You Never Have Direct Access to the World
You Only Have the Model Your Brain Constructs — And Joe Rogan #2403 Just Proved It
Andrew Gallimore just detonated a perception bomb on JRE #2403:
“You never have direct access to the world. You only have access to the model your brain is constructing.”
That’s not mysticism.
That’s Orientation…
That’s Col. John Boyd’s Real OODA sketch — on DMT and Rogan
Watch: 15-Minute Breakdown (YouTube)
WATCH: The REAL OODA Loop Explained: DMT, World Models & Joe Rogan #2403 (Andrew Gallimore)
Andrew Gallimore:
The brain is always constructing a model. It predicts the next frame of sensory data. If I move this water bottle — even with eyes closed — you know where it’ll be.
That’s your Bayesian brain running active inference. That is 100% Real OODA.
The Thatcher Effect:
Normal face → High-level model (Thatcher = familiar)
Upside-down face → High-level model weakens
Eyes & mouth flipped right-side up → Lower fragments look “normal”
Flip the whole image → High-level model screams: “DEMON!”
Proof: Your Orientation (world model) and perception (IG&C) filters everything.
No direct access. Ever.
“She looks like a demon.”
— Joe Rogan
The Three Streams of “Control”
“I’m your environment, you are my environment.”
-John R. Boyd
Boyd didn’t just draw a cycle. He mapped information flow — the currency of living systems.
Unfolding Interaction with the Environment
Your actions ripple out, feedback ripples back.
Thatcher example: You flip the image → environment responds → model updates.
Real life: Publish a post → reader comments → refine your voice.
Unfolding Circumstances
Others’ OODA loops reshape your battlefield.
JRE example: Joe’s worldview vs. a friend’s “crazy” text.
Macro: Market shifts, AI regs, or society finally seeing plant-medicine value.
Outside Information
The Muse. Akashic Records. Cosmic download. DMT’s “reality switch.”
Gallimore: Entities commandeer your brain, injecting novelty.
Boyd: “Incomprehensibility” — one of nine features we can’t eliminate.
Access via flow, breathwork, psychedelics, or Wim Hof cold exposure.
“Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle… If veterans can achieve awareness through [DMT], they can teach us how to make peace.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Suggested Reading
Destruction and Creation – John Boyd (1976) – The Alpha and Omega of OODA
Death by Astonishment – Andrew Gallimore – DMT as Outside Information portal
Reality Switch Technologies – Free energy, attractors, prediction engines
P.S. Every Joe Rogan episode is about the Real OODA loop!






Excellent Ponch, thank you for all the great work you and Mark are doing. I am now working with Genghis on forthcoming podcasts and promoting his book.
Thanks @ Ponch. Happen to be right in the middle of writing a piece about this called "All models are wrong…including yours" Looking at neuroscience and how you don’t see what’s real - you see what your model lets through.