We perceive this thought by associating it with other thoughts, either as context driven understanding or as isomorphic relations. In the context driven understanding we create a context or scenario around the thought to imagine it’s relevance and thus enhancing our understanding. An isomorphic relation is about finding a abstract correlation between two thoughts, we could for example compare an air bubble to a balloon, or the expansion of the universe with the expansion of our mind. The more associations we make between different thoughts the better we understand them, new thoughts doesn’t only serve to give us new knowledge but to enhance our old knowledge.

When enough similarities and connections have been realized we might observe a pattern appear from that network of thoughts. This pattern does in it self not represent a specific concept in the sense that it means something specific to us, but it represents a generic pattern on how to observe new information.

We may compare this pattern with other similar patterns to gain a better understanding of how that pattern relates to us. Just as with more concrete thoughts we need to look at it from many different viewpoints to really make use of it in the best way possible.

I believe that our strongest insights into our selves happens when we gain new understanding of these abstract thought patterns, they enable us to see new connections between thoughts which we couldn’t see before.

Something which has been quite puzzling to me for some time is the fact that we might have certain thoughts which doesn’t really tell us anything more than the fact that they fascinate us, we might ponder a concept which we find interesting. But it’s only just that; interesting in that moment. We then ponder about the very same concept another time only to realize something magnificent, a realization which betters our very understanding of the world or one self. What happened?

One explanation could be this abstract thought pattern which represent a network of associations. We might have gained a new pattern of association which enables us to more easily see new association in old thoughts and draw new conclusions from them.

We form more associations between concepts by understanding the abstract patterns on how one form associations in the first place, then we associate those patterns in order to gain new understandings, or understand even more zoomed out patterns of understanding the understanding of the formations of associations between our thoughts. This would in every sense be a fractal model of thought, which makes a lot of sense as everything else in nature can be explained with fractal math.

The force within us which resists these thoughts can be described in one simple word: “Fear”. I wrote about fear as the main obstacle in life in an earlier blog, and this phenomena certainly falls into that category. We are afraid to accept thoughts which would throw us outside of our comfort zone. We should always strive to better our selves and make us as useful for this world as possible, and realizing these thoughts is an important aspect of that. I’m using the term “Realize” as these thoughts are most often subconsciously thrown away without the conscious you even knowing about them. But if you’re open to face them, and if you’re searching for them, then you will identify them and learn to grow stronger from realizing what they mean for you.

Meditation is great tool for exploring your own thoughts.

So why should we really try harder to accept these thoughts?

Because they represent the wisdom within your self to become who you really want to be in life, they represent the tools you need to fulfill your dreams. Because let’s face it, the less you listen to your own thought, the more you will listen to the thoughts of others; whether it’s your friend, a tv-show or a religion.

One thing we have to keep in mind is that the brains of humans are significantly different from person to person. One persons view on something might work very well for that person, but only work half assed for your self. Your brain just isn’t equipped to make use of that idea particularly well. This is why it’s so important to listen to your own thoughts and ideas above anything else, because they represent the most efficient thought pattern to tackle a situation or solve a problem for your brain. It’s of course equally important to realize that your thoughts and ideas might not be the most efficient thought pattern for other people.

My advice for anyone is to step outside of their comfort zone, accept those thoughts which would challenge the perception of one self and use them to achieve greatness. Ask your self if the person you are is the result of your most inner wishes, or if it’s the result of a lifetime of expectations from society, family and friends. If you don’t feel like it’s mostly a result of your most inner wishes then you should work on changing that perception.

I’ve often discussed organizing ones life by having a clear file structure, planned life via a digital calendar and of course a well organized task management system. But none of these systems work unless you have a mind set that allows you to use them efficiently.

Thought Boxes is a description of a thought system which many of us probably relate to, it’s simply the natural way we handle thoughts (I think?). I wonder thought, are there people who handle thoughts in a very different way out there? And if so, may I get an elaboration on that?

A graphical representation of  Thought Boxes. Please continue reading for an elaborated explanation.

1. A Thought Box is an enclosed collection of thoughts or ideas that all share a common concept, one may view it as a container for an idea fractal.

1.2 One should only develop and elaborate on matters in direction relation to the concept which is connected to the thought box ones mentation lies within.

