Physics of Mindful Knowledge

Contemporary physics explains matter and energy with extraordinary success yet offers no principled account of how knowledge and mind arise and act causally in nature. We propose a Physics of Mindful Knowledge (PMK) in which knowledge-bearing constraints are recognized as organizing principles that stabilize metastable coherence and guide system dynamics. PMK integrates three pillars: (i) Burgin’s General Theory of Information (GTI), which formalizes information as a triadic relation (carrier–content–recipient), avoiding reification; (ii) Fold Theory, modeling the emergence and top‑down efficacy of coherent structures; and (iii) Deutsch’s epistemology, framing knowledge as “hard‑to‑vary explanations” and a constructor-level causal resource, using the Burgin–Mikkilineni Thesis (BMT), which reconceives computation as structural evolution and provides an engineerable path to oracle-like behavior with explanatory, predictive structure and teleonomy. We contrast PMK with microphysical (substrate‑dependent) and beyond‑physical (metaphysical) approaches and derive falsifiable predictions and measurable signatures—including Recovery Energy, Entropy per Useful Work, and Coherence Depth. We translate these into engineering protocols using structural machines (Mindful Machine Architecture) and outline comparative tests versus state‑of‑the‑art algorithmic systems under structural, functional, and epistemic perturbations. By embedding epistemic constraints into a naturalistic, computable framework, PMK provides a unified, testable bridge across physics, biology, and intelligent systems, advancing a practical science of knowledge, and mind. Physics of Mindful Knowledge (PMK) studies how matter–energy systems instantiate, transform, and use knowledge in mindful ways—meaning they monitor, evaluate, and adjust their own operations to preserve identity, purpose, and coherence.