Search Results (2)

The Thoughtseeds Framework introduces a novel computational approach to modeling thought dynamics in meditative states, conceptualizing thoughtseeds as dynamic attentional agents that integrate information. This hierarchical model, structured as nested Markov blankets, comprises three interconnected levels: (i) knowledge domains as information repositories, (ii) the Thoughtseed Network where thoughtseeds compete, and (iii) meta-cognition regulating awareness. It simulates focused-attention Vipassana meditation via rule-based training informed by empirical neuroscience research on attentional stability and neural dynamics. Four states—breath_control, mind_wandering, meta_awareness, and redirect_breath—emerge organically from thoughtseed interactions, demonstrating self-organizing dynamics. Results indicate that experts sustain control dominance to reinforce focused attention, while novices exhibit frequent, prolonged mind_wandering episodes, reflecting beginner instability. Integrating Global Workspace Theory and the Intrinsic Ignition Framework, the model elucidates how thoughtseeds shape a unitary meditative experience through meta-awareness, balancing epistemic and pragmatic affordances via active inference. Synthesizing computational modeling with phenomenological insights, it provides an embodied perspective on cognitive state emergence and transitions, offering testable predictions about meditation skill development. The framework yields insights into attention regulation, meta-cognitive awareness, and meditation state emergence, establishing a versatile foundation for future research into diverse meditation practices (e.g., Open Monitoring, Non-Dual Awareness), cognitive development across the lifespan, and clinical applications in mindfulness-based interventions for attention disorders, advancing our understanding of the nature of mind and thought. Full article

This research proposes a method for the detection of semantic similarities in text snippets; the method achieves an unsupervised extraction and comparison of semantic information by mimicking skills for the identification of clauses and possible verb conjugations, the selection of the most accurate organization of the parts of speech, and similarity analysis by a direct comparison on the parts of speech from a pair of text snippets. The method for the extraction of the parts of speech in each text exploits a knowledge base structured as a dictionary and a thesaurus to identify the possible labels of each word and its synonyms. The method consists of the processes of perception, debiasing, reasoning and assessment. The perception module decomposes the text into blocks of information focused on the elicitation of the parts of speech. The debiasing module reorganizes the blocks of information due to the biases that may be produced in the previous perception. The reasoning module finds the similarities between blocks from two texts through analyses of similarities on synonymy, morphological properties, and the relative position of similar concepts within the texts. The assessment generates a judgement on the output produced by the reasoning as the averaged similarity assessment obtained from the parts of speech similarities of blocks. The proposed method is implemented on an English language version to exploit a knowledge base in English for the extraction of the similarities and differences of texts. The system implements a set of syntactic and logical rules that enable the autonomous reasoning that uses a knowledge base regardless of the concepts and knowledge domains of the latter. A system developed with the proposed method is tested on the “test” dataset used on the SemEval 2017 competition on seven knowledge bases compiled from six dictionaries and two thesauruses. The results indicate that the performance of the method increases as the degree of completeness of concepts and their relations increase, and the Pearson correlation for the most accurate knowledge base is 77%. Full article