In Search of the Mind's Code

Ryan A Bush is involved in software system design, but also in product, service, and business model design. Additionally, he's passionate about philosophy (e.g., Marcus Aurelius, Spinoza, Friedrich Nietzsche, and major Eastern thinkers like Laozi and Buddha).

His book also features numerous references to cultural anthropology, neuroscience, and behavioural economics. In essence, it's a vibrant melting pot of intellectual and scientific inspirations.

'Projektowanie umys?u' (original title: ‘Designing the Mind’) is a book on 'psychitecture', the art of redesigning the mind.

"What is the essence of this art supposed to be?

According to the author, it involves consciously managing three areas: cognitive, emotional, and behavioural. It's a crossroads of self-reflection, phenomenology, and deliberately implementing gradual changes in one's own way of understanding, feeling, and related habits (including thought habits).

?Nothing new, you might say. Philosophy has been dealing with this for centuries, later taken over by psychology – especially in the cognitive stream and the mentioned behavioural economics.

The computer metaphor of the mind, used by the author, is also not new. It was eagerly reached for by AI pioneers like Alan Turing or Marvin Minsky. The concept that the human mind can be modelled and understood in terms of computational processes (and vice versa) has essentially become the foundation of many studies in the field of artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

However, what seems fresh and innovative in Ryan A. Bush's approach is the consistency in exploring this metaphor in terms of its practical application. In this sense, "Designing the Mind" is a well-written guide, in which a systematic way of recording algorithms and counter-algorithms of our thinking and acting has been developed.

Based on the genetically conditioned, biological structure of the brain - the mind here is a kind of metacode that self-optimises in response to environmental stimuli. Self-reflection and self-knowledge, in turn, allow this process to be accelerated and perfected through self-observation and deliberate management of successive cycles of individual operations – i.e., subsequent iterations.

A Bush's guide can thus be read as a proposal for a certain theory of the mind. It could even be tempted to reconstruct it by extracting the basic assumptions and theses from the author's considerations, based on the interdisciplinary research and literature to which he refers. The theoretical framework that emerges would look as below:

?Basic definition: Mind = a dynamic, multidimensional system integrating various biological, cognitive, emotional, and social processes.

1.???? It is genetically conditioned: The biological body and nervous system possess structures and genetically rooted functions that determine fundamental predispositions and individual capabilities.

2.???? Utilizes the biological brain: The brain forms the physical substrate of the mind, enabling perception, thinking, learning, memory, behaviour control, emotion regulation, and other cognitive processes.

3.???? Responds to biological and social needs: The mind is continually influenced by basic biological needs (e.g., food, sleep) as well as social and culturally shaped ones (e.g., acceptance, belonging, self-development).

4.???? Forms and utilizes accumulated knowledge and beliefs: The mind shapes, stores, and utilises knowledge and beliefs, influencing the interpretation and understanding of the world.

5.???? Develops habits and skills: It forms habitual patterns and acquires skills that facilitate interaction with the environment.

6.???? Processes emotions: It experiences and, to some extent, regulates emotions, crucial in decision-making, motivation, and social interactions.

7.???? Dynamically adaptive: The mind is capable of adaptation and change, evolving through continuous learning and new experiences, made possible by the brain's neuroplasticity.

8.???? Engages in social interactions: The mind functions within a social context, communicating, building relationships, and adapting to social norms and expectations.

9.???? Strives for self-regulation and personal development: The mind is capable of self-regulation, meta-perspective, reflecting on its experiences, and establishing and pursuing developmental goals.

10.? Complex and comprehensive: The mind is a system that integrates diverse aspects of functioning – from biological to social – creating a complex, multidimensional, and dynamically changing whole.

These theses seem coherent, logical, and supported by current knowledge on the enigmatic phenomenon that is the human mind.

Continuing, based on the established assumptions, one could now attempt to recreate a general "code of the mind".

In this task, I sought the help of an expert, namely ChatGPT. What we agreed upon (after many heated discussions and even arguments) would boil down to the following formula:

class HumanMind:
    def __init__(self):
        self.genetic_conditions = "Genetic Conditions"
        self.brain = "Biological Brain, Instincts, and Affects"
        self.biologic_needs = "Biological Needs"
        self.beliefs = []
        self.habits = []
        self.emotions = []

    def observe_environment(self, environment):
        # Observing the environment
        patterns = self.find_patterns(environment)
        return patterns

    def find_patterns(self, environment):
        # Searching for patterns in the environment
        return ["pattern1", "pattern2"]

    def form_beliefs(self, patterns):
        # Forming beliefs based on patterns
        for pattern in patterns:
            belief = f"Belief about {pattern}"
            self.beliefs.append(belief)

    def challenge_beliefs(self):
        # Critically analyzing and being open to changing beliefs
        for belief in self.beliefs:
            # Process of critical analysis
            pass

    def form_habits(self, stimulus, expectation, reward=True):
        # Forming habits based on stimuli and expectations
        if stimulus == expectation:
            if reward:
                self.habits.append("Positive Habit")
            else:
                self.habits.append("Negative Habit")

    def emotional_response(self, stimuli):
        # Emotional response to stimuli
        for stimulus in stimuli:
            emotion = self.evaluate_stimulus(stimulus)
            self.emotions.append(emotion)

    def evaluate_stimulus(self, stimulus):
        # Evaluating the stimulus based on beliefs and emotions
        return "Emotional Response"

    def self_improve(self):
        # Self-improvement process
        self.challenge_beliefs()
        # Additional actions for development

# Using the class
mind = HumanMind()
environment = "Environment"
patterns = mind.observe_environment(environment)
mind.form_beliefs(patterns)
mind.self_improve()
        

?Now, all that's needed is a machine to test this code on. ??

?Marek Staniszewski

P.S.

I send my sincere congratulations to the author and highly recommend the book itself!