<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”&lt;/em&gt;— Zen Koan&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let’s start with a confession.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Developing the &lt;strong&gt;Unified Behavioral Model (UBM)&lt;/strong&gt; revealed, in many ways, a side quest I didn’t expect: Helping large language models (LLMs) navigate the mental spaghetti we humans lovingly call &lt;em&gt;“logic”&lt;/em&gt;—which, if followed faithfully, often leads straight to &lt;em&gt;paradox&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You know—the deep, crunchy stuff:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Body vs. environment&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Emotion vs. feeling&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Skill vs. habit&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Logic vs. illogic&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These aren’t just philosophical speed bumps.They’re full-blown conceptual cul-de-sacs.Every time the system—human &lt;em&gt;or&lt;/em&gt; machine—hits one, it either freezes or splinters into a dozen confident-but-confused directions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What &lt;em&gt;Is&lt;/em&gt; Abstract Thought, Anyway?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Get it?&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To “draw away”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s not about sounding smart or solving puzzles.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Frankly, it’s your one real edge over AI—for now.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s about &lt;strong&gt;seeing things and &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;thinking&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;differently&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, especially when the pieces don’t fit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s Picasso and Pollock pulling apart realism.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s Einstein “riding a beam of light”.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s Lao Tzu explaining how “The soft and the weak overcome the hard and the strong.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Abstract thinking is cognitive &lt;em&gt;flexibility&lt;/em&gt; —it’s a different lens to process, beyond logic.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s the ability to zoom out and remove the frame.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To hold logic &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; contradiction in the same hand, without blowing a fuse.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So, we deliberately choose to go back to &lt;em&gt;FUNDAMENTALS&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not to simplify, but to clarify.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not to dumb down, but to dissolve—to &lt;em&gt;draw away&lt;/em&gt; from false binaries.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because here’s the thing about dichotomies: Most aren’t real.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They’re often tradition wrapped in Latin, handed down like sacred scrolls, passed around in conference halls and research papers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They survive not because they’re accurate, but because they’re &lt;em&gt;familiar&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” ~Einstein&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And that’s how the Unified Behavioral Model emerged: Not from divine inspiration, but moderate exasperation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not from clarity, but from watching both brilliant humans &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; state-of-the-art LLMs get trapped in mental corners built by… You guessed it: &lt;em&gt;LOGIC.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Behaviorally speaking:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Is the environment separate from the body?&lt;/strong&gt;Not really. Both are environmental stimulants.If a headache doesn’t change your mood and behavior, just like an idiot screaming at a baseball game, let me know.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Are emotions and feelings different?&lt;/strong&gt;Functionally perhaps? Not elementally. Both relay information.They’re conduits—waves influencing your Behavior Echo-System.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What about habits and skills?&lt;/strong&gt;Turns out, they’re more alike than different. Both are behaviors shaped through repetition, refined over time until they become automatic. Intentional or not, they’re built the same way.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How do we reconcile logic and illogic?&lt;/strong&gt;Reconcile? Even the most “logical” among us do spectacularly irrational things—because we’re driven by meaning, by narrative, by the stories we tell ourselves.Logic and illogic aren’t separate. They’re co-pilots.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So if you want to teach a machine how behavior works, we first have to ‘draw away’ the various dichotomies logic has constructed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;And once those dissolve?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The behavior model doesn’t need to be built.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It simply... emerges.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Google: “Why doesn’t a unified behavior model exist?”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The answer begins with &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;complexity&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Complexity created by &lt;em&gt;distinctions&lt;/em&gt; (above) that are both very important AND &lt;em&gt;fundamentally&lt;/em&gt; (behaviorally speaking), not so important.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Like jiggling the old TV antenna for the hundredth time, and suddenly the picture locks in—clear as day, as though it was never scrambled at all.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Turns out, it &lt;em&gt;—A UNIFIED BEHAVIOR MODEL—does&lt;/em&gt; exist. ☝️&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It just had to be excavated from under layers of distinctions, logic, and dichotomies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Logic is linear.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Behavior, like the human experience, is abstract.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This is elemental behavioral literacy. This is the Unified Behavioral Model (UBM)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We didn’t invent it—we &lt;em&gt;excavated&lt;/em&gt; it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was buried.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Habits 2 Goals Premium by Martin Grunburg is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“What is your face before your parents were born?” — Zen Koan&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because while machines crunch data, &lt;strong&gt;humans connect dots&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While models can simulate logic, &lt;strong&gt;you can sit with uncertainty&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you can &lt;strong&gt;envision a bigger picture,&lt;/strong&gt; the frames dissolve.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“Reflection” (Man Sitting) M. Grunburg 1987&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Elemental behavioral science shouldn't be reserved for labs and lectures. We teach adolescents the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;ABCs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;123s&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; —elemental math and grammar. We can, and should, teach elemental behavior. Maybe abstract thinking will come along for the ride.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“Experience and knowledge don’t arrive with labels, silos, or departments—we create those. Sometimes those distinctions are incredibly useful (like language itself). And sometimes—&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;also like language&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;—they make problem-solving harder than it needs to be.”&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;🚨 #TrueStory: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Habit Tracking News Breakthrough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Read what the new science &lt;em&gt;reveals about the unmistakable power of&lt;/em&gt; habit tracking in the UBM White paper.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Grab your &lt;strong&gt;free white paper&lt;/strong&gt; (see &lt;strong&gt;Section 7.0&lt;/strong&gt;) —&gt; Just one week ‘old’ and 200+ downloads already, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://zenodo.org/records/15844153"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;https://zenodo.org/records/15844153&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;P.S.&lt;/strong&gt; Reminder: The &lt;strong&gt;Unified Behavioral Model™ (UBM)&lt;/strong&gt; is the first behavioral model to be both &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;falsifiable&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;unified&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;—meeting the scientific gold standard of Ph.D.-level rigor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Everyone (not just academics) is invited to download the paper and explore the &lt;strong&gt;“No Fifth Element” Challenge&lt;/strong&gt;—with a &lt;strong&gt;$1,000 prize&lt;/strong&gt; on the line.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Grab your &lt;strong&gt;free white paper&lt;/strong&gt; (see &lt;strong&gt;Section 7.0&lt;/strong&gt;) —&gt; Just one week ‘old’ and 200+ downloads already, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://zenodo.org/records/15844153"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;https://zenodo.org/records/15844153&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;📄 Grab the free habit tracking template: &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://thehabitfactor.com/templates"&gt;thehabitfactor.com/templates&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="%%share_url%%"&gt;Share&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Trilogy: WARNING! DO NOT READ THESE BOOKS!!!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/40MvuiB"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Habit Factor®&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;: &lt;/strong&gt;Habit alignment, momentum and daily wins!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/4auDR5P"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Pressure Paradox™&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;: Productivity, Performance &amp; Peace of Mind.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/4jyrA4A"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;EVERYTHING&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;: The stories you tell yourself heavily influence ‘&lt;em&gt;everything.&lt;/em&gt;’&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2"&gt;habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg

