Definition
Cognitive Lightcone
The Cognitive Lightcone is a conceptual boundary that demarcates the “Self” of a system. It defines the specific volume of space and time over which an agent is capable of:
- Measuring information.
- Modeling future states.
- Exerting influence to achieve goals..
In Michael Levin’s framework of Scale-Free Cognition, the “size” of a mind is not determined by brain size, but by the spatiotemporal extent of the goals it can actively pursue.
Metaphor: Minkowski Space
Levin borrows this term from special relativity (Minkowski space). In physics, a light cone defines the path that a flash of light, emanating from a single event (point in space-time), would take through spacetime.
- Past Light Cone: All events that could have causally affected the observer.
- Future Light Cone: All events that the observer can causally affect.
In Levin’s biology, this “causality” is replaced by “caring” or “competency.” An agent’s cognitive lightcone is the horizon beyond which it cannot care about or manipulate events.