The very interesting tale of the Gramman Inventor and how he came to exist
Despite ultimately a very large disparity between Cybertronian intelligence and that of a human, there are some aspects in which Cybertronians are deficient in comparison to a human. One of these aspects as, we would know it, is what humans refer to as imagination.
What can be construed as "imagination" exists in all Cybertronians to some degree, as indeed all breeds of sentience require the ability to understand truly abstract concepts. Imagination as it is known in organic species, however, comes largely from a marriage of several psychological phenomenon, not the least of which known as the subconscious.
It was noting certain characteristic in sentient organic species, such as the ability to create concepts out of superficially "nothing" that caught the attention of Cybertronian scientists and Organopsychologists. Organopsychologists found in all cases that the arbitrary nature of organic "imagination" could possibly be attributed to the presence of what humans term the "subconscious". What in traditional Western terms could be considered the "subconscious" existed in all organic species to some extent; a portion of the organic brain taking in parts of its surroundings and reinterpreting it through seemingly arbitrary methods and images. To some degree, this lead to a certain degree of irrationality that was not seen in Cybertronians, however, it also allowed for organic species to make sudden and unexpected leaps in logic and progress. For this reason, organic species, despite their lower degree of intelligence, tended to progress in technological pursuits faster than did Cybertronians.
Attempts at creating a Cybertronian brain that mirrored that of an organic, up to and including the presence of an approximate "subconscious" were tampered with in largely theoretical stages towards the end of Alpha Trion's tenure as Arxin of the Grammatron. Several prototype processors were created by Cybertronian scientists, spearheaded by Gramman Idioma and future Gramman Perceptor. When Alpha Trion stepped down from the Grammatron and Idioma took charge as Arxin, one of his first projects he took part of in a non-administrative position was the creation of what would become known as the first "lateral" prototype. The first lateral prototype came online roughly two earth years after Idioma assumed the position of Arxin. The prototype responded positively to first light, sound and electromagnetic stimuli, but began to malfunction severely during language assimilation. The prototype only acquired partial language and quickly developed a series of hitherto unknown mental disorders in Cybertronians. The prototype was quickly euthanized.
With the cooperation from psychologists and organopsychologists from the planets Gépese and Allegran, Alpha Trion, Idioma and other scientists and Grammans were better able to isolate what lead to the stability in organic brains with the presence of the subconscious, and better yet what purpose the subconscious served with these brains. Two more prototypes were created, both stable enough to make it through language assimilation but consequently having a difficult time communicating, utilizing inappropriate words and often having hallucinations. These two prototypes, both Tertians, eventually had to have all subconscious subroutines removed, leaving them largely drone-like but functional enough not to be euthanized.
After a few more years of organopsychological study, Alpha Trion began construction of a new prototype, constructing this one to be a Secundan, the highest level of society beneath the Prime. The processor in this prototype being by far the most complex that Alpha Trion had yet created, after the prototype's creation, decided to give the prototype his language acquisition as an organic might receive it; through experience and absorption rather than from a program. Language acquisition therefore took a great deal longer than it ever had for any Cybertronian, but as it was at a proper pace for this new lateral prototype, he did not develop any of the mental disorders that had appeared in the last three.
After a few months of social interaction and language acquisition, the new lateral prototype would ostensibly prove to be a success, in a manner of speaking. The prototype was indeed wildly imaginative, making lateral connections that other Cybertronians simply didn't understand, connections from abstract concepts to what might to a human be construed as "art" right down to language and word play. For this reason, the prototype had a very difficult time acclimating himself to society. Idioma, at the behest of Alpha Trion, suggested to scientist Perceptor that his advancement into a Gramman position might occur quicker should he form a bond with the wayward prototype. Perceptor (albeit very reluctantly) agreed.
While Perceptor still had a very difficult time understanding or communicating with the prototype, the prototype himself gained much through his bond with Perceptor, quickly learning the mental machinations of his contemporaries and how they differed from his. While on some level this lead to some degree of isolation for the prototype, who was surrounded by beings who could not comprehend or match his lateral leaps of logic, he also learned to acclimate himself to their limitations, and also to adjust his behavior depending on who he was dealing with. For this reason, he quickly became one of the most well-liked Autobots among the Secundan scientists and engineers.
After the success of the first lateral prototype, plans to create others were put into place, perhaps even to create a whole new subrace. After the prototype's successful acclimation to society, however, he found himself, as one might have expected, most fulfilled while creating. Alpha Trion and Idioma agreed that any other lateral Autobots would probably do the same, and the degree to which this was necessary in society was then debated upon extensively, and the types of creations the newly-designated Inventor were kept under close scrutiny.
As Alpha Trion expected, a large proportion of the Inventor's creations were brilliant, the likes of which having never been seen, even by Idioma and Alpha Trion. However, the Inventor's wild leaps of thought, his application of physics, theories and untested theories, sometimes with a zealousness hitherto completely unseen in their entire species, lead to an overeager exploration that sometimes tested the very fabric of space and time. Correspondingly, portion of the Inventor's creations were failures or even destructive (sometimes... very destructive).
For this reason, a subrace of like-minded Autobots was not created, and the subconscious subroutines were therefore not continued in other prototypes. Similar programs that did not evolve from the notion of the "subconscious" but that better acclimated themselves to understanding abstract concepts and lateral thought did eventually make their way into the programming of later Autobots. For this reason, upon arrival on Earth, certain Autobots (such as Bumblebee and Jazz) had a better appreciation of the lateral-minded humans and their culture than others.
