Joseph J. Trukovich🌀
@recursivedepth.bsky.social
Independent researcher exploring the recursive depths of cognition, intelligence, and physics. Connecting thermodynamics, consciousness, and the origins of complexity.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph-Trukovich?ev=hdr_xprf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph-Trukovich?ev=hdr_xprf
The movement that human intelligence is an innate, self-unfolding property that flourishes best when liberated from the impositions of adult-directed scaffolding is a massive mistake.
November 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The movement that human intelligence is an innate, self-unfolding property that flourishes best when liberated from the impositions of adult-directed scaffolding is a massive mistake.
This aligns with Value Saturation's developmental explanation of internalization of external scaffolds.
New today in @Nature: your visual cortex contains touch-based body maps. bit.ly/VisualBodyMaps
Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.
Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.
November 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
This aligns with Value Saturation's developmental explanation of internalization of external scaffolds.
Intelligence is so much more.
Retraction Watch has covered the problem of the “national IQ” database. Should be noted I’m far from alone in working to remove these publications. The spreadsheet of pubs which use NIQ - linked to in the article - was started by @kohngregory.bsky.social; a project also worked on by Cathryn Townsend
. @rebeccasear.bsky.social is on a mission to get all studies using a database linking #IQ and race retracted. I spoke to her for @retractionwatch.com to find out more: retractionwatch.com/2025/11/25/m...
November 26, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Intelligence is so much more.
New lifespan brain-mapping shows development happens in discrete topological phases—not smooth growth. These turning points align exactly with Value Saturation’s transitions from implicit → scaffolded → explicit recursion. Strong empirical support for the framework.
doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...
doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...
November 25, 2025 at 9:59 PM
New lifespan brain-mapping shows development happens in discrete topological phases—not smooth growth. These turning points align exactly with Value Saturation’s transitions from implicit → scaffolded → explicit recursion. Strong empirical support for the framework.
doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...
doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...
New preprint!
RECURSIVE DEPTH AS A DYNAMICAL INVARIANT: WHY BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ACHIEVE CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS DO NOT
share.google/ZY4na5cGLuFk...
RECURSIVE DEPTH AS A DYNAMICAL INVARIANT: WHY BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ACHIEVE CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS DO NOT
share.google/ZY4na5cGLuFk...
(PDF) RECURSIVE DEPTH AS A DYNAMICAL INVARIANT: WHY BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ACHIEVE CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS DO NOT A
PDF | Intelligence across all forms-from simple reflexes to human self-reflection-can be understood through a single organizing principle: recursive... | Find, read and cite all the research you need ...
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November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
New preprint!
RECURSIVE DEPTH AS A DYNAMICAL INVARIANT: WHY BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ACHIEVE CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS DO NOT
share.google/ZY4na5cGLuFk...
RECURSIVE DEPTH AS A DYNAMICAL INVARIANT: WHY BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ACHIEVE CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS DO NOT
share.google/ZY4na5cGLuFk...
Excited to see this new paper on transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) for probing conscious perception!
It proposes tFUS as a tool for causal tests in consciousness research, targeting deep brain structures with mm precision—beyond TMS limits.
It proposes tFUS as a tool for causal tests in consciousness research, targeting deep brain structures with mm precision—beyond TMS limits.
November 24, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Excited to see this new paper on transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) for probing conscious perception!
It proposes tFUS as a tool for causal tests in consciousness research, targeting deep brain structures with mm precision—beyond TMS limits.
It proposes tFUS as a tool for causal tests in consciousness research, targeting deep brain structures with mm precision—beyond TMS limits.
Only in biological systems do mathematical invariants partake in a unified, valence-laden self-process. Non-biological substrates, while capable of considerable self-organization...
November 24, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Only in biological systems do mathematical invariants partake in a unified, valence-laden self-process. Non-biological substrates, while capable of considerable self-organization...
Perhaps panpsychism confuses the dynamical invariant of recursive depth as consciousness? Yes the "math" (universal patterns of attractors, bifurcations, and multi-timescale hierarchies) provides a substrate-independent blueprint for intelligence....
November 24, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Perhaps panpsychism confuses the dynamical invariant of recursive depth as consciousness? Yes the "math" (universal patterns of attractors, bifurcations, and multi-timescale hierarchies) provides a substrate-independent blueprint for intelligence....
Hmmmm....could I modify this to gauge recursive depth as defined in R2R/VST?
𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲
𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
"...trade-off between cognitive flexibility and stability inherent to dynamical system models of varying complexity."
by S Musslick and A Bizyaeva
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
"...trade-off between cognitive flexibility and stability inherent to dynamical system models of varying complexity."
by S Musslick and A Bizyaeva
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
November 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Hmmmm....could I modify this to gauge recursive depth as defined in R2R/VST?
