Symmetry Theory of Valence
Article
Symmetry Theory of Valence is a recurring concept in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 2 times across 2 issues between October 27, 2022 and November 07, 2025. The archive places it in contexts such as “Qualia Research Institute ideas like the Symmetry Theory of Valence”; “This is why trained meditators are always talking about all the cosmic bliss that they feel. And from here it’s a short hop to the symmetry theory of valence”. It most often appears alongside jhana, Alaska, Britain.
Metadata
- Category: Concepts
- Mention count: 2
- Issue count: 2
- First seen: October 27, 2022
- Last seen: November 07, 2025
Appears In
Related Pages
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- jhana (2 shared issues)
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- Alaska (1 shared issues)
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- Britain (1 shared issues)
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- Buddhism (1 shared issues)
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- Buddhists (1 shared issues)
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- Jhanas And The Dark Room Problem (1 shared issues)
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- lsusr (1 shared issues)
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- Nick (1 shared issues)
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- Nick Cammarata (1 shared issues)
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- Nirvana (1 shared issues)
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- OpenAI (1 shared issues)
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- QRI (1 shared issues)
External Links
Source Context
Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.
This is one reason I’m still interested in Qualia Research Institute ideas like the Symmetry Theory of Valence, even though there are some strong objections to them. I interpret QRI as coming at the problem from the opposite direction as everyone else: normal neuroscience starts with normal brain behavior and tries to build on it until they can one day explain crazy things like jhana; QRI starts with crazy things like jhana and tries to build down until they can explain ordinary behavior. This is naturally going to be shakier and harder to research - but somebody should be trying it.
Inline links: Symmetry Theory of Valence, some strong objections to them
But also, it does seem to match some of the other ground we’ve covered about what people notice during meditative experiences - for example, in Jhanas And The Dark Room Problem. The neuroscientists say the brain tries to minimize prediction error. But a natural way to minimize prediction error is to sit quietly in a dark room and never expose yourself to any unpredictable stimuli at all. Why isn’t this maximum bliss? The qualiologists propose that you’re just bad at sitting in a dark room. If you were good at it - that is, a trained meditator who could calm their brain down enough to pay full attention to the lack of stimuli - it would be amazing. This is why trained meditators are always talking about all the cosmic bliss that they feel. And from here it’s a short hop to the symmetry theory of valence, where the unpleasantness of mental states tracks a sort of irregularity or asymmetry in brain activity.
Inline links: Jhanas And The Dark Room Problem, the symmetry theory of valence