mechanisms which really must have appeared very early on in the evolution of cognition – in order to distinguish and recognise external phenomena, with minimal evolutionary and operational footprint 1.

Fractional pattern de-duplication is an evolutionary and operational optimisation.

minimal-viable cognition describes a minimal-viable account of cognition, including:

  1. Discernment
  2. minimal-viability
  3. de-duplication
#tbc

  1. Need to explain more? ↩︎