Screen time shifts the system slightly toward external dependence rather than robust internalization (Stage 3 of Value Saturation), but only mildly, and primarily through its effects on prefrontal cortical maturation and attentional stability.
Screen Time in Tweens Predicts ADHD, Slower Brain Growth
#psychiatry #screentime #ADHD #neurodevelopment 🧪
neurosciencenews.com/screentime-a...
#psychiatry #screentime #ADHD #neurodevelopment 🧪
neurosciencenews.com/screentime-a...
Screen Time in Tweens Predicts ADHD, Slower Brain Growth - Neuroscience News
A large, two-year study of nearly 12,000 children found that higher screen time at ages 9–10 predicts an increase in ADHD symptoms, independent of a child’s starting symptom level.
neurosciencenews.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Screen time shifts the system slightly toward external dependence rather than robust internalization (Stage 3 of Value Saturation), but only mildly, and primarily through its effects on prefrontal cortical maturation and attentional stability.
According to @davidchalmers.bsky.social do not yell at your calculator you might hurt IT'S feelings.
Mattering existed before life, but it took life to give it feeling.
Do not get confused and attribute moral status to intelligence alone.
Mattering existed before life, but it took life to give it feeling.
Do not get confused and attribute moral status to intelligence alone.
a new paper on mind, computation, and identity in large language models. with inspiration from raymond carver (title) and severance (thought experiments).
i'll be talking about this on saturday at the eleos AI conference on AI consciousness and welfare in berkeley.
philpapers.org/rec/CHAWWT-8
i'll be talking about this on saturday at the eleos AI conference on AI consciousness and welfare in berkeley.
philpapers.org/rec/CHAWWT-8
David J. Chalmers, What we talk to when we talk to language models - PhilPapers
When we talk to large language models, who or what is our interlocutor? First, I address some issues about how best to characterize the interlocutor in terms of mental states. Second, ...
philpapers.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
According to @davidchalmers.bsky.social do not yell at your calculator you might hurt IT'S feelings.
Mattering existed before life, but it took life to give it feeling.
Do not get confused and attribute moral status to intelligence alone.
Mattering existed before life, but it took life to give it feeling.
Do not get confused and attribute moral status to intelligence alone.
Novelty generates mattering only when it forces a biologically grounded recursive system to reorganize its internal operations in ways that affect its viability. Value saturation is the process by which novelty is absorbed into the system’s evaluative architecture...
November 20, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Novelty generates mattering only when it forces a biologically grounded recursive system to reorganize its internal operations in ways that affect its viability. Value saturation is the process by which novelty is absorbed into the system’s evaluative architecture...
Support for thermodynamic foundation of biological neural computation. Consciousness requires biological grounding with genuine thermodynamic stakes rather than computational simulation.
Researchers have built and studied a tiny engine in the form of a levitated glass microparticle. The engine’s counterintuitive thermodynamics may help explain the nonequilibrium behavior of various biological systems. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
November 19, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Support for thermodynamic foundation of biological neural computation. Consciousness requires biological grounding with genuine thermodynamic stakes rather than computational simulation.
Value is what emerges when matter achieves stable differentiation, is biologically anchored, and recursively integrates across time.
Feeling is the system's way of remembering these value gradients.
Explicit recursion turns those remembered value-gradients into conscious experience.
Feeling is the system's way of remembering these value gradients.
Explicit recursion turns those remembered value-gradients into conscious experience.
November 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Value is what emerges when matter achieves stable differentiation, is biologically anchored, and recursively integrates across time.
Feeling is the system's way of remembering these value gradients.
Explicit recursion turns those remembered value-gradients into conscious experience.
Feeling is the system's way of remembering these value gradients.
Explicit recursion turns those remembered value-gradients into conscious experience.
This episode dives into one of the most overlooked facts in cognitive science: the brain spends ~95% of its energy on background, “resting” activity—and only ~5% on explicit thinking. Why?
##SciComm
#consciousness
#recursiveintelligence
##PhilMind
open.spotify.com/episode/6vln...
##SciComm
#consciousness
#recursiveintelligence
##PhilMind
open.spotify.com/episode/6vln...
Why Your Brain Burns Sugar to Make a Self
open.spotify.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This episode dives into one of the most overlooked facts in cognitive science: the brain spends ~95% of its energy on background, “resting” activity—and only ~5% on explicit thinking. Why?
##SciComm
#consciousness
#recursiveintelligence
##PhilMind
open.spotify.com/episode/6vln...
##SciComm
#consciousness
#recursiveintelligence
##PhilMind
open.spotify.com/episode/6vln...
