Low-entropy state
A low-entropy state is way to suppress uncertainty in the human brain that is superior to a high-entropy state and which emerged with the evolution of the default mode network and the left hemisphere. The default mode network is absent or undeveloped in lower animals and young children, and babies and children are more reliant on the right hemisphere than the left. A low-entropy state involves the processes in which Our left hemisphere unconsciously focuses on only a select few of the sensory signals it receives that it considers important, and also how the left hemisphere prioritizes things that it already knows and expects. Along with the default mode network and left hemisphere, a coherent sense of self or ‘ego’ emerges and, with that, the human capacity for self-reflection and reason. Magical thinking gives way to a more reality-bound style of thinking, governed by the ego.
This more highly evolved mode of cognition may also be called secondary consciousness. Secondary consciousness pays deference to reality and diligently seeks to represent the world as precisely as possible in order to minimize surprise and uncertainty. However, if our capacity to impose order onto experience becomes overbearing, it may narrow cognition. At its extreme, a low-entropy state may lead to Idolatry; addiction; obsessive-compulsive disorder; depression; anesthesia; and, finally, coma.
References
- Pollan, Micheal. (2018). How to Change Your Mind Chapter 5. The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Psychedelics (Location 4262). New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Psychology / Biology / Neuroscience / Neuropsychology Status:⛅️