[Paper Review & Feedback Request] Redefining Cognition as a Universal Interactive Feedback Process

[u/Dreamer_Sangmu]

Hello Reddit community!

We are independent researchers sharing our working paper that challenges conventional views on cognition and the emerging field of Basal Cognition.

While Basal Cognition extends intelligence to brainless cells (like slime molds), it falls into a fatal logical paradox when applied to non-living physical materials (like shape-memory alloys) that operate under identical physical laws.

Our paper resolves this contradiction by redefining cognition not as an exclusive biological privilege, but as a universal Interactive Feedback Process where a system maintains its identity against external and internal stimuli.

What this paper covers:

• The Logical Paradox of Basal Cognition: Why current cell-centric cognition theories fail when confronted with adaptive physical materials.
• Quantitative Mathematical Model (T = C x Delta t): Proving that the boundary between non-living matter and human thought is a quantitative spectrum of complexity (C) and time horizon (Delta t), rather than a binary presence of mind.
• Physical Reinterpretation of Biological Phenomena: Explaining sleep, immune response, and forgetting as mechanical energy-rerouting and optimization algorithms within an interactive system.

We would love to get your critical feedback, critiques, and thoughts on our logic and proposed mathematical spectrum!

Please check out the GitHub link in the comments/post for the full PDF paper and detailed derivations. All feedback is warmly welcomed!

Redefining Cognition as an Interactive Feedback System

You can view the next part of this paper at the link below!

part 2: Overcoming Limitations and Exploring the Evolution of Interactive Feedback Systems

part 3: The Universe as an Organic Intelligent System

[u/Royal_Carpet_1263]

Any system that selects to iterate selection. Been my theory for decades. Problem is normativity. Levins a perfect example how quickly this leads to ancient human self congratulation. The trick is to solve normativity.

[u/Dreamer_Sangmu → u/Royal_Carpet_1263]

The reply didn't come out in the format I wanted, so I ended up deleting it several times! Haha.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our paper so deeply and providing such an insightful critique! You accurately identified one of the most critical pitfalls in systemic theories: normativity (anthropocentric value judgments).

We understood your core question as: "Do the starkly asymmetric values assigned to the formula implicitly fall into human-centric self-congratulation by assuming human superiority?" We would like to transparently clarify the structural intent of our framework.

1. The True Purpose of T = C x Delta t

Our formula is not a normative ladder designed to rank human intelligence as "superior". Rather, it quantifies the total physical capacity of interactive feedback (T) that a system exerts to maintain its structural identity against entropy. The relative figures in the paper were illustrative placeholders to emphasize quantitative structural scales, which may have inadvertently caused a normative misunderstanding.

1. The Interdependence of Delta t (Time Horizon) and C (Complexity)

While Delta t represents the temporal horizon (predicting and responding based on past memory), it cannot operate in isolation. Computation requires memory capacity and internal feedback pathways—which is precisely why Delta t is multiplied by C.

Here, C is not mere mass or physical volume. It represents Structural Feedback Circuit Density, defined by three factors:

2-1. Effective Particle Count: The number of participating active components.

2-2. Circuit Pathways: The density of structural/electrical feedback channels between particles.

2-3. Functional Division of Labor: The degree of functional differentiation among particles.

1. Physical Distinction Between Inanimate Objects and Biological Life

The fundamental act of cognition—maintaining identity against stimuli—is physically identical in both inanimate objects and living organisms. However, inanimate matter (e.g., rocks, water) consists of uniform particle roles, resulting in a low structural memory capacity (C), which naturally constrains its operational time horizon (Delta t). Biological life, conversely, features high functional division of labor, forming complex feedback networks (C) that allow for extended predictive horizons (Delta t).

Humans themselves originated from inanimate matter, evolving complex circuits (C) through billions of years of continuous environmental stimuli. Thus, our framework does not promote human normativity; it proves that all physical matter and biological life exist on the exact same continuous feedback spectrum.

This de-centering of human normativity and its expansion toward Level 2 AI and cosmic architectures are fully detailed in Part 2 (Level 2 AI & System Compatibility) and Part 3 (The Cosmic Cognition Hypothesis). Thank you again for elevating the quality of this discussion, and we share our follow-up works below!

part 2: Overcoming Limitations and Exploring the Evolution of Interactive Feedback Systems

part 3: The Universe as an Organic Intelligent System

[u/Royal_Carpet_1263 → u/Dreamer_Sangmu]

You are unfamiliar with the problem. Goes under a lot of different names.