What is the critical filter and what function does it perform?
The critical filter lies partly in the conscious and partly in the subconscious areas of your mind. The function of the critical mind is that of a gatekeeper who controls the flow of information from the conscious to the subconscious. The information flowing into the conscious mind is evaluated here and the decision is then made whether to accept or reject that input. If the information is accepted, it is immediately passed on to the subconscious mind for long-term storage. If the information is not accepted, it is either rejected immediately or vented later during sleep in the dream state. When we are born, the critical filter is not developed. At birth a child’s logic, reason and inhibitory processes are not developed. At this time the subconscious mind only contains fight and flight responses deep down in the primitive memory area. Therefore, a child only has access to these primitive mechanisms. As the child grows, the inhibitory processes slowly develop. A baby is born with only t
