# Human Perception as a Phenomenon of Quantization

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.03726 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.03726/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 78 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Aug 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Quantum Structure in Cognition: Human Language as a Boson Gas of Entangled Words](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.06845/) (2019)
- [Are Words the Quanta of Human Language? Extending the Domain of Quantum Cognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.04913/) (2021)
- [The Heart of an Image: Quantum Superposition and Entanglement in Visual Perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.02216/) (2018)
- [A New Fundamental Evidence of Non-Classical Structure in the Combination of Natural Concepts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.04981/) (2015)
- [Toward a Quantum Theory of Humor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.04647/) (2017)
- [Quantum Structure of Negation and Conjunction in Human Thought](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.04260/) (2015)
- [Quantum Cognitive Triad. Semantic geometry of context representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.11195/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Quantum-Inspired Neural Network Model of Optical Illusions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.03447/) (2023)
- [The Physics of Preference: Unravelling Imprecision of Human Preferences through Magnetisation Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00267/) (2023)
- [Development of a Thermodynamics of Human Cognition and Human Culture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.12795/) (2022)
- [Exploring Cognitive Paradoxes in Video Games: A Quantum Mechanical Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08758/) (2023)
- [Are Colors Quanta of Light for Human Vision? A Quantum Cognition Study of Visual Perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.18850/) (2024)
- [Quantum-Cognitive Tunnelling Neural Networks for Military-Civilian Vehicle Classification and Sentiment Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.18645/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

For two decades, the formalism of quantum mechanics has been successfully used to describe human decision processes, situations of heuristic reasoning, and the contextuality of concepts and their combinations. The phenomenon of 'categorical perception' has put us on track to find a possible deeper cause of the presence of this quantum structure in human cognition. Thus, we show that in an archetype of human perception consisting of the reconciliation of a bottom up stimulus with a top down cognitive expectation pattern, there arises the typical warping of categorical perception, where groups of stimuli clump together to form quanta, which move away from each other and lead to a discretization of a dimension. The individual concepts, which are these quanta, can be modeled by a quantum prototype theory with the square of the absolute value of a corresponding Schr"odinger wave function as the fuzzy prototype structure, and the superposition of two such wave functions accounts for the interference pattern that occurs when these concepts are combined. Using a simple quantum measurement model, we analyze this archetype of human perception, provide an overview of the experimental evidence base for categorical perception with the phenomenon of warping leading to quantization, and illustrate our analyses with two examples worked out in detail.