Martin Grunburg

The Art of Abstract Thought: Your Human Edge in an AI World

JUL 17, 202539 MIN
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg

The Art of Abstract Thought: Your Human Edge in an AI World

JUL 17, 202539 MIN

Description

<p><em>“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”</em>— Zen Koan</p><p>Let’s start with a confession.</p><p>Developing the <strong>Unified Behavioral Model (UBM)</strong> revealed, in many ways, a side quest I didn’t expect: Helping large language models (LLMs) navigate the mental spaghetti we humans lovingly call <em>“logic”</em>—which, if followed faithfully, often leads straight to <em>paradox</em>.</p><p>You know—the deep, crunchy stuff:</p><p>Body vs. environment</p><p>Emotion vs. feeling</p><p>Skill vs. habit</p><p>Logic vs. illogic</p><p>These aren’t just philosophical speed bumps.They’re full-blown conceptual cul-de-sacs.Every time the system—human <em>or</em> machine—hits one, it either freezes or splinters into a dozen confident-but-confused directions.</p><p>What <em>Is</em> Abstract Thought, Anyway?</p><p><em>Get it?</em> </p><p>To “draw away”</p><p>It’s not about sounding smart or solving puzzles.</p><p><strong>Frankly, it’s your one real edge over AI—for now.</strong></p><p>It’s about <strong>seeing things and </strong><strong><em>thinking</em></strong><strong> </strong><strong><em>differently</em></strong>, especially when the pieces don’t fit.</p><p>It’s Picasso and Pollock pulling apart realism.</p><p>It’s Einstein “riding a beam of light”.</p><p>It’s Lao Tzu explaining how “The soft and the weak overcome the hard and the strong.”</p><p>Abstract thinking is cognitive <em>flexibility</em> —it’s a different lens to process, beyond logic.</p><p>It’s the ability to zoom out and remove the frame.</p><p>To hold logic <em>and</em> contradiction in the same hand, without blowing a fuse.</p><p>So, we deliberately choose to go back to <em>FUNDAMENTALS</em>.</p><p>Not to simplify, but to clarify.</p><p>Not to dumb down, but to dissolve—to <em>draw away</em> from false binaries.</p><p>Because here’s the thing about dichotomies: Most aren’t real.</p><p>They’re often tradition wrapped in Latin, handed down like sacred scrolls, passed around in conference halls and research papers.</p><p>They survive not because they’re accurate, but because they’re <em>familiar</em>.</p><p><strong>“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” ~Einstein</strong></p><p>And that’s how the Unified Behavioral Model emerged: Not from divine inspiration, but moderate exasperation.</p><p>Not from clarity, but from watching both brilliant humans <em>and</em> state-of-the-art LLMs get trapped in mental corners built by… You guessed it: <em>LOGIC.</em></p><p><em>Behaviorally speaking:</em></p><p><strong>Is the environment separate from the body?</strong>Not really. Both are environmental stimulants.If a headache doesn’t change your mood and behavior, just like an idiot screaming at a baseball game, let me know.</p><p><strong>Are emotions and feelings different?</strong>Functionally perhaps? Not elementally. Both relay information.They’re conduits—waves influencing your Behavior Echo-System.</p><p><strong>What about habits and skills?</strong>Turns out, they’re more alike than different. Both are behaviors shaped through repetition, refined over time until they become automatic. Intentional or not, they’re built the same way.</p><p><strong>How do we reconcile logic and illogic?</strong>Reconcile? Even the most “logical” among us do spectacularly irrational things—because we’re driven by meaning, by narrative, by the stories we tell ourselves.Logic and illogic aren’t separate. They’re co-pilots.</p><p>So if you want to teach a machine how behavior works, we first have to ‘draw away’ the various dichotomies logic has constructed.</p><p><em>And once those dissolve?</em></p><p><strong>The behavior model doesn’t need to be built.</strong></p><p>It simply... emerges.