patterning systems

Hello

I have not blogged in awhile.  I have tried to turn over a new leaf however some days life seems to get in the way.  Repatterning takes awhile with lots of repetition, practice and persistence. Obviously I am going to need quite a bit of this.  Life is filled with lots of new surprises and things to do.  The biggest surprise as a first time mother is a thing called teething.  Sleepless nights, a grisly baby … so persistence it is. With that also comes lots of play, laughter and new learning moments … it is wonderful to watch a  baby play while developing new pathways and patterns.

We are interested in how this work and Edward de Bono's first book Mechanism of Mind is about how the brain forms patterns, how thinking works and how we can improve it.

Susan

What does the brain do?

The brain is the seat of our consciousness and intellect. We use it to understand the world and ourselves. The brain allows us to feel, see, smell and speak. It also allows us to think. It is the bridge between our inner world and the outer world. It is the receiver and processor of everything we sense and experience – whether physical, emotional or intellectual. Our thoughts, understanding and intellect are the result of brainwork. Work, which is the product of a flexible and dynamic, yet complex, self-organising system.

How come?

Most information systems, including computers, are passive in nature. Data is recorded and processed but remains inactive – it does not change the process applied to it. The brain is different. There are two types of information systems: a passive system and an active system.

The brain is an active system. It organises itself. It does not require an operator or a disc drive. It is constantly rewriting its own “files”. Every new piece of information changes and expands them. When data is received, neural networks organise it into patterns. These patterns are then used to identify and process future data.

As information comes in the patterns grow. They are asymmetric: spreading out like the branches of a tree or river. When rain falls on a landscape it eventually gets organised into streams and rivers. It also adds to the volume of water already there. Similarly, new information and experiences are identified and organised according to the brain’s self-built patterning system.

Patterns

As we go through life, puzzle out problems and gain experience, we store up patterns that work well for us. In new situations, we automatically try to match what we experience with what we know and select an appropriate pattern from our storehouse. Over time, our thinking can remain trapped within our existing patterns of thought.

David Perkins, a Professor of Education at Harvard University explains: “This story is about a forty-five foot, eight-ton dead whale washed up on an Oregon beach. Local authorities faced the problem of getting rid of the carcass. They decide to dynamite it, expecting it would pulverise. The pieces would be eaten by sea gulls or at least be easily removed. Instead, the dynamite exploded the whale into huge chunks of blubber, one of which crushed a nearby car. Fortunately, the spectators only suffered a rain of small globs of blubber on their heads. This story catches us with our intellectual pants down. Although an exploding whale might work, it might go wildly wrong; there is something to be said for a trial run on a small part like the tail.

It reminds us that people often so not think very well because or a weakness in our patterning system.” Our patterning system works well most of the time; it helps us to function efficiently in the light of our experiences. Nevertheless, the system has a fault: the tendency to respond hastily and less appropriately when a situation is complex or new. This fault is due to the way our minds work.

What is the problem?

In routine situations, we behave intuitively. We cope well because we have learned our way through a set of circumstances, much as we know our way around a familiar town. Unfortunately, more subtle and unfamiliar situations can reveal the limits of our savvy. Our thinking tends to be hasty, stereotyped, fuzzy in detail and somewhat disorganised. How do we direct our thinking and set up new patterns or redirect old ones? We need to pay attention to how we think. Typically, our thinking falls into ruts. To bump our thinking out of these ruts, we need strategies to find more fruitful paths and create new patterns. Good thinking practice needs commitment and strategy. We need appropriate tools and time to think about thinking. Time to work our brains in a more broad and adventurous, clear and organised way.

The three types of thinking…

Our brains are capable of three types of thought. Each has a different neural basis.

One kind of neural organization enables us to do rational, logical thinking, bound by rules.

Another kind allows us to think in patterns, using judgement, habit and gut feeling.

The third kind makes it possible for us to do creative thinking that makes rules but also breaks them. This is the thinking, which allows us to transform our previous thinking.

Our thinking is influenced by our daily experiences, our physical and mental health, our diet, the exercise we take, the relationships we form and our environment.