One of the most complex adaptive systems we know of is the brain*.  When we are trying to understand a complex system, one of the most important things for us to think about is its function.  One of the main functions of the mind-brain-body’s main is to make predictions.  It does this by using our past to make assumptions about what’s happening now.  Another word for these ‘assumptions’ are ‘predictive models’. The mind-brain-body creates predictive models by taking snippets of information and then creating models that it uses to predict lots of things without needing to have all the information of everything it comes across.  it would be way less efficient if it had to analyze everything in order to understand it.   These predictive models affect our relationships, behaviors, and even our emotional well-being. One way these predictive models influence our relationships and how we interact with people is that they prevent you from seeing people as they actually are.  Instead, you're seeing them through your model - or paradigm -  that's built from your history.