The brain uses these patterns that are encoded into it in order to make sense of reality. Hawkins is much better at explaining his work than I do so I'll allow him to do it in the following clips. I will say this though his work has serious implications for the entire field of self development.
What he is proposing is supported by the latest research in Mirror Neurons. And from what I can tell work in Mirror Neurons and Hawkins work sheds light on the interconnectedness of Paul Ekman's work in facial expressions and autism. Which seems like an interesting by product that I didn't expect to come across. One last connection I have made from all of this Ekman's work, Mirror Neurons and Hawkins Memory Prediction framework connects with George Lakoff's work in Cognitive Linguistics along with Robert Dilts and Judith Delozier's work in Somatic Syntax.
It's all connected. I just need to find a way to articulate these connections.