1.3 To think of matters not related to the concept within the Thought Box is to think outside that box, one then needs to manage those thoughts in another box, or invent a new one.

1.4 A Thought Box may be networked to one or more other Thought Boxes.

1.5 A thought box always have a Box Summary of it’s more elaborated meaning.

2. To think outside all Thought Boxes is to se a network of the Box Summaries representing different Thought Boxes.

2.1 To observe a Box Summary is to see a map of related Box Summeries.

2.2 To focus the mind on a Box Summary is to enter the Thought Box it represents.

2.3 The mentation should only visit other Thought Boxes which are linked to the Thought Boxe in which the current mentation exists.

2.4 Different Thought Boxes can be of different importance, the importance of the box decided it’s lummination within the whole network of Thought Boxes.

2.5 Different Thought Boxes has different sizes, sizes are relative only to linked Thought Boxes.

2.6 Importance and Size are two different things in the sense that size is relative to the connected Thought Boxes while importance is meassured relative to all Thought Boxes.

2.7 Smaller Thought boxes are mostly accessed via the larger Thought Boxes which they are connected too.

3. The largest Thought Boxes are connected to external information management systems.

3.1 Examples of external information management systems are: document structures, task management systems and calendars.

3.2 One Thought Box can only be represented once in each external information management system.

3.3 New thoughts within a thought box should always be documented in an external information management system if there is an externally documented box wihin the imidiate box network as clears up mental energy for new thoughts.

3.4 The external information storage must be intuitive to simplify the process of reffering to documented thoughts when thinking within a box.

3.5 A thought box which is connected to an external information management system does not disapear until the external connection is removed.

3.6 Modelling based syntaxes are the supreme ways of documenting thoughts.

4. Complexity of documentation and thought should only be made relevant when ones mentation is focused on a specific Thought Box.

4.1 This is a fractal based thought method.

I might elaborate further on this at another time, this is a pretty good summary though.

We can’t prove mathematics within it self and by extension any system from within the system it self. One has to stand outside the system to fully prove or understand it. This applies to logic as well, and by extension our own thoughts.

What if logic would be the natural path intelligent beings of this universe follow in their thoughts, like a built in trail for everything to follow. Did we invent it, or did we find it? I’m going to assume it to be a natural part of our universe in this argument (one could of course argue otherwise).

Logic is supposedly a natural trail and schematics of this universe, followed by any intelligent being. This of course means that logic is a system within the system “Universe”, which makes it impossible for logic to prove or understand that universe, there will always be something which we cant quite grasp using this method.

Logic has helped us build the modern world, our development is escalating at an impressive rate, and there are no signs that this would slow down anytime soon (assuming we don’t destroy our selves).

An even more modern world, interpreted by Moa Wallin

But let’s stop here and look at todays physics for a minutes, it’s pretty wild and crazy. We had it all sort of figured out until we split the atom, then everything went crazy.

• Relative time and space
• 11 Dimensions (the tenth dimension would be infinite raised by infinity.)
• Particle teleportation between dimensions
• An infinite amount of universes
• “Super membranes” vibrating in the 11th dimension creating the universes

Scientists are actually working on this, by using logic.

What would happen if we followed the trail and schematic that is logic to the close border of understanding the truth about our universe? It’s not like the thought would just end there, it’s not like our universe to behave in that manner. It would be more likely that it just led us to different weird thought patterns trying to explain the impossible.

Imagine a sphere. The logical trail followed by mankind would start at the center and lead us towards the edge, where the ultimate truth lies. But as logic can never reach the edge it just splits very close to the edge and branches out all over the sphere without we even realizing it.

An ugly representation of what I meant.

So, this is a axiomatic argument based on logic, telling us that logic isn’t the answer. Maybe I should turn to Christianity? They seem to have it all figured out as they don’t even bother trying to explain their axioms.

No, I’ll end this with “Live long and prosper”

The brain may in this context be viewed as a framework for our stored knowledge, experience and understanding. We form new understandings when new information or experiences are compared to this framework.

I would argue that there are three main types of understanding; Basic Understanding, Isomorphic Understanding and Formal Understanding.

Update: These should probably be called “Methods of understanding” and not “types/categories of understanding” of understanding as my blogger friend themoralsceptic helped me realize.