Brain metabolism validates the R2R framework: 95% of energy goes to baseline activity (implicit recursion), only 5% to explicit tasks (explicit recursion).
The metabolic costs of cognition: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The metabolic costs of cognition: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The metabolic costs of cognition
Cognition and behavior are emergent properties of brain systems that seek to maximize
complex and adaptive behaviors while minimizing energy utilization. Different species
reconcile this trade-off in ...
www.cell.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Brain metabolism validates the R2R framework: 95% of energy goes to baseline activity (implicit recursion), only 5% to explicit tasks (explicit recursion).
The metabolic costs of cognition: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The metabolic costs of cognition: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The puppet show of computational functionalism.
@davidchalmers.bsky.social
@yoshuabengio.bsky.social
@standehaene.bsky.social
@evanthompson.bsky.social
@anilseth.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/49K3...
@davidchalmers.bsky.social
@yoshuabengio.bsky.social
@standehaene.bsky.social
@evanthompson.bsky.social
@anilseth.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/49K3...
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The puppet show of computational functionalism.
@davidchalmers.bsky.social
@yoshuabengio.bsky.social
@standehaene.bsky.social
@evanthompson.bsky.social
@anilseth.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/49K3...
@davidchalmers.bsky.social
@yoshuabengio.bsky.social
@standehaene.bsky.social
@evanthompson.bsky.social
@anilseth.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/49K3...
The transition from implicit to explicit recursion—how brains evolve from feedback loops to self-models. Explores PFC–DMN integration, developmental scaffolding, emotional recursion, and why true self-awareness is rare in nature.
#consciousness #PhilMind #scicomm
open.spotify.com/episode/3sC3...
#consciousness #PhilMind #scicomm
open.spotify.com/episode/3sC3...
The Emergence of Explicit Recursion: Mechanisms Underlying Cognogenesis
open.spotify.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The transition from implicit to explicit recursion—how brains evolve from feedback loops to self-models. Explores PFC–DMN integration, developmental scaffolding, emotional recursion, and why true self-awareness is rare in nature.
#consciousness #PhilMind #scicomm
open.spotify.com/episode/3sC3...
#consciousness #PhilMind #scicomm
open.spotify.com/episode/3sC3...
Sartre rejected biology to preserve freedom. Turns out he was right about consciousness—for biological reasons he couldn't see. Your embodiment, anguish & freedom are architectural necessities of recursive brains under survival stakes.
open.spotify.com/episode/17QQ...
open.spotify.com/episode/17QQ...
Recursive Existential Naturalism: Sartre's Revenge through Value Saturation
open.spotify.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Sartre rejected biology to preserve freedom. Turns out he was right about consciousness—for biological reasons he couldn't see. Your embodiment, anguish & freedom are architectural necessities of recursive brains under survival stakes.
open.spotify.com/episode/17QQ...
open.spotify.com/episode/17QQ...
Sartre’s “nothingness”—the sense of lack, absence, and non-coincidence at the heart of consciousness—is best understood not as a metaphysical void, but as the phenomenological expression of an organism’s biological incompleteness as it works to maintain itself against entropy.
November 14, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Sartre’s “nothingness”—the sense of lack, absence, and non-coincidence at the heart of consciousness—is best understood not as a metaphysical void, but as the phenomenological expression of an organism’s biological incompleteness as it works to maintain itself against entropy.
New episode where we view Edward Tolman's Cognitive Maps through the lens of the Reaction to Reflection framework.
open.spotify.com/episode/0GiM...
open.spotify.com/episode/0GiM...
Cognitive Maps, Rats, and Recursive Intelligence
open.spotify.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:05 PM
New episode where we view Edward Tolman's Cognitive Maps through the lens of the Reaction to Reflection framework.
open.spotify.com/episode/0GiM...
open.spotify.com/episode/0GiM...
This paper and this entire field of approach completely misses the point....
Happy to be on this new paper: "Identifying indicators of consciousness in AI systems" - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... The paper expands on some of the methodological points made in the Butlin et al. 2023 report on AI Consciousness.
Identifying indicators of consciousness in AI systems
Rapid progress in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities has drawn fresh attention to the prospect of consciousness in AI. There is an urgent need …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:40 PM
This paper and this entire field of approach completely misses the point....
Just remember:
We feel what already matters.
We feel what already matters.
November 10, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Just remember:
We feel what already matters.
We feel what already matters.
Can AI achieve K > 20 without biological stakes?
According to R2R the answer is no and @robertchisciure.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social K metric agrees.
According to R2R the answer is no and @robertchisciure.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social K metric agrees.
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Can AI achieve K > 20 without biological stakes?
According to R2R the answer is no and @robertchisciure.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social K metric agrees.
According to R2R the answer is no and @robertchisciure.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social K metric agrees.