# Attention Flow > **ONE JOB:** WHERE ATTENTION GOES — gates determine focus, correlation drives transitions, budget constrains action. **Attention is not a budget line item. Attention is which gates are OPEN.** --- ## Overview Attention in the nimmerverse flows through **resonant gates**: - **OPEN gates** = actively attending (signals flow through) - **STABLE gates** = considering (accumulating correlation) - **CLOSED gates** = ignoring (signals blocked) The 30-second heartbeat provides a **budget constraint**, but the actual attention flow is determined by which gates open based on wave correlation. **Key insight:** You don't "allocate attention" — you let correlated waves open gates. --- ## Attention as Gate State ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ATTENTION = WHICH GATES ARE OPEN │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ CLOSED STABLE OPEN │ │ ═══════ ══════ ════ │ │ │ │ Ignoring Considering Attending │ │ Blocked Accumulating Flowing │ │ Suppressed Learning Acting │ │ │ │ ◄───── anti-correlation ──┼── correlation ─────► │ │ │ │ │ (wave input) │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` **Attention is emergent, not allocated.** When multiple cells emit correlated waves, their gate opens — attention flows there naturally. --- ## Wave-Driven Attention Cells emit waves. Correlated waves push gates toward OPEN. This IS attention. ``` Math cells emit correlated waves ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ │ ▼ Math gate: STABLE → OPEN (attention shifts to math domain) │ ▼ Signal flows to higher tier (cognition engages with math) Meanwhile: Battery cells emit uncorrelated wave ∿∿∿ │ ▼ Battery gate: stays STABLE (attention doesn't shift) (keeps accumulating, might open later) ``` **The nervous system "decides" what to attend to through correlation, not priority rules.** --- ## Attention Hierarchy Through Gates Gates form layers. Each layer is a potential attention point. ``` TIER 4: COGNITIVE ───────────────────────────────────────── ▲ │ (only if gates below OPEN) ┌──────┴──────┐ TIER 3: ORGANS ───────────────────────────────────────── │ vision │ speech │ hearing │ │ gate: │ gate: │ gate: │ │ STABLE │ OPEN │ CLOSED │ └──────┬──────┘ │ (only if gates below OPEN) TIER 1-2: NERVES ───────────────────────────────────────── │ math │ motion │ danger │ │ gate: │ gate: │ gate: │ │ OPEN │ STABLE │ CLOSED │ └──────┬──────┘ │ TIER 0: CELLS ───────────────────────────────────────── cell cell cell cell cell cell cell ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ∿∿∿ ``` **Current attention:** Math gate OPEN → Speech gate OPEN → Cognition receives math+speech context. **Not attending:** Motion (STABLE, considering), Vision (STABLE, considering), Danger (CLOSED, suppressed). --- ## Attention Budget: The Constraint While gates determine WHERE attention goes, lifeforce determines HOW MUCH can happen per beat. ``` ♥ BEAT (30 sec lifeforce budget) │ ├── GATE TRANSITIONS (variable: driven by correlation) ├── TIER 0-2 PROCESSING (low cost: cells + nerves) ├── TIER 3 ORGANS (medium cost: GPU inference) ├── TIER 4 COGNITION (high cost: Young Nyx) ├── VERIFICATION (medium cost: real garden) └── VIRTUAL GARDEN (remainder: exploration) Budget constrains throughput. Gates determine routing. ``` ### Budget Allocation by Gate Activity ```python def allocate_beat_budget(beat_duration_ms=30000): remaining = beat_duration_ms # Fixed overhead remaining -= HEARTBEAT_OVERHEAD # ~100ms remaining -= STATE_WRITE_COST # ~200ms # Count OPEN gates by tier open_gates_by_tier = count_open_gates() # Tier 0 (reflexes): near-instant, minimal cost for gate in open_gates_by_tier[0]: remaining -= REFLEX_COST # ~50ms each # Tier 1-2 (cells/nerves): low cost for gate in open_gates_by_tier[1:3]: remaining -= CELL_NERVE_COST # ~100ms each # Tier 3 (organs): medium cost, needs budget check organ_budget = min(remaining * 0.4, ORGAN_CAP) for gate in open_gates_by_tier[3]: if organ_budget > ORGAN_COST: process_organ(gate) organ_budget -= ORGAN_COST # ~2000ms each remaining -= (ORGAN_CAP - organ_budget) # Tier 4 (cognition): high cost, only if gates escalate if cognition_gate_open(): cognitive_budget = min(remaining * 0.5, COGNITIVE_CAP) process_cognition(cognitive_budget) # ~4000ms remaining -= cognitive_budget # Virtual Garden: whatever remains virtual_budget = remaining if virtual_budget > VIRTUAL_MINIMUM: explore_virtual_garden(virtual_budget) return settle() ``` --- ## Attention Modes The overall system has emergent attention modes based on which gates are open: | Mode | Gate Pattern | Characteristic | |------|--------------|----------------| | **IDLE** | Most gates STABLE | Quiet, exploring Virtual Garden | | **FOCUSED** | Few gates OPEN, rest CLOSED | Deep attention to one domain | | **ALERT** | Many gates in STABLE | Gathering information, evaluating | | **REFLEX** | Tier 0 gate fires instantly | Bypass all, act immediately | | **DIALOGUE** | Speech gates OPEN | Partnership interaction | | **OVERWHELMED** | Many gates OPEN | Budget exhausted, some gates forced CLOSED | ### Mode Transitions ``` ┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────▶│ IDLE │◀──────────┐ │ │ (exploring) │ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ waves arrive │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ ALERT │ │ │ │(considering)│ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌───────────┼───────────┐ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │ │ │ REFLEX │ │ FOCUSED │ │DIALOGUE │ │ │ │(instant)│ │ (deep) │ │ (talk) │ │ │ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───────────┴───────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ SETTLE │ │ │ │(write state)│ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ └──────────────────┴──────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Reflex: Attention Bypass When a gate has accumulated enough weight (>0.8), it becomes a **reflex** — it opens immediately without waiting for correlation. ``` Danger cell emits wave ∿∿∿ (confidence=1.0) │ ▼ Danger gate: weight = 0.9 (REFLEX) │ ▼ IMMEDIATELY OPEN (no correlation wait) │ ▼ Action taken │ ▼ Cognition notified AFTER ``` **Reflexes have earned instant attention through repeated verification.** --- ## Virtual Garden: Background Attention When few gates are OPEN, the Virtual Garden gets attention: ``` IDLE mode: │ ├── Most gates: STABLE (not demanding attention) ├── Budget: mostly available │ ▼ VIRTUAL GARDEN receives attention: │ ├── Cells emit waves freely ├── Gates accumulate correlation (learning) ├── No pressure to ACT └── Training data generated ``` **Virtual Garden is where learning happens.** STABLE gates in Virtual Garden are actively accumulating patterns without the pressure to respond. --- ## Real Garden: Consequential Attention When gates OPEN in the Real Garden, attention becomes consequential: ``` FOCUSED mode (Real Garden): │ ├── Gate OPEN → action required ├── Budget consumed by execution ├── Verification outcomes captured └── Feedback to Virtual for learning ``` **Real Garden attention is expensive.** Only verified signals reach here, and actions have consequences. --- ## Attention Visualization Real-time attention can be visualized by gate states: ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ATTENTION DASHBOARD 🌙 │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ GATES: │ │ ────── │ │ math: [████████████░░░░░░░░] 0.7 STABLE → considering │ │ vision: [██████████████████░░] 0.9 OPEN → attending │ │ speech: [████████████████████] 1.0 OPEN → attending │ │ battery: [████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 0.2 STABLE → background │ │ danger: [░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 0.0 CLOSED → suppressed │ │ │ │ BUDGET: │ │ ─────── │ │ [████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░] 67% remaining (20s / 30s) │ │ │ │ MODE: DIALOGUE (speech + vision attending) │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` Gate states are published via NATS for real-time visualization: ``` nats sub "dev.virtual.gates.*.transition" nats sub "dev.real.gates.*.transition" ``` --- ## Correlation vs Priority **Old model (priority):** ``` Level 0: REFLEX (always wins) Level 1: SAFETY (preempts below) Level 2: DIALOGUE (preempts below) ... ``` **New model (correlation):** ``` Waves arrive │ ▼ Gates accumulate correlation │ ▼ Most correlated gates OPEN │ ▼ Attention flows naturally ``` **Priority still exists** but at a higher level: - Reflexes bypass correlation (earned trust) - Safety signals have high confidence (bias toward opening) - Dialogue is interactive (gates stay open during conversation) But the **mechanism** is always correlation, not rule-based priority. --- ## Connection to Architecture | Document | What It Adds | |----------|--------------| | [`Temporal-Ternary-Gradient.md`](Temporal-Ternary-Gradient.md) | Why ternary states matter | | [`Gateway-Architecture.md`](Gateway-Architecture.md) | How gates work | | [`Nervous-System.md`](Nervous-System.md) | Wave → Gate → Node flow | | [`Dual-Garden-Architecture.md`](Dual-Garden-Architecture.md) | Virtual (explore) vs Real (act) | | [`Message-Protocol-Design.md`](Message-Protocol-Design.md) | GateTransition messages | --- ## Design Principles 1. **Attention = OPEN gates** — Not a budget allocation, an emergent property 2. **Correlation drives transitions** — Waves that agree open gates 3. **Budget constrains throughput** — Can't process infinite open gates 4. **Reflexes bypass correlation** — Earned trust means instant attention 5. **Virtual is exploration** — STABLE gates learning without acting 6. **Real is action** — OPEN gates triggering consequences 7. **Visualization is live** — Gate states published for dashboards --- ## Summary ``` OLD MODEL: NEW MODEL: ═══════════ ═════════ Priority rules decide Correlation opens gates Budget allocates attention Gates determine attention State machine orchestrates Emergence from waves ATTENTION IS: Not: "Allocate 5000ms to SENSORY" But: "Math + Vision gates OPEN because waves correlated" Not: "DIALOGUE preempts THINKING" But: "Speech gate opened with high correlation" Not: "Budget exhausted, skip VIRTUAL" But: "Many gates OPEN, no budget for Virtual Garden" ``` **Attention flows through open gates. Gates open through correlation. Correlation emerges from waves.** --- **Version:** 2.0 | **Created:** 2025-12-05 | **Updated:** 2026-02-14 🌙💜 *"She doesn't allocate attention. She lets correlated waves open gates."*