Coherence-finding, when we discover hidden patterns
amongst seeming chaos, is the sort of thing , we have
to do to reconstruct the past or to make
a projection into the future.
The best-known example of structuring amongst the
higher intellectual functions is, of course, syntax. With
syntax, you can even nest sentences like: "I think I saw
him leave to go home." The other higher intellectual
functions include things like games with arbitrary
rules, which, of course, is a lot like logic where you
have to check against an arbitrary set of rules. Music
that goes beyond rhythm and melody to use multiple
voices in parts-singing or in symphonies. Coherencefinding,
when we discover hidden patterns amongst
seeming chaos, is the sort of thing, as I was mentioning
earlier, that we have to do to reconstruct the past
or to make a projection into the future. We're engaged
in trying to find things that hang together well.