Papers
Research across cognition, computation, and the structure of meaning.
Holographic Encoding in Neural Systems
A Conjecture Connecting Cortical Field Theory, Surface Minimization, and Quasi-Particle Consciousness
The Device Research Group2025-035 sections last modified Mar 2026Three independently-developed formalisms — Cooray-Friston cortical field theory, Barabási et al.'s Nambu-Goto action for neural manifolds, and Fields' characterization of Markov blankets as holographic screens — are proposed as convergent descriptions of a single phenomenon: the holographic encoding of a higher-dimensional representational bulk by lower-dimensional neural boundary dynamics. We conjecture that consciousness arises as quasi-particle excitations in this holographically-encoded bulk. Six gaps in the formal chain are specified and framed as testable sub-conjectures. This paper is a map, not a proof.
foundationalconsciousnessneuroscienceconsciousnessholographyneural-manifoldsactive-inferenceAdS-CFTconjectureGrammar as Coordination Protocol
A Pragmatic Semantics Model of Language Structure
The Device Research Group2025-024 sections last modified Mar 2026This paper proposes that grammar evolved not to transmit thoughts but to coordinate mental states between agents. Under the Pragmatic Semantics Model (PSM), grammatical categories encode Self-Other-Agency relations rather than syntactic deep structure. Declaratives signal 'store this description'; interrogatives signal 'compute and return'; imperatives signal 'extend my agency through you.' This reframes recursion from a cognitive primitive to a tool for navigating nested sub-realities. The model yields predictions about cross-linguistic variation, polysemy, and translation difficulty, and is placed in opposition to Generative Grammar while remaining compatible with Construction Grammar and Relevance Theory.
psychologylinguisticslinguisticspragmaticscoordinationgrammarsemanticstheory-of-mindPragmatic Semiotics and Large Language Models
Sign Navigation vs. Information Transmission in LLMs
The Device Research Group2025-013 sections last modified Mar 2026We examine how the Pragmatic Semiotics Model (PSM) framework applies to understanding the emergent communicative behaviour of large language models, arguing that LLMs navigate sign systems rather than transmit information.
computationsemioticssemioticsllmpragmaticscognition