Another attempt to clarify the nature of subjective experience—as a property of an adaptive response to significant novelty.
This is a vivid, popular explanation of qualia according to the MVAP theory (fornit.ru/71218).
The problem is not that we have subjective experiences—we do so constantly and unconsciously—but rather that we must explain, understand, and model what they actually are.
Our subjective experience is not what we "see" on an “inner screen.” Instead, it is how we—as the egocentric operator—feel the tension of choice when habitual automatisms break down and the system must find a new solution. For example: you're walking down the street and suddenly realize your wallet is missing. That moment of tension—Should I call the police? Search myself? Go back?—is exactly this tension of choice.
The Infocard (fornit.ru/68540) is the “operations center” where the situation is monitored and interpreted—the place where each frame is an updated context for the next adaptive step.
The Essence of Subjective Experience (According to the MVAP Theory)
Subjective experience is not a “thing”—it is a process: it is the dynamic updating of egocentric significance during the attempt to find an adaptive action under conditions of significant novelty.
In brief: Experience is how the Egostat “feels” uncertainty and motivational tension when a familiar automatism fails and an alternative must be sought.
The word “tension” in this context is not a metaphor and not a physiological term—it is a precise functional description of the system’s state when it encounters significant novelty without a ready automatism.
Tension is the subjective form of a motivational state that arises when:
The system (Egostat) encounters novelty,
This novelty has high significance (threat or potential benefit),
But there is no ready, tested automatism (a “Noreflex”) to respond.
At that moment, the system doesn’t know how to act—but it must choose, or else vital parameters (Vitals) will be at risk. Tension is the experience of uncertainty weighted by responsibility.
In the MVAP model, the term “tension” reflects the dynamics of informational search under decision-making conditions.
Imagine walking along a familiar path—everything is habitual, automated, and tension-free. Suddenly, a pit opens before you, and beyond it, a person in distress.
You can’t just walk forward (the automatism is broken),
You can’t just walk away (high significance—the need to help another, possibly your extended “Self”),
But you have no ready solution: jump? find a bridge? call for help?
That moment—when the brain “hangs” between conflicting impulses yet must decide—is subjective tension.
This tension is what people call “volitional effort”—the very act that enables meaning-making. It is the manifestation of volition. Tension is not an emotion—it is how the system experiences the voluntary search for a solution under significant uncertainty. It does not interfere with consciousness—it is the active phase of consciousness.
If the stimulus is familiar → automatic response → no experience.
If the stimulus is novel and important → Iteron activates → experience arises.
Analogies
Analogy 1: Pilot with Autopilot Imagine you’re a pilot.
During routine flight, autopilot (automatisms, Noreflexes) controls the plane.
You gaze out the window, chat on the radio—no tension, no experience.
Suddenly:
An oddly shaped cloud appears.
Radar shows nothing (no stable pattern).
But memory recalls: “That cloud preceded severe turbulence → significance = –7.”
You switch to manual control (Aten). You feel tension, doubt; you check instruments, recall training. This is subjective experience: not the image of the cloud, but the feeling of risk, uncertainty, and the need to choose.
Experience is not the cloud. Experience is switching to manual control under uncertainty.
Analogy 2: Compass, Not Map People often say consciousness is a “map of the world.” But that doesn’t explain experience. Better: Subjective experience is the working of a compass that indicates the direction of significance in the current context.
The compass doesn’t draw terrain.
It doesn’t measure distances.
It simply shows: “This way—safer,” “That way—more rewarding.”
You see an unfamiliar berry:
Your visual system gives you an image.
But experience arises only when the compass trembles, because: a. “Looks like blackcurrant (+6)… but leaves resemble wolfsbane (–9)…” b. Conflict of significances → motivational tension → experience.
Experience is not sensory data. It is the instability of the significance compass during hypothesis conflict.
Analogy 3: Living Journal Instead of a Black Box Imagine the adaptive system not as a program, but as a program with a living journal.
Every action is accompanied by an entry: “Image: berry. Conditions: forest, July. Attempt: ate it. Result: nausea. Significance: –8.”
Next time, it’s not just a reflex—it’s reading the journal: “Ah, this image in these conditions = poison.”
Subjective experience is the moment the system reads its journal in real time to decide: “Is it worth the risk?” → this is awareness of significance.
