Stu Kauffman and Our Minds in 500 Words

• Phase Transitions and Psychopathology by James Brody, 2/18/98
  
  

Kauffman (1995) discusses chaos, stasis, and phase transitions. The model has consequences for evolution, for our cognitive assets, language, and social organization. There are implications for diagnosis and treatment of emotional distress as well as for our understanding of Free Will.

Chaos refers to the absence of predictable outcomes from single or multiple events. A tiny variation in one trait cascades into every larger, ever wider changes. Stasis refers to prolonged intervals of no change whether in species or rocks. Phase transition applies to the interval between changes from one state to another. We are surrounded by natural examples; the action of light switches is a useful artificial one. Press the switch lever a tenth inch upwards, the bulb remains dark. It stays dark with each tenth inch the lever travels until the midpoint of the lever's range. Travel that middle tenth -- the phase transition -- and the bulb lights completely, getting no brighter with further deflection of the lever.

The Maybe Range ... The width of the phase transition, the Maybe Range varies primarily with the number of interconnections between switches. One or two lateral connections results in rapid, stereotyped output; 4 or more produce random sequences that require millennia to repeat themselves. Have too little crosstalk and get only one output. Increase the amount of cross talk and slow the decision. Increase it a bit more and never get a decision.

An average of 3 interconnections is associated with pattern variability that will stabilize in a useful interval of time. Kauffman argues well that the Maybe Range is the cusp on which natural selection operates. Some variability is needed for choice to occur; too much variation, too little repetition and life does not stabilize.

A small group, of a size that is consistent with our evolutionary past as well as with the operation of reciprocity, allows for some highly novel, useful interactions between individual members. An example should help. I live in a farmhouse and keep a flock of 8 ducks. They often sit by the path to my back door. As I approached on the path, one duck jumped to his feet, flapped his wings, and moved noisily away. Four of them stayed seated and quacked about once every second, almost in unison with each other. Three of them neither moved nor quacked. The reactive one settled promptly.

The small group inhibited their excitable member. The alarmist temporarily increased the chances for the entire group to escape. There was a moment of creativity, when options were explored, and -- some would argue -- thinking occurred. The duck committee functioned in the same manner as a dimmer switch, not the more extreme and primitive binary type. The group said “Maybe” because it adjusted its response more precisely to the degree of external threat.

Free Will and the Maybe Range ...

Cross-talk reduces impulsiveness and suppresses distraction while encouraging task persistence whether in a group or in a single mind. The group settles the alarmists. It also works against the opposite phenomenon of behavioral stasis. The sentinel alerts the flock. These gifts are perhaps the foundation for thinking and the neuropsychological executive functions needed for memory access, task inhibition, task initiation and interruption, mood regulation, rule generation, problem analysis, and creating solutions (Bronowski,1977; Barkley, 1997). All of us have these talents; they represent perhaps 200,000 years (Leakey,1994) of selective pressure, when an unknown event -- perhaps the seeking of one more lateral nerve fiber -- triggered a mind capable of “Stop, let’s consider some options here.”

Syndromes: Mental Clatter ... Narrowed phase transitions seem applicable to syndromes associated with brain damage, developmental disabilities, ADHD, certain anxiety disorders, mania, schizophrenia, and Alzheimers. Disruption of axonal connections by any means should elicit more spastic movements, scrambled thoughts, sharp changes in mood, and difficulty engaging and disengaging action sequences. High degrees of response variability become a pessimistic diagnostic sign.

"Stop and Think" and How to Get There .... Therapeutic interventions that encourage more crosstalk should not only smooth execution of response sequences but encourage the operation of Executive Functions such as planning, waiting, task switching, analytical ability, and the ability to synthesize new motor sequences. Traditional interventions such as learning, anxiety reduction, cognitive therapy, and certain classes of medication likely help move us out of stasis or stereotypy and towards Maybe, the center of a phase transition. Even exercise and dietary shifts could help increase crosstalk between our different psychological adaptations and slow the automatic execution of any one of them.

There are many instances where crosstalk within the client is insufficient. It becomes important then to establish crosstalk (alliances) between the client and other people. While the magic number is still 3, the larger the group, the less likely an extreme decision becomes. Friends and family have more stable features (and are more preditable) than any single member. Therapists, ministers, and professional friends become more important for an impulsive person who does not have prior alliances.

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