What can be construed as "imagination" exists in all Cybertronians to some degree, as indeed all breeds of sentience require the ability to understand truly abstract concepts. Imagination as it is known in organic species, however, comes largely from a marriage of several psychological phenomenon, not the least of which known as the subconscious.
It was noting certain characteristic in sentient organic species, such as the ability to create concepts out of superficially "nothing" that caught the attention of Cybertronian scientists and Organopsychologists. Organopsychologists found in all cases that the arbitrary nature of organic "imagination" could possibly be attributed to the presence of what humans term the "subconscious". What in traditional Western terms could be considered the "subconscious" existed in all organic species to some extent; a portion of the organic brain taking in parts of its surroundings and reinterpreting it through seemingly arbitrary methods and images. To some degree, this lead to a certain degree of irrationality that was not seen in Cybertronians, however, it also allowed for organic species to make sudden and unexpected leaps in logic and progress. For this reason, organic species, despite their lower degree of intelligence, tended to progress in technological pursuits faster than did Cybertronians.
Attempts at creating a Cybertronian brain that mirrored that of an organic, up to and including the presence of an approximate "subconscious" were tampered with in largely theoretical stages towards the end of Alpha Trion's tenure as Arxin of the Grammatron. Several prototype processors were created by Cybertronian scientists, spearheaded by Gramman Idioma and future Gramman Perceptor. When Alpha Trion stepped down from the Grammatron and Idioma took charge as Arxin, one of his first projects he took part of in a non-administrative position was the creation of what would become known as the first "lateral" prototype. The first lateral prototype came online roughly two earth years after Idioma assumed the position of Arxin. The prototype responded positively to first light, sound and electromagnetic stimuli, but began to malfunction severely during language assimilation. The prototype only acquired partial language and quickly developed a series of hitherto unknown mental disorders in Cybertronians. The prototype was quickly euthanized.
With the cooperation from psychologists and organopsychologists from the planets Gépese and Allegran, Alpha Trion, Idioma and other scientists and Grammans were better able to isolate what lead to the stability in organic brains with the presence of the subconscious, and better yet what purpose the subconscious served with these brains. Two more prototypes were created, both stable enough to make it through language assimilation but consequently having a difficult time communicating, utilizing inappropriate words and often having hallucinations. These two prototypes, both Tertians, eventually had to have all subconscious subroutines removed, leaving them largely drone-like but functional enough not to be euthanized.
After a few more years of organopsychological study, Alpha Trion began construction of a new prototype, constructing this one to be a Secundan, the highest level of society beneath the Prime. The processor in this prototype being by far the most complex that Alpha Trion had yet created, after the prototype's creation, decided to give the prototype his language acquisition as an organic might receive it; through experience and absorption rather than from a program. Language acquisition therefore took a great deal longer than it ever had for any Cybertronian, but as it was at a proper pace for this new lateral prototype, he did not develop any of the mental disorders that had appeared in the last three.
After a few months of social interaction and language acquisition, the new lateral prototype would ostensibly prove to be a success, in a manner of speaking. The prototype was indeed wildly imaginative, making lateral connections that other Cybertronians simply didn't understand, connections from abstract concepts to what might to a human be construed as "art" right down to language and word play. For this reason, the prototype had a very difficult time acclimating himself to society. Idioma, at the behest of Alpha Trion, suggested to scientist Perceptor that his advancement into a Gramman position might occur quicker should he form a bond with the wayward prototype. Perceptor (albeit very reluctantly) agreed.
While Perceptor still had a very difficult time understanding or communicating with the prototype, the prototype himself gained much through his bond with Perceptor, quickly learning the mental machinations of his contemporaries and how they differed from his. While on some level this lead to some degree of isolation for the prototype, who was surrounded by beings who could not comprehend or match his lateral leaps of logic, he also learned to acclimate himself to their limitations, and also to adjust his behavior depending on who he was dealing with. For this reason, he quickly became one of the most well-liked Autobots among the Secundan scientists and engineers.
After the success of the first lateral prototype, plans to create others were put into place, perhaps even to create a whole new subrace. After the prototype's successful acclimation to society, however, he found himself, as one might have expected, most fulfilled while creating. Alpha Trion and Idioma agreed that any other lateral Autobots would probably do the same, and the degree to which this was necessary in society was then debated upon extensively, and the types of creations the newly-designated Inventor were kept under close scrutiny.
As Alpha Trion expected, a large proportion of the Inventor's creations were brilliant, the likes of which having never been seen, even by Idioma and Alpha Trion. However, the Inventor's wild leaps of thought, his application of physics, theories and untested theories, sometimes with a zealousness hitherto completely unseen in their entire species, lead to an overeager exploration that sometimes tested the very fabric of space and time. Correspondingly, portion of the Inventor's creations were failures or even destructive (sometimes... very destructive).
For this reason, a subrace of like-minded Autobots was not created, and the subconscious subroutines were therefore not continued in other prototypes. Similar programs that did not evolve from the notion of the "subconscious" but that better acclimated themselves to understanding abstract concepts and lateral thought did eventually make their way into the programming of later Autobots. For this reason, upon arrival on Earth, certain Autobots (such as Bumblebee and Jazz) had a better appreciation of the lateral-minded humans and their culture than others.