Basic Understanding
We receive information via our senses which is via our framework converted into knowledge. This is in essence the difference between information and knowledge, the information becomes knowledge once we understand it.

Isomorphic Understanding
Isomorphism is a concept which I explained in a prior blog, it is in short about finding synergies between different thoughts. Once the information has been converted into knowledge it’s a part of your framework that is your mind, it can thus compare it to other thoughts, ideas and experiences and potentially find a lot of isomorphic relations.

To see an isomorphic relation (or a connection) will enable you to view this understanding from a new angle. This does not only deepen your understanding about this new thought but it also deepens your understanding about the older thought with which the new thought was connected to in this isomorphic relation.

Formal Understanding
We can formalize our understanding by writing it down, discuss it with other people or teach it. This blog of mine is foremost a way for me to formalize my own thoughts, I’m not only writing my thoughts down but I write them as if I where teaching someone. It is of course my hopes that any insights and ideas I have will be helpful to other people, but formalizing my understanding of my own thoughts were probably the main idea behind it.

We gain new perspectives which leads to new insights and new isomorphic relations by just transferring our thoughts from our heads on to another system – such as writing. Brainstorming with other people would be another way to formalize our understanding.

Before moving on I’d like to mention that many people would probably view the storing of information in our minds as understanding, this is not my personally opinion. But if one gets a question which triggers our mind to find the correct information then that information will most likely become knowledge. Thus the act of asking a question may ignite basic understanding about the matter at hand. If Basic understanding would be step one then the storing of information would be step 0.

This fish, painted by my little sister does on the other hand not seem to understand anything at all. But it’s cute.

If you succeed in deepening your understanding with both the Isomorphic Understanding and the Formal Understanding then you probably have a very good understanding about whatever subject you’re trying to grasp. If you on the other hand feel that you more or less get it but have a difficulty expressing your self verbally or in writing then chances are that you could gain a lot from working more on your understanding.

I imagined this blog while I was reading another section of my beloved book GEB talking about formal system. I realized that I was sort of understanding it but my understanding wasn’t enough to decode some formulas I en encountered as an exercise. This exercise required me to formalize my understanding about the system.

I hereby declare war on limitations! Our own limitations of imaginative thinking is the number one cause of death in the whole world![citation needed]
The sentence above was meant to sarcastically humiliate the American government.

Imaginational awareness
Imagination could be described as an algorithm inside your mind used for creating new ideas based on your current knowledge, expertise and experience. This is the very essence behind growing ideas into idea fractals, we should therefore encourage this process best we can.

We might limit our imagination to what we know or deem to be common sense, this would not be to encourage our mind, quite the opposite. Imaginational awareness is a term I’ve chosen to describe the concept of realizing that we can open doors within our imagination and steer it in the directions we want. This might sound a bit like trying to control our imagination, but it’s most certainly not. The very power behind imagination is it’s ability to roam freely inside our thoughts and build new thoughts based on our current thoughts. No this is about suggesting a theme for our imagination, encouraging it to work with us. Imagination is always based on your essence as a person, but it doesn’t have to be limited to your knowledge or your skills.

I’ve observed that the most common cause to why people close the door on their imagination is that they lack the skill or experience needed. It’s not relevant what you can or can’t do in this process, it should be free of such limitations because they only serve to close doors inside your imagination.

The first and most important part of visualizing something is to separate your imagination from what you may or may not think you’re able to do or achieve. That’s something you can worry about at a later stage.

Ideas generating ideas generating ideas…
This is of course the very topic that spurred this series of blogs. What is important here is to always write your ideas down so that you always have a written record of your thoughts, this act of writing things down also helps your thoughts to manifest them selves in your mind. It’s pretty basic, the grown ups used to nag at me with this very argument when I didn’t write down enough material in school.

Modeling your thoughts
The alphabetical system is the most common way to formally structure your thoughts, but a system based on modeling is far superior in some areas, especially when it comes to brainstorming. Simplify your ideas in bubbles and connect them, I’m sure you’ve created mind-maps before, use that knowledge and expand upon it. Use your imagination!

This is a rather simple mind-map, or “thought model” of this blog post.

