A Study in Apophenia. We live in a world full of information. Parsing that information to construct a working model of reality is the function of the human brain, alongside the construction of strategies f or affecting that perceived reality through action. The process by which we understand the world is primarily pattern recognition. Many patterns are observable in our environment, such as the distribution of moss on a rock, or the pattern of wave - like ripple s on a beach’s sand at the water’s edge. In each pattern we see, inform ation is encoded that can be understood by a pattern recognition engine such as ourselves: the wind and light exposure of the rock, or the frequency and amplitude of the waves that sculpt the sand into a reflection of their influence. This information in i tself is known in the form of patterns, the interaction of which informs our constructs about the system. P atterns exist not only in our environment, but within ourselves. Our thoughts form patterns, our emotions and our actions. The very nature of our being is a pattern of information, when viewed through the lens of introspective pattern recognition. One such pattern in the human mind’s behaviour is the state of heightened pattern recognition, termed Apophenia. Beyond the ordinary scope of daily problem - solving consciousness, more abstract (or perhaps more primary) patterns can be observed. These tend to form the basis of spiritual and mystical philosophies, acting as patterns for the patterns we observe within o ur lifetimes. Concepts such as duality - the union of opposites, and the internal/external dichotomy , the subject and object of logic and relation and many others are wider patterns that themselves fall into the pattern known as duality. The successive crea tion of abstractions is a process of representation. As a pattern is recognized, it can be represented (perhaps named as in linguistic process) for further observation of its interrelation to other concepts (abstracted patterns). This gives rise to categor ization, where an observed pattern is subsumed into an abstracted pattern, by the forming of conceptual links between those patterns. Link forming is a pattern that is widespread in nature. We form links between ideas just as a mycelial network forms links between trees. The brain acts to recognize patterns through a process of link forming, known as neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is t he term given to the process by which a brain adapts to new information: by strengthening or weakening, forming or breaking connections, thereby creating a pattern of interconnection that represents the pattern of information that it processes. As new info rmation is perceived, it is categorized into the constructed patterns of concepts, forming an interconnected framework by which we understand and interpret the world. This pattern of links is the reality we live in day - to - day. However , to see the interconnection between categories is itself a breaking of those boundaries , or more accurately a process of forming links across them. This integration of concepts is the fundamental action by which a conceptual construct is made more accurate to perceived reality, a plasticity of categories in response to new information. The f ormation of links between patterns creates a single wider pattern, which may differ in form to the received information but ultimately more closely reflects the pattern of that information, albeit interpreted from a certain perspective. We form a concept of the self by recognizing the interrelationship of our own perceptual field with the construct of our reality. The self and the world are categorized as separate, but each relies on its relationship with the other to exist. The self and the world are stabilized by the filtering of incoming information through categorization - only that which fits the model is incorporated, unless the construct is in a state of sufficient plasticity , such as Apophenia. The recognition of patterns within the nature of pattern recognition is interesting, as it is both an abstraction and a push towards the source of information. Introspection and extrospection are equivalent in this, as the patterns inside are a reflection of the patterns outside, while simultaneously determining those exter nal patterns. The interrelation of internal and external forms a pattern of pattern forming, interdependency of subject and object leading to interrelation itself. This higher order abstr act pattern serves to explain all patterns that can be observed and categorized, and yet is not observable in itself - as a system cannot encompass itself except through representation. The true nature of reality therefore, is not relational. The patterns we see are a function of the self, which is in turn a function of pattern recognition. That which exists cannot be encompassed within relation, but we know it must exist for the relation to occur for us to perceive and recognize as a pattern. A closed system of representation can be manipulated and any number of valid abstractions and patterns can be observed from that manipulation, but if all things are representations of interrelation, no conclusions can be drawn about the nature of that which is represented. The duality of subject and object tells us nothing about underlying Truth, as it is a closed system. No matter how coherent, all relation is inherently limited to its own domain, whereas Truth is objective, i.e. it is independent of relation, independent o f perspective. That which can be known is not true except within the known, and that which is True is unknowable. The categorization that gives rise to the self is responsible for that limitation of perspective. Perhaps the Truth can be perceived if the self is removed, but necessarily not by any individual person. This understanding is itself merely a pattern that ha s been abstracted from the process of pattern recognition however, and so it is not True. The unknown is known through the unknowing of the known and the known is unknown through knowing. Isn’t that a pretty pattern?