ideasthesia

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Ryan Collison

I write about cool science and share it here.

Low-curvature manifold expanding from compressed ordinary consciousness to vast mystical space

Mystical States as Geometric Configurations: Low Curvature, Expanded Dimensionality, Dissolved Boundaries

Series: Comparative Mysticism | Part: 2 of 10 When Teresa of Ávila described her mystical experiences in the 16th century, she didn’t have access to dynamical systems theory, information geometry, or predictive processing frameworks. But read her descriptions through that lens and something startling emerges: she’s reporting geometric properties

Convergent paths ascending toward shared luminous peak representing different contemplative traditions

The Geometry of Enlightenment: Why Mystics Across Cultures Describe Similar States

Series: Comparative Mysticism | Part: 1 of 10 Here’s a puzzle that has troubled scholars of religion for over a century: Why do mystics separated by oceans, millennia, and mutually incomprehensible theological frameworks report remarkably similar experiences? A Buddhist monk in 12th-century Japan sits in zazen for decades and

Human node receiving genetic and cultural inheritance streams creating integrated coherence pattern

Synthesis: Humans as Coherence Community Generators

Series: Gene-Culture Coevolution | Part: 9 of 9 We’ve traced a single evolutionary story through nine articles: Humans didn’t just evolve to survive as individuals. We evolved to construct and maintain coherence communities—groups held together by shared meaning that exists between minds rather than just within them.

Split visualization showing healthy open network versus harmful closed extractive system

Evaluating Coherence Communities: Healthy vs Harmful Groups

Series: Gene-Culture Coevolution | Part: 8 of 9 Not all coherence communities are created equal. Some genuinely serve member flourishing—providing meaning, connection, growth, and support. Others exploit coherence hunger—extracting resources, limiting autonomy, and damaging members while providing only the illusion of integration. The line between healthy and harmful

Digital network space with tribal clusters and algorithmic selection pathways

Digital Tribes: Gene-Culture Dynamics in Online Communities

Series: Gene-Culture Coevolution | Part: 7 of 9 r/wallstreetbets coordinated a short squeeze that shook financial markets. QAnon believers stormed the U.S. Capitol. K-pop fandoms organize boycotts, charities, and political campaigns. Cryptocurrency communities maintain billion-dollar economies through shared belief. These aren’t random internet crowds. They’

New community forming with luminous core node radiating structure outward

New Religious Movements: Coherence Communities in Formation

Series: Gene-Culture Coevolution | Part: 6 of 9 New Religious Movements (NRMs)—often dismissed as “cults”—are natural experiments in coherence community formation. They show us, in compressed timeframes and with visible founders, the same dynamics that shaped major religions over centuries. The Mormons went from a single revelation in

Coherence community structure with synchronized nodes through shared ritual practice

Why Humans Form Religious Groups: Cognitive and Social Foundations

Series: Gene-Culture Coevolution | Part: 5 of 9 Religion is universal. Every human society we know of has developed supernatural beliefs, ritual practices, and communities organized around shared cosmologies. This includes isolated groups with no contact with major world religions. It includes ancient societies and modern ones. It spans cultures