Resonance Complexity Theory and the Architecture of Consciousness: A Field-Theoretic Model of Resonant Interference and Emergent Awareness

Michael Arnold Bruna's new paper, 'Resonance Complexity Theory and the Architecture of Consciousness,' proposes that consciousness emerges from stable interference patterns of oscillatory neural activity. The theory, known as Resonance Complexity Theory (RCT), suggests these spatiotemporal attractors—formed by recursive feedback and constructive interference—must exceed critical thresholds in complexity, coherence, gain, and fractal dimensionality to give rise to conscious experience. The model formalizes this with a Complexity Index (CI), a composite metric that multiplicatively combines fractal dimensionality (D), signal gain (G), spatial coherence (C), and attractor dwell time (tau).

To test RCT, Bruna developed a minimal 2D neural field simulation using radial wave sources. The system produced coherent, attractor-like excitation patterns through recursive constructive interference alone—without external input, regional coding, or imposed structure. These patterns met the theoretical CI thresholds, demonstrating that resonance-based attractors and consciousness-like dynamics can arise purely from wave physics. The work, published on arXiv and including full simulation code, offers a unified dynamical framework for modeling awareness as an emergent property of organized complexity in oscillatory systems, potentially impacting AI, neuroscience, and the philosophy of mind.