Reddit mentions of Thought as a System

"The Maus Effect" is a phrase I coined after a shocking revelation. I was reading a graphic novel called Maus which begins with a conversation between a son, about my age at the time, and his dad, a European WWII survivor about my dad's age.

The conversation was almost identical to one I'd had recently with my dad. My heartfelt opinions were exactly those the son was using and his dad's opinions were my dad's. There was no significant difference. I was stunned by this.

I had a "wait a minute here" moment. This couldn't just be a coincidence. This is when I started realizing that "my" thoughts and opinions and beliefs and values were not my own in the sense that I had not just come up with them. This was instantly obvious after reading Maus.

The best way to investigate your questions is through direct observation of your own mind. Examine your thoughts and how they arise like a scientist. Many of our thoughts are exactly like those of those raised in the same culture, place and time. This is due to conditioning or social indoctrination. There is no way to avoid this. It's also known as learning and memory.

Are you responsible for your thoughts? Do you plan them out before they emerge?

I think the thinking process is very mechanistic and that there is little overt "control" most of the time. At other times, we direct the thinking process to consider one thing or another and there is some control but it isn't total control, is it?

Because thought appears mechanistic, there is a very high likely hood that it can and will be duplicated in AIs.

One scientists who investigated the thought process deeply is David Bohm. His book is based on a seminar on thought which can be heard online for free here and on Youtube probably.