Formality
You might think that formality isn’t needed or even just taking something too far. I’ve encountered this many times as I try to get people to be more formal about their ideas or projects. Formality is about taking the first steps towards transforming your ideas and concept to it’s own organism. This will help you and everyone involved to get a clearer picture on what the idea is about, what the goals are and how you could get there. It helps you to view things from a more objective perspective, which of course encourages the formation of new ideas.

Creating a goal analysis
This step requires some brainstorming and a nice mind-map mapping your idea fractal as well as imaginational awareness combined with formality. A goal analysis is about imagining the goals of your idea. First of you need to imagine the main goal of whatever you’re idea is, then you need to imagine what goals or activities needed to achieve the main goal and depending on the need you may want to imagine the goals needed to achieve the sub goals. It might sound like this is a sort of hierarchy of goals but it’s not, sub goals or sub sub goals may very well contribute to lot’s of other goals.

Ok, so that’s the theory of it. How do we apply this theory in a practical way? We create something called a Goal Model, it’s basically a map of goals represented in a graphical view, like this:

This is a simple goal model of how we’re going to achieve peace on earth, I’ve made some claims to which I’m sure not all people would agree with so bear in mind that it’s just an example.

It is very important to be free of limitations when creating a goal analysis, it doesn’t matter if some goals seems too hard or unachievable because solving problems isn’t important here, identifying issues is however important.

So these are some advices on how to better visualizing your ideas, I hope they are of use. Happy thinking!

I have in a prior blog used the term Idea Fractal to describe a unity of ideas resulting in a larger idea. This unity of ideas forming a larger idea has an isomorphic relationship to the geometrical fractal which I will talk about in this blog. I do however suspect that many people will not understand my use of the term “isomorphism” in this context, I will therefor start by explaining it.

The term is explained in the book GEB (Gödel, Escher, Bach – An Eternal Golden Braid). An isomorphic relation is in this context a relation of similarity between two subjects on a very abstract level. A car does for example have an isomorphic relation to a bicycle in the sense that both objects are meant to bring a person from point a to point b in a way faster than the person would be capable of by him/her self. The fact that both objects have wheels or that they both have steering capabilities are other examples of isomorphic relationships.

It’s very easy to see the isomorphism between the different patterns emerging from a fractal like the Mandelbrot Fractal as it’s based on visual data, we can easily identify the different patterns to be based on the same theme. An Idea Fractal is purely based on thought which is a bit more tricky to imagine, but it might help to explore the Mandelbrot Fractal to better understand my explanation of an Idea Fractal.

Notice how the bigger spirals consists of smaller spirals which them selves consists of even smaller spirals and so on.

I was exploring a method the brain is using to form ideas by finding synergies between other ideas in a prior blog. I described larger ideas as being formed by connecting smaller ideas, similarly a huge idea could be formed by finding synergies among the larger ideas. This process was described as starting out from small ideas and growing into bigger and bigger ideas as the mind find more and more synergies between the existing ideas.

I would like to invert this process, let’s start by looking at a huge idea and the ideas which was used to form it. We would most certainly find isomorphism between the huge idea and the ideas being the basis for the huge idea, we would similarly find isomorphisms between those ideas and the smaller ideas being used to form them. The smaller ideas have isomorphic relations to the bigger whole in a larger idea in the same sense that the emerging patterns form the Mandelbrot Fractal have an isomorphic similarity to the pattern they emerge from.

Example 1
Going back to the example of a car, let’s compare the car as a whole to some basic components of the car. The idea behind the car is that it’s supposed to roll forward, the same idea applies to a wheel, thus there is an isomorphism between the car and it’s wheels. The ball bearing inside the wells has isomorphic relationships to the wheel in the sense that they’re round and build to spin.

Example 2
Writing this blog I’m trying to define Idea Fractal which is how ideas are based on each others isomorphic relationship to form a bigger whole. The idea behind this concept and blog came from writing the blogs Encouraging the formation of new ideas and The importance of visualization which both explores the idea that more significant ideas are formed when the mind is finding new synergies between older and less significant ideas.

The isomorphism here is pretty clear as both the idea behind the concept Idea Fractal and the ideas behind those other two blogs are exploring the connection between thoughts within the human mind. But from where did I get the idea to write those other two blogs?

