[Jenny]

Oh, too much information my head is spinning! Great article Steve.

A couple of things I’m having some trouble understanding though. I can understand how my perceptions become internal representations, get matched to other like representations and stored with similar representations. Where I get confused as I read this is with the definition of invariant representations. If invariant means unchanging (and perhaps I am just being too literal in my reading of this) I don’t understand later in the article when Steve writes “You’ll experience some of your biggest a-ha breakthroughs when your mind finally classifies an old memory into a new invariant representation”.

If one of the core concepts is that a particular representation is unchanging this doesn’t make sense to me, although it does make sense if I am just reading this wrong and what is really being said is that a new, and perhaps stronger, invariant representation has been created which directly impacts the existing one and the end result is a new matching of representations leading to new understandings.

Or is this exactly what Mark was getting at by noting that beliefs are opinions about reality not necessarily the representations themselves??

Originally Posted by Mark Lapierre

But beliefs are opinions about reality, in other words opinions about those representations. They would be retained as invariant representations, but that doesn't mean all invariant representations are beliefs.

If so, is this a clue as to how knowledge would be stored as “hierarchically organized” invariant representations? By this I mean if knowledge is always being gathered some of it consciously and some of it subconsciously how does the mind determine just where to store it hierarchically? Would perceptions be stored at a lower level than beliefs for example or would hierarchy be determined by the number of associated representations already existing?

Originally Posted by theknightwhosaysni-NI

It makes sense to me that beliefs are stored as invariant representations, but that not all invariant representations are belief, as you say.
I understand the concept of invariant representation is slightly different than belief, as it is more about understanding and learning, looking for sense in the patterns we experience in life. I still have to think about it though.

Or am I just simply mixed up?