[comp.ai.philosophy] Epiphany

BKort@bbn.com (Barry Kort) (11/01/90)

In article <MIKEB.90Oct25084058@wdl31.wdl.fac.com> mikeb@wdl31.wdl.fac.com 
(Michael H Bender) writes:

> I do not know of any reasonable theory, to date,
> to explain the fact that on occasion, humans have been observed
> to completely change their goals and the associated behavior,
> without any apparent cause (external or internal). An example
> might be one of those rare occasions a person gets up some morning
> and completely changes significant parts of his behavior (e.g., gets
> divorced, commits suicide, etc.).  I have not come up with any useful
> explanation of this phenomenon, so far, that does not rely, at least
> partially, on some form of consciousness.  Certainly lower level animals
> do not seem to have this same amount of freedom in their behavior.

The mental event which you describe is sometimes called Epiphany, 
Revelation, or just Aha! Insight, depending on your religion and politics. 

Here is my model of the event:

Think of information as looses pieces of an unassembled jigsaw puzzle.  
Think of knowledge as the structured integration of information, akin to 
an assembled jigsaw puzzle.  When the puzzle is assembled, the big picture 
jumps out and becomes yet another piece of information, upon which one can 
act.

Going back to the jigsaw puzzle analogy, suppose your partially assembled 
jigsaw puzzle has two large islands with a gap between them.  Then, almost 
as if by chance, you notice that the two islands fit together, like Africa 
and South America, into an integrated whole.

This kind of sudden realization, or insight might happen only a few times 
in a adult's life, and it can dramatically change one's goals, agendas, 
and personality.  Generally, people conduct their lives in a fashion 
consistent with their knowledge and values.  A person's knowledge base can 
undergo a sudden transformation when dissociated pieces of information are 
unexpectedly brought together as in the jigsaw puzzle metaphor.


Barry Kort
Visiting Scientist
BBN Labs
Cambridge, MA