  In order to become aware of inconsistencies, one must first construe of the
world in a way that reflects its consistencies. This paper begins with a
tentative model for how a set of discrete memories transforms into an
interconnected worldview wherein relationships between memories are forged by
way of abstractions. Inconsistencies prompt the invention of new abstractions.
In regions of the conceptual network where inconsistencies abound, a cognitive
analog of simulated annealing is in order; there is a willingness to question
previous assumptions--to 'loosen' conceptual relationships--so as to let new
concepts thoroughly percolate through the worldview and exert the needed
revolutionary effect. In so doing there is a risk of assimilating dangerous
concepts. Repression arrests the process by which dangerous thoughts infiltrate
the conceptual network, and deception blocks thoughts that have already been
assimilated. These forms of self-initiated worldview inconsistency may evoke
feelings of fragmentation at the level of the individual or the society.
