Vectors of Mind

Vectors of Mind explores the intersections of machine learning, psychometrics, and ancient human cultures to understand the development of consciousness, personality, and language. It examines myths, rituals, and psychological concepts through data analysis, suggesting global cultural diffusion and the role of gender and genetics in shaping human self-awareness.

Machine Learning Psychometrics Ancient Human Cultures Consciousness Development Language Evolution Gender and Genetics Global Cultural Diffusion Mythology and Rituals Personality Theories Natural Language Processing

The hottest Substack posts of Vectors of Mind

And their main takeaways

Why did male initiation rituals diffuse globally?

432 implied HN points • 14 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Mythology Rituals
  1. Creation myths, snake worship, and male initiation rituals share a common root.
  2. Initiation rituals teach men about culture through death and rebirth, often traced back to origin myths.
  3. Bullroarers and initiation ceremonies globally suggest remarkable unity among human cultures.

Eve Theory of Consciousness (v2)

825 implied HN points • 10 May 23
🔬 Science Psychology Genetics Neuroscience
  1. Women may have evolved recursion before men, based on prehistoric myths and societal structures.
  2. The downsides and challenges of recursion may have led to unique pathways for human development.
  3. Gendered differences in genetic, cognitive, and cultural factors could have influenced the evolution of self-awareness and recursion in humans.

The Snake Cult of Consciousness

825 implied HN points • 16 Jan 23
  1. The concept of 'self' may have been discovered and diffused memetically via psychedelic rituals, leading to a fundamental change in human psychology.
  2. The snake worship and rituals associated with self-awareness spread globally around 15,000 years ago, potentially linked to the invention of agriculture.
  3. Universal myths and symbols, such as those involving snakes, across different cultures suggest diffusion of significant beliefs and practices, shaping human history and consciousness.

Evidence for global cultural diffusion

393 implied HN points • 15 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Mythology Rituals
  1. There are strong similarities in cultural elements around the world that suggest global diffusion of ideas.
  2. Themes like the Seven Sisters, snake mythology, and matriarchy myths can be traced back to a common root.
  3. The Gravettian and Mal'ta Buret peoples from 20-30 kya show signs of practices that spread globally, like dog domestication and initiation rituals.

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Pronouns

491 implied HN points • 22 Feb 23
🔬 Science Linguistics
  1. The distribution of pronouns worldwide shows strong similarities, suggesting a common origin or diffusion around 15,000 years ago.
  2. The existence of globally similar pronouns challenges the idea that self-awareness and language evolution go back more than 8,000 years.
  3. An examination of pronouns in different language families supports the theory that self-awareness and linguistic features may have spread at around the Holocene period.
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The Y Chromosome Bottleneck

314 implied HN points • 29 May 23
🔬 Science Genetics Evolution Human behavior Anthropology
  1. Men and women think differently, and there may have been a moment in history where men had to 'catch up' on self-awareness and language.
  2. Recent genetic research suggests a bottleneck on the Y chromosome, indicating possible massive selection in the recent past.
  3. The Y chromosome bottleneck coincided with cultural changes and patrilineal competition, shedding light on human male demographic history.

Contra d'Huy on Snake Myths

196 implied HN points • 26 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Mythology Archaeology
  1. Oral histories and myths may not necessarily last 100,000 years, suggesting a more recent origin.
  2. Serpent and dragon myths around the world are remarkably similar, indicating a potential recent diffusion rather than a shared root from 100,000 years ago.
  3. Contrary to the idea that myths can last 100,000 years, the emergence and diffusion of myths like serpent myths likely started around 30,000 years ago and accelerated during the Holocene.

EQ > IQ

176 implied HN points • 04 Aug 23
🔬 Science Intelligence Evolution Psychometrics Language Genetics
  1. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is argued to be more fundamental to human evolution and the 'Good Life' than Intelligence Quotient (IQ), despite being harder to measure.
  2. Traits exist both as idealized forms and measurable approximations through psychological instruments like surveys, but the accuracy of these measurements is limited.
  3. The General Factor of Personality (GFP) is emphasized as a more fundamental concept than the general factor of intelligence (g), with language reflecting its importance and complexity.

