Mind - the Final Frontier: “Decoding the Human Mind”

Copyright © 2016 by Ravi Singh.

Illustrated by: Dennis Davide

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4828-8493-7

                  eBook           978-1-4828-8492-0

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Contents

Acknowledgement

Foreword

Introduction

Part I: Decoding the Anatomy of Mind

Mind Games

Mind at Work

Self: Am I?

Consciousness: Pervasive yet Elusive

Time: Unreal, Unstable, Unreliable?

Breathing: Elixir of Life

Free Will: Relax, It’s Not You

Expectations: Ever Bullish

Happiness: Ever Bearish

Knowing: Order of Ignorance

Conflict: Tug of War

Fear: Friend or Nemesis

Boredom: Underrated

Pledger Account: Logical Versus Emotional

Echoing Sentiments: Parallels with Other Philosophies

1) Buddhism

2) Bhagavad Gita

Part II: The Universe, God, Love, and Morality

Nature of Universe: Press Start to Begin

Free Will: Determinism or Inevitability

God: Who Pressed Start?

True Love is Random

Morality: Which Way to Heaven?

Part III: Authentic Life

Intellectual Curiosity Versus Practical Problems of Life

Relationships and the Art of Listening

Job Satisfaction: An Illusion?

A Brief Survey of Common Meditation Techniques

Acknowledgement

This book would not have been a reality without the inspiration and support of some people