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Major architectural unification across 12 documents: - Ternary gates: CLOSED (-1) ← STABLE (0) → OPEN (+1) - Cells emit WaveSignals with confidence + semantic content - Gates are resonant chambers that accumulate correlation - Attention = which gates are OPEN (emergent, not allocated) - Reflexes are earned when gate.weight > 0.8 - STABLE is where learning happens Key paradigm shifts: - decision_trails → gate_transitions + correlation_events - Priority rules → wave correlation - Budget allocation → emergent attention flow - Virtual Garden (explore) / Real Garden (verify) loop Owl Mode session 2026-02-14 🦉🌙 Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
16 KiB
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
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 |
Why ternary states matter |
Gateway-Architecture.md |
How gates work |
Nervous-System.md |
Wave → Gate → Node flow |
Dual-Garden-Architecture.md |
Virtual (explore) vs Real (act) |
Message-Protocol-Design.md |
GateTransition messages |
Design Principles
- Attention = OPEN gates — Not a budget allocation, an emergent property
- Correlation drives transitions — Waves that agree open gates
- Budget constrains throughput — Can't process infinite open gates
- Reflexes bypass correlation — Earned trust means instant attention
- Virtual is exploration — STABLE gates learning without acting
- Real is action — OPEN gates triggering consequences
- 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."