Seeing the connection between thoughts has isomorphic relations to the act of pondering about how thoughts are formed by connecting to each other, as my realization was about just that. Isomorphism in it self also has an isomorphic relationship to my realization as well as the idea behind the formation of thoughts, because all this is about networking nodes. Connection of thoughts is a network, isomorphic relations between subjects is also a network.

I’ve just used the idea behind this blog as an example of an Idea Fractal, the idea of doing so is the result of my idea to write a blog defining the concept Idea Fractal, thus it is while writing this at the top level of my Idea Fractal. This example also has an isomorphic relation to the blog containing it as both the blog and this example are describing the concept Idea Fractal.

So an Idea Fractal is mean to describe the isomorphism of a mathematical fractal like the Mandelbrot Fractal to the network of isomorphic relations between ideas within the mind.

And yes this is the most far-out-blog I’ve written so far.

This blog may be viewed as a follow-up blog concerning the subject of ideas. Let’s in this context define the concept “Idea Fractal” as a pattern connecting any number of ideas into a more significant whole. I would advice anyone reading this to read my prior blog and to have an basic understanding about fractal geometry and the isomorphism between fractal geometry and most things imaginable.

Imagine one of these idea fractals leading up to an idea you’d like to pursue, but the idea is at this point only a concept in your imagination, you know what you want to achive but you don’t know how to get there. The first step here would be to make a thorough visualization of your idea, this visualization will spur another idea fractal based on the idea fractal that lead you to this point. One way of viewing it would be to assume both idea fractals to be one and the same, which technically would be true. However, while the first idea fractal took you to the realization on what you want to do, the idea fractal spurred by your visualization will be more oriented on how you’re going to get there.

This is a very crucial step towards reaching your idea, having an idea is the easy part, getting there requires a lot more work. Not to be discouraged though! Visualization is a huge part in this process and mastering this art will most certainly be helpful in more than one way.

There are methods and tools one can use to visualize ideas and as I’m writing this blog I’m realizing that I should probably write a blog explaining these methods and tools next. I will, however focus on the more abstract part of the process in this blog.

So what does it really mean to visualize something? I will again refer to the mentation as something fractal, for visualizing something usually starts with imagining your idea in relation to where you are or what you have right now. Once you’ve tasted the end idea your mind will start planning on how to get there, this process is both complex and trainable.

Our mind likes to exist in reality, where anything imaginable will mostly be based on your current attributes and skills. This is a rather ineffective way to visualize something as it limits your imagination to your own human core, instead of the possibilities in this world.

To effectively visualize something you need to drop your immediate reason and use your imagination as far as you can take it. You need to imagine every needed aspect to make your idea a reality, and the key here is to imagine aspects which you have no clue on how to fulfill. The usual trap is to only imagine aspects you feel comfortable in handling, but that is a limitation that will cause you serious set backs in your process of visualization.

I would define visualization as a process aimed at defining an abstract structure and plan on how to achieve your idea or goal. We do this by imagining every possible aspect needed for your idea based on the end goal and not your own attributes and skills. It is very important to think outside ones own little box to do this right.

I did in a prior blog explain the conscious and the subconscious as different sets of algorithms used to access and process the information flow within the human mind, I’m going to further elaborate on this in a new direction trying to explain the generation of ideas.

Everyone can relate to the sensation of having an idea, it can be a small one or a big one. It may concern the very present or the distant future, it may concern your self or humanity as a whole. Many ideas are thrown away into forgetfulness due to various circumstances, we may think they’re unachievable, that they’re obvious, or just too insignificant. For whatever reason we throw away our ideas I think it’s a big mistake. I believe we can train our minds to become a lot more creative by just humoring our ideas, however insignificant or obvious the may seem.

Think of a really great idea you’ve had, concerning whatever subject. Now try to remember and understand how you got that idea. Chances are that it’s based on other less significant ideas and understandings which you didn’t give much notice.

Let’s view the concept “idea” as rather wide and include the concept “understanding” in it as an understanding is an idea about a specific subject.

