DANGER DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT AS ORDER PARAMETERS

The behavior of an order parameter exhibits features well-known from physical systems in thermal equilibrium when they enter into a phase transition, a change in structure, e.g. when a magnet goes from an unmagnetized state to a magnetized one, and a superconductor from its normal state to a superconducting state. Both are equilibrium phase transitions. A far from equilibrium phase transition like the mind's transition from a distracted state to an excited and aware state, is much less known as such, and so the associated order parameter. The order parameter is the awareness of external conditions, perhaps dangerous. According to Haken's theory, one expects the following phenomena: The formerly stable position where the order parameter A, the awareness, is zero (A=0) is influenced by the new external situation, and in union with it becomes unstable because of internal subsystem fluctuations and is replaced by two new stable positions according to the next figure:

	|	                           x                |              x
x	|      x                            x               |             x
 x	|     x                              x              |            x
   x	|   x		                      x             |           x
      x	| x                                     x           |          x
	|                                         x       x   x      x
                                                     x x        x x

At the left: one stable position (distracted mind, no risk). at the right: two stable positions (excited mind) aware of two possibilities (a bifurcation): no-risk and risk. The two states appear as totally equivalent, or, in other words, symmetric with respect to one another. Nonetheless, the system has to make a diagnostic between these two states and can adopt only one state, breaking the symmetry. The treatment or decision breaks it and conducts the process - for instance - to the right. The two stable positions tilt now to the right, the left valley goes up and the position of minimal V is the right valley (not shown). We accept at this point that we are once more or less on the same situation pictured at the left (danger-aware mind). But according to the perceived danger, according to the diagnostic of all the protominds involved, one has the bifurcation with two stable valleys (right figure) and the order parameter is again the awareness, now related to the relative convenience of confrontation/escape to danger. There, again, follows a symmetry breaking instability.

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• operating systems and robots
• architecture, space and the hard problem
• danger perception
• visual attention
• attention networks
• brain develops mind
• internal clock
• distress and attention
• external--->information....internal--->danger experience
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• physics, biology and consciousness
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2.feb.1999

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Glosario de Carlos von der Becke.