</p><p>Google: “Why doesn’t a unified behavior model exist?”</p><p><strong>The answer begins with </strong><strong><em>complexity</em></strong>.</p><p>Complexity created by <em>distinctions</em> (above) that are both very important AND <em>fundamentally</em> (behaviorally speaking), not so important.</p><p><em>Like jiggling the old TV antenna for the hundredth time, and suddenly the picture locks in—clear as day, as though it was never scrambled at all.</em></p><p>Turns out, it <em>—A UNIFIED BEHAVIOR MODEL—does</em> exist. ☝️</p><p>It just had to be excavated from under layers of distinctions, logic, and dichotomies.</p><p>Logic is linear.</p><p>Behavior, like the human experience, is abstract.</p><p><strong>This is elemental behavioral literacy. This is the Unified Behavioral Model (UBM)</strong></p><p>We didn’t invent it—we <em>excavated</em> it.</p><p>It was buried.</p><p>Habits 2 Goals Premium by Martin Grunburg is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p><p>“What is your face before your parents were born?” — Zen Koan</p><p>Because while machines crunch data, <strong>humans connect dots</strong>.</p><p>While models can simulate logic, <strong>you can sit with uncertainty</strong>.</p><p>When you can <strong>envision a bigger picture,</strong> the frames dissolve.</p><p>“Reflection” (Man Sitting) M. Grunburg 1987</p><p>Elemental behavioral science shouldn't be reserved for labs and lectures. We teach adolescents the <strong><em>ABCs</em></strong> and <strong><em>123s</em></strong> —elemental math and grammar. We can, and should, teach elemental behavior. Maybe abstract thinking will come along for the ride.</p><p><strong>“Experience and knowledge don’t arrive with labels, silos, or departments—we create those. Sometimes those distinctions are incredibly useful (like language itself). And sometimes—</strong><strong><em>also like language</em></strong><strong>—they make problem-solving harder than it needs to be.”</strong></p><p><strong>🚨 #TrueStory: </strong><strong><em>Habit Tracking News Breakthrough!</em></strong>Read what the new science <em>reveals about the unmistakable power of</em> habit tracking in the UBM White paper.</p><p>Grab your <strong>free white paper</strong> (see <strong>Section 7.0</strong>) —> Just one week ‘old’ and 200+ downloads already, <a target="_blank" href="https://zenodo.org/records/15844153"><strong>https://zenodo.org/records/15844153</strong></a><strong>P.S.</strong> Reminder: The <strong>Unified Behavioral Model™ (UBM)</strong> is the first behavioral model to be both <strong><em>falsifiable</em></strong> and <strong><em>unified</em></strong>—meeting the scientific gold standard of Ph.D.-level rigor.</p><p>Everyone (not just academics) is invited to download the paper and explore the <strong>“No Fifth Element” Challenge</strong>—with a <strong>$1,000 prize</strong> on the line.</p><p>Grab your <strong>free white paper</strong> (see <strong>Section 7.0</strong>) —> Just one week ‘old’ and 200+ downloads already, <a target="_blank" href="https://zenodo.org/records/15844153"><strong>https://zenodo.org/records/15844153</strong></a></p><p>📄 Grab the free habit tracking template: <a target="_blank" href="https://thehabitfactor.com/templates">thehabitfactor.com/templates</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="%%share_url%%">Share</a></p><p><strong><em>The Trilogy: WARNING! DO NOT READ THESE BOOKS!!!</em></strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/40MvuiB"><strong>The Habit Factor®</strong></a><strong>: </strong>Habit alignment, momentum and daily wins!</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/4auDR5P"><strong>The Pressure Paradox™</strong></a>: Productivity, Performance & Peace of Mind.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/4jyrA4A"><strong><em>EVERYTHING</em></strong></a>: The stories you tell yourself heavily influence ‘<em>everything.</em>’</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe</a>