I argue that the mechanism behind the formation of ideas is a fractal motion within our minds, we form them all the time, and at certain points in time due to various circumstances the mind find new synergies between these small and probably insignificant ideas, what then happens is that a larger more significant idea is formed based on your prior ideas. We could imagining us continuing this pattern by forming even larger and more significant ideas by letting the mind find synergies amongst the larger (as well as the smaller) ideas. The more ideas we have stored in our minds the more information flow can be used as a basis for new ideas.

So the mind form more significant ideas by finding synergies between the less significant ideas, this ongoing loop can take you far if you just let it happen. My reasoning here is that we should improve upon our ability to pay attention when ideas we deem unworthy or obvious take place inside us, don’t forget that what is obvious for you might not be obvious to someone else, and even if it’s obvious to everyone it’s still an idea which can be used in future synergies to form other ideas.

It might be the case that you don’t wish to share your ideas, especially not the ones you deem obvious or insignificant, and that’s understandable. But keep a record of your ideas for your self, just the act of writing them down both stores the idea in your memory and encourages your mind to elaborate on it. Your subconscious mind will work hard without you even noticing it on your acknowledged ideas if you just give it the opportunity.

Of course all this happens all the time within us as an automated process, but imagine if you could double the output of this mechanism simply by being more aware of it and training it?

Some of the influences behind the ideas of this blog are:
Isomorphisms between systems and meanings
(As explained in GEB – Gödel, Escher Bach)
Fractal Geometry (Especially the visualization of the Mandelbrot Fractal)
Ogden’s Triangle (As explained in “Att mena och mäta samma sak“)
Awareness on how my idea for Handelsoasen was formed (Which is secret for now)

Fear sure is interesting, it hinders us from subjecting our selves to dangerous situations like climbing mountains, going to war or driving too fast.

But wait a minute, people do those things all the time right? People are so obsessed with this emotion of fear that they can get obsessed with conquering it, like with a drug they get addicted to subjecting them selves to more and more dangerous situations just to feel the thrill of conquering their own fear.

Let’s be honest here, humanity is a race of conquers. We conquer in all forms and styles but we live for conquest none the less, we find this fact everywhere, even in our entertainment. World of Warcraft is probably the most popular game of all times, because it’s based on conquest.

Fear comes in all shapes and forms, we’re afraid not only of life threatening situations but of approaching love, or just speaking fondly of our own abilities. We can get so afraid that some of us can’t even face this comfortable western world we’ve been gifted with. The pressure of this luxurious world can be so high that we kill our selves just because we’re afraid of not living up to it’s expectations.

Most people of the western world seem to be so dependent on it’s comforts that they wouldn’t know what to do without them, and so they’re afraid to take risks that might compromise their comforts. As a result of this fear many people never live their dreams, they never do what they always wanted because they’re afraid to lose what they’ve got.

Having a good self-esteem is of course a huge factor in living an enriching life, but some people have so bad self-esteem that they simply don’t see any point in living out their dreams, they believe them selves to be so worthless or so hopeless that they could never reach their goal or their dream anyway. They’re afraid of failure.

Let’s think about this for a minute. “Afraid of failure”. Why are people afraid to fail? There’s not a single human being in this world who hasn’t failed on one occasion or another! Most people fail plenty of times in their lifetime. Why is it that some of us are so desperately afraid of failure that they just don’t bother trying, they seriously seem to believe that they’d be happier not trying than to face the risk of failure.

This is a very passionate subject for me and it’s probably apparent in my way of writing. I’ve known and I know people who are so afraid of failure that they just don’t bother trying. I can see their potential, especially one of them is just so tremendously gifted, she could go far and be an amazing asset to this world. She doesn’t see it because she feels hopeless, she doesn’t even want to try.

We’re pressuring our selves and those around us to such a degree that they mentally shut down. All in the name of conquest!…?

I’ve managed to conquer a lot of fears recently and I still have many to conquer. Publicly writing down my thoughts in this blog was actually one of my fears. Not so much start a blog as really writing about what I’m walking around thinking about day out and day in, they’re personal thoughts and I didn’t want to share them except with those very few people being close to me.

I would suggest to anyone that they ask their fears to literally fuck off! Share your thoughts and more importantly, follow your dreams and live your life precisely as you want it to be. It’s within your grasp, but I can assure you that fear will work against it.

Should we listen to our fears or to our dreams?