Back to Topics │ ⇐ Back │ Start: Relativity & Reaction│ Next ⇒
Nerd Cheat Sheets: –
The Chemical Limitations of the Cortex, Development of the Mind, To Bias or not to be Biased
Our six physical senses bring information from the outside world to update our inner understanding of what is going on. Our perceived reality and the actual reality depend on how we interpret that data and formulate a response to it. The abstract senses—such as a sense of time, mathematics, or social awareness—add context. Our ability to add context directly influences our survival.
This chapter extends our understanding of bias into the territory of emotion and belief — where internal triggers shape external behaviour.
At the root of this process lies the skill of pattern recognition. Over evolutionary time, as DNA has changed and organisms have adapted, the ability to recognize patterns has also evolved. This is largely a System 1 type of activity—fast, automatic, and subconscious. The fundamental challenge of identifying “what’s out there” is present in all branches of life that rely on sensory input. In birds and humans this capacity has reached a high level of refinement. In humans, much of this processing takes place in the newer cortical regions of the brain, particularly the visual cortex in the occipital lobe, which is large to accommodate the immense task of visual pattern processing.
Climbing stairs, recognizing patterns, reading, and writing are all examples of skills that rely on this integration between automatic and conscious systems. Writing, for example, provides constant feedback via the eyes—our primary source of pattern recognition. The conscious, analytical System 2 thinking formulates what is to be written next, while System 1 handles the coordinated motion of the hands forming the words on the page.
When we enter a state of flow, we are deeply engaged with the activity, often losing awareness of our surroundings. In this state, our concentration narrows to the task at hand, and we may tune out distractions, even in noisy environments. Yet in this same state we become vulnerable to surprise—I’ve often found myself jumping out of my skin when someone speaks to me while I’m absorbed in writing.
That sudden jolt is the startle response—a reflex evolved to momentarily shock a potential attacker and reduce the effectiveness of an attack. This mutual surprise is visible in both the startled person and the one who caused it. The reaction involves rapid activation of the amygdala (the brain’s fear center), hypothalamus, and motor pathways, and often ends with an embarrassed smile from both parties.
The startle response is the body’s way of ensuring that critical sensory information is not missed. When we are deeply focused, certain physical senses are effectively “turned down.” The brain maintains an emergency alert system that can override attention and demand immediate awareness. Such reflexes—like pulling a hand away from a hot surface—are accompanied by the release of stress chemicals such as adrenaline, preparing the body for fight or flight.
Brain’s chemistry influences our demeanour and manifests as mood from the limbic system’s chemistry. Emotion is then layers over it in the cortex. This expanded in:
Cheat Sheet: The Chemical Limitation of the Cortex
Our physical senses form the connection to the real world, and each is wired into the brain with its own “emergency stop” circuit—mechanisms that divert attention instantly to the point of physical discomfort or danger.
Up to this point in Relativity and Reaction, we’ve discussed abstract processes such as mathematics and time—activities that run quietly in the background of thought, without setting off any alarms. We have also touched on abstract senses associated with:
- Hierarchy: Who leads, who follows—and why.
- Possession: Who owns what—and how we recognize ownership.
- Security: How the group protects or threatens individuals.
- Ritual: What customs and signals keep the system stable.
How do these abstract senses function and where are they controlled? They primarily involve the cortex, the brain’s outer layer, where pattern recognition also resides. The cortical “hardware” is a vast network of neurons, but the distinction between physical and abstract processing lies not in the hardware itself, but in the programming—the learned patterns of connection. In a sense, everything the cortex does is a variation of pattern recognition.
Establishing abstract skills and senses from birth and their part in generating our emotions are describe in:
Cheat Sheet Development of the Mind
The six physical senses are connected by direct neural pathways and can trigger chemical releases that shift body state instantly. The abstract senses, by contrast, work through chemical communication alone—neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine—which influence mood, motivation, and attention. These systems may not have physical “alarms,” but they can still bias our perception, heighten awareness, or create emotional signals that draw our focus inward rather than outward.
As a chemical engineer, I have a feel for residence time—the time it takes to flush a contaminant from a fluid system. It also describes system latency: it takes a significant impulse to make the system respond, but once it does, it takes time to settle back down. The same concept applies to brain chemistry. A surge in emotion—adrenaline, cortisol, or dopamine—cannot simply be switched off. It must decay or be metabolized, and this recovery period defines how long a mood lasts. Emotion becomes the signal that something inside us believes a consequence matters.
I once took part in a life-balance seminar at my last employer. As part of it, I volunteered to be the central person for a particular exercise. I had to write down my concerns and worries on individual pieces of paper. The other participants took the sheets, stood in a circle around me, and began to read them aloud in random order, speaking over one another. It was a strange and enlightening moment. It felt as though my head were outside my body—hearing my own thoughts spoken aloud as real voices, but not in the familiar tone I hear internally.
Next, I reordered my concerns around the circle in descending priority, and the group read them again—this time in order, without speaking over each other. The effect was remarkable: an immediate sense of calm. The noise in my head subsided for a time.
This led me to think that there is a kind of background noise constantly running—processes idling in the brain, vying for attention but without clear priority. In flow, that noise also disappears. The question is: how does one of those background thoughts break through and demand full attention? Something must trigger it.
A Personal Example
I’ve always had a passion for cars. Years ago, I owned a VW Corrado, a brilliant little coupe. But here’s the thing: I only read the reviews that praised it. That wasn’t hard—most magazines did. I also had a strong bias toward buying VW in the first place, and those magazines were written for readers who already loved small sports coupes. The compromises compared with other types of cars were rarely mentioned.
My bias didn’t go unnoticed. Friends and colleagues picked up on it, and it became a running joke—one that followed me from marriage into fatherhood. Eventually, family life forced the decision: the Corrado had to go. My biases had postponed the inevitable, and I was lucky the car was solid. Otherwise, I would have brushed aside any valid critique, convincing myself it didn’t apply to me. Looking back, I remember that defensive flush whenever anyone challenged my choice.
Here I’ve revealed part of my belief system. When something either supports or challenges it, it draws my attention—both consciously and subconsciously. This is a function of my pattern-recognition system and related abstract senses. They alert me that a belief is being questioned or reinforced, and the alarm takes the form of an emotion.
In the past, a colleague might have joked about the “family-friendliness” of the Corrado to get a reaction. In those moments, while engaged in conversation, I could feel that subtle inner dread rising—a small but clear emotional alarm. In most civil settings, I’ve learned to moderate my response to that feeling, but it lingers beneath the surface. My colleagues did it in good fun—it was a way of saying I see you without any pretense. And that, in essence, is how our value systems communicate with us.
Cheat Sheet To Bias or not to be Biased is an exploration of Bias and how the meaning differs when referring to a mechanical engineering system and ChatGPT to the association of error or prejudice.
It contrasts the good that bias plays in mechanical systems and in system 1 type thinking while acknowledging the limitations that such systems have without free thinking intervention.
Cheat Sheet To Bias or not to be Biased
Edition 01.01 02.12.2025
📖 Series Roadmap
- Forward: A Little Background
- Introduction: Action, Reaction, and the Human Paradox (16.09.2025)
- Looking Back in Time: The Development of the Human Brain (23.09.2025)
- Abstract Senses: Enhancing the way we see the world outside (30.09.2025)
- Bias as a Concept & Climbing the Stairs: Pattern Recognition & Everyday Tasks (07.10.2025)
- Abstract Feelings and Abstract Senses (14.10.2025)
- Motivation (04.11.2025)
- The Social Knowledge Base (11.11.2025)
- Potential (18.11.2025)
- The Subliminal Way We Go Through Life (26.11.2025)
- Taking Responsibility (02.12.2025)
- Fishing for Complements (22.12.2025)
- Peter and Fermi (22.12.2025)
🔗 R&R Navigation
Back to Topics │ ⇐ Back │ Start: Relativity & Reaction│ Next ⇒
Nerd Cheat Sheets: –
The Chemical Limitations of the Cortex, Development of the Mind, To Bias or not to be Biased
Take a Second Thought 
Leave a comment