No journal (like in insects) → only reflexes.
Journal exists but isn’t consulted (routine situation) → no experience.
Journal is actively being read → experience arises.
Experience is not memory. Experience is using memory for survival.
What Is Subjective Experience?
Subjective experience is not an “inner image” or an “inner voice.” It is how a living system feels significance at the moment when a familiar automatism fails and novelty demands a decision.
Experience arises when you don’t yet know how to respond, but already understand how important it is.
Core Analogy: “The Movie of Consciousness”
Imagine your subjective perception as an interactive film you’re directing in real time.
Each “frame” is a moment of awareness, containing: a. What you see/hear/feel, b. An emotion (tension, joy, anxiety), c. The action you just took or are planning, d. Meaning: “This is good for me” or “This is dangerous.”
The Director is not “you” as a personality, but an innate mechanism (Dispatcheron) that: a. Selects the most relevant frame (based on: Novelty × Significance), b. Updates the Infocard (context), c. Decides what frame to shoot next.
The Actor is the “I”—not as an entity, but as an egocentric reference point: everything is evaluated from the standpoint of my survival.
The Archive is episodic memory: each frame is saved with its context—conditions, significance, action result. Later, you can “replay” these frames and update their meaning.
Experience is not the image. It is the feeling of filming: tension of choice, uncertainty, followed by clarity.
Alternative Analogies (for Different Thinking Styles)
Computer with a Monitor
Without a monitor, the computer runs—but you don’t see what’s happening.
The Infocard is the monitor of consciousness.
Subjective experience is not the image on screen, but your understanding: “This is an error,” “This is success,” “This is a threat.” → Limitation: A monitor is passive. The Infocard is active—it participates in deciding what to do next.
Compass of Significance
The compass doesn’t show a map—it shows direction.
When everything is familiar, the compass is silent.
When novelty appears, the compass “trembles”: “This could be dangerous or beneficial!”
Experience is that tremor: a signal to stop and think.
Living Journal
At every moment, the system writes: “Saw a berry. Resembles raspberry (+6), but leaves like nightshade (–9). Should I test it?”
Experience is not the berry, but the internal dialogue with the journal: “Last time, a berry like this…”
Key Principles for Understanding
No experience without novelty. Routine actions (walking, breathing, drinking coffee) are automated—not experienced.
No experience without significance. If a stimulus doesn’t affect your vital state (Vitals), it doesn’t attract attention or enter awareness.
Experience is dynamic, not static. It arises during the search for alternatives, not after the action is complete.
Egocentricity is foundational. Everything is evaluated relative to me: “Is this beneficial or harmful to me?” → This is not selfishness—it’s a condition for survival.
Why This Matters
Consciousness is not a mystery—it’s an adaptive function.
Qualia are not mystical—they’re the form in which a system experiences its own uncertainty.
The model is explainable, algorithmizable, and implementable—both in biology and in AI.
Summary in 10 Seconds
Subjective experience is the feeling of motivational tension that arises when encountering significant novelty—when old responses fail and new ones haven’t yet been found.
Connection to the MVAP Theory
Key elements:
Infocard is the workspace containing: a. Current percept, b. Active Vitals, c. Emotional context, d. Goal, e. Memory-based hypotheses.
Iteron is the editor of this workspace: it deletes, adds, and compares elements.
Subjective experience is the feeling of editing: not what’s on the desk, but the tension of uncertainty—“Am I placing this correctly?”
Subjective experience is not a “picture inside your head.” It is the feeling of solving a life-relevant problem. It arises not from the stimulus itself, but from uncertainty about which action to take when the stakes are high.
And this is not background noise—it is the core regulator of adaptivity: Without it, you’re an automaton. With it, you’re a living being.
Final Tip for Clarification
If someone says, “I don’t understand what experience is,” ask them to recall a moment when they saw something both strange and important:
An unfamiliar letter from the bank.
A weird noise in the car on the highway.
Unusual behavior from a loved one.
“That tension, that confusion, that inner ‘What should I do?’ (active mode) or ‘How should I interpret this?’ (passive mode)—that is subjective experience. It is the form in which an autonomous system experiences its openness to the future.”
Nick Fornit Авторизованные пользователи могут оставлять комментарии.
