"... what if expectation acts to focus our attention on our potential future states, and allows us to 'select' favorable paths to pursue? If gaining information from our futures were possible, then in principle we might be able to navigate through potential futures to achieve a desired outcome." - Radin and Lobach (2007) (here)
Reading that paper got me thinking... and remembering...
One of the first things I wondered about, after accepting that there was a correlation between certain states of expectation and the outcomes I actually observed, was whether or not this was some form of convoluted, inverted precognition (an effect of the actual outcome that traveled back in time), or whether my expectations were somehow the cause of the outcome. Somewhere along the way, I decide to focus on the causal perspective, and from then on I researched primarily from that perspective.
I don't have a whole lot of notes from that period, as it is generally easier not to leave crazy-sounding notes lying around when one has roommates. ;) But I do remember thinking that if it were more cause than effect, then I should be able to change my expectations mid-way to the outcome and see the corresponding results in the observed outcome.
Here's an illustration... Let's say I flip a coin. Prior to observing the outcome, I generate the expectational components that steer me towards the outcome 'Heads'. Then I change my mind. I now want the outcome 'Tails'. So I go about generating the various representations that will steer me to 'Tails'. Which outcome will I observe, and how will that outcome be determined?
What I found across repetitions and a variety of outcome situations boiled down to this ... Those expectational components and representations of the outcome that were more accurate, more vivid, more convincing, and which utilized more of my attention, determined the outcome I observed. If I were better able to generate the required representations after I had decided to steer towards a different outcome, then I was going to get the 'changed my mind' outcome.
This result also helped lock me into a causal mode of thinking about this effect. It really seemed like there was something (a forces model was helpful to me at this time) that was summing together, and the end result was rather like adding a positive and a negative number. Whichever number had a higher absolute value won out.
Needless to say, that is probably an overly simplistic representation of what is actually happening.
And now, among other things, I want to know... can the causal role (if any) of non-observational states upon the actual outcome be separated from the effect of the actual observation (traveling back in time) upon those same pre-outcome non-observational states? What would information traveling backwards in time from a future outcome feel like as an experience? Is it possible to enhance sensitivity to this type of effect as well?
Hmmm... must find more coffee now...
