James Croall

James Croall is a philosopher, author, and inventor working at the intersection of ontological mathematics and clinical neurophysiology. His book The Quantified Soul argues that the soul is a real structure of mathematical relationships—expressed through the brain, and measurable there. His current research develops methods for reading brain organization as psychological structure, building tools that ask what a nervous system is organized to do rather than how far it deviates from a norm.

He came to the question from thirty years in computer and network security, beginning at MITRE in 1994, where he spent a career reading how complex systems organize, fail, and recover. A lifelong student of the esoteric with mentors in both Eastern and Western traditions, he practices neurotherapy in San Francisco.

Presenting: The Grammar of a Mind: Reading Brain Organization as Psychological Structure

An EEG does not provide a direct readout of mental events. Instead, it shows what the mind looks like when it is shaped by biological constraints, and a feature list leaves out much of what remains after that process. This presentation argues that the most important properties to consider are organizational: how a system is arranged at rest and how it maintains itself when demands are placed on it. From this perspective, a few specific ways a system can lose coherence become clear, based on what coherence actually involves. The argument is illustrated with case material, including examples where the readout does not succeed. The discussion ends at the point where depth psychology has been focused for a century, and where coherence shifts from being just a metric to describing the nature of a psyche. Here, coherence is understood as structural rather than moral; being more coherent does not necessarily mean being better, and fragmentation is often a survival strategy for a system.

Education Level: INTERMEDIATE

Content builds upon the learner's foundational knowledge, familiarity with the literature and/or experience in a content area. Programming at this level includes more depth than at a beginning level program. It could also serve as a refresher course for individuals who have a background in a content area and are interested in learning more contemporary applications. The primary goal of this particular program is to broaden the clinical, consultative, and research knowledge bases of attendees and was deemed intermediate, by the definition above.  For those psychologists using the modality of biofeedback and interested in efficacy, science, and latest clinical applications. This conference presents research relevant to psychological practice, education, and science; (2) it is our intention to host an offering to help psychologists to keep up with the most current scientific evidence regarding assessment, intervention, and education; and (3) we believe that this program would allow psychologists to increase competencies to improve services to patients. This conference is IN NO WAY a substitute for the basic academic education and training needed for entry into the field of psychology.