The Eve Theory of Consciousness

314 implied HN points • 02 Dec 22
  1. Consciousness is a unique event with extraordinary ramifications, triggering a phase change in creativity, planning, and the search for meaning.
  2. The Sapient Paradox questions the abrupt emergence of modern human behavior and the lack of significant lifestyle changes worldwide until the Human Revolution.
  3. The Eve Theory of Consciousness proposes that self-awareness, abstract thought, and consciousness spread globally around 15,000 years ago, affecting human evolution and cultural development.

Personality around the world

216 implied HN points • 16 Mar 23
🔬 Science Psychometrics Language Models Personality Traits
  1. Personality models show consistent traits across languages, especially the Big Two: social self-regulation and dynamism.
  2. Understanding personality across languages requires bilingual cohorts or careful translations, as words may not have direct equivalents.
  3. Research suggests that analyzing language models in multiple languages could lead to a universal model of personality, potentially superior to the Big Five.

Consequences of Conscience

353 implied HN points • 16 Aug 22
  1. The development of inner speech may have been a mechanism for capturing reciprocal altruism.
  2. Humans may have initially experienced auditory hallucinations of societal demands.
  3. Altruism in humans could have been a result of enforcing altruistic norms within a group rather than strong group selection.

Primary Factor of Personality (part 1)

314 implied HN points • 26 Jul 22
  1. Personality models like the Big Five are important but may not explain personality dynamics or development.
  2. The primary factor of personality, also known as the Golden Rule or General Factor of Personality (GFP), is a key aspect with significance in various studies and debates.
  3. Analyzing personality through word-level data and the Lexical Hypothesis can provide valuable insights beyond traditional psychometric instruments.

The Big Five are word vectors

393 implied HN points • 17 Mar 22
  1. The Big Five are dimensions of word vectors
  2. Lexical studies in psychology and Latent Semantic Analysis in computer science are mathematically equivalent
  3. Steps for using word vectors are collecting a word x document count matrix, nonlinear transformation, matrix decomposition, and rotation

Mystery Factors Revisited

176 implied HN points • 24 Aug 22
  1. The post revisits mystery factors derived from word loadings and their qualitative nature.
  2. Different sources like word vectors and surveys are used to understand and name these factors.
  3. The factors include characteristics like conscientiousness, openness, and other psychological constructs.

In the Beginning was the Word

157 implied HN points • 06 May 22
  1. All personality constructs are described by words at some point and are often compared in academic psychology.
  2. Word vectors provide a more direct way to compare constructs without involving subjects, potentially reducing bias.
  3. Using word space for analysis can offer advantages like being connected to real social reality and having a lower statistical barrier to entry.

Comments on Snake Venom

58 implied HN points • 20 Jan 23
  1. Snake venom may have psychoactive effects, leading to experiences like dizziness and euphoria.
  2. Ancient cultures like the Assyrians had knowledge of using beer and herbs as anti-venom for snake bites.
  3. The theory proposes a connection between snake venom, self-awareness, and ancient myths, suggesting a potential role in human cognitive evolution.

Guess the factor

137 implied HN points • 12 May 22
  1. This post introduces a personality test that challenges readers to identify mystery factors based on word associations
  2. The exercise highlights the challenge of reducing complex psychological concepts into easily understandable terms
  3. The post provides examples of word associations for two mystery factors for readers to analyze

Welcome to the blog

117 implied HN points • 09 Mar 22
  1. The blog focuses on Machine Learning Psychometrics and using word vectors to derive the Big Five personality traits.
  2. Viewing personality through natural language processing is a way to explore ideas like how narcissism relates to religiosity.
  3. The goal is to have biweekly blog posts while navigating the challenges of balancing work and academic commitments.