The human – Virtual environment triad of cognition

The human mind is constituted of a complex interplay of conscious and non-conscious processes. Many implicit cognitive processes operate outside of conscious control, influencing behavior and experience in a profound manner. As Wilson (2002) exemplifies in Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Subconscious, about 95% of our thoughts, feelings, and memories reside in the subconscious. Where the human brain is able to absorb approximately 11 million bits of information every second, the human conscious mind is only able to process approximately 40 bits of information a second, which postulates how little information actually falls within conscious awareness. Today, much of this information is mediated through technological systems-such as digital devices and smart environments-that amplify and filter the stimuli we encounter. This study investigates the latent potential of the human cognitive landscape in fostering more fulfilling behavior, with a particular focus on the role of technology as a significant environmental mediator. By acknowledging the problems associated with access to the different strata of cognition-conscious, subconscious, and unconscious-the study discovered key tools to unlock these hidden depths. Where technologies like AR, VR, and smart environments act as an interface to mediate the interaction between humans and their surroundings, they will dictate the valuable repository of nonconsciousness. This research will not only go into the benefits and the challenges of access to deeper cognitive layers, but also present tools and strategies to overcome them in order to pave the way for a deeper understanding and utilization of our inherent cognitive capacities toward being better human beings. A framework is presented that ties the relationship between the variables together, placing virtual environment as an integrated part of the dynamic between human behavior and environment; this is labeled "The Human-Environment Triad of Consciousness.".