Tag: predictive processing

A theory of how the brain works which holds that the mind is fundamentally a prediction machine: rather than passively receiving sensory data, it constantly generates a model of the world and only attends to the "prediction errors" where reality diverges from expectation. On this view perception, action, and even emotion are all attempts to minimise surprise, which reframes much of what we mean by consciousness. It has been popularised in the rationalist orbit by Scott Alexander, and it dovetails with affective forecasting: if our brains predict feelings as readily as sights, our expectations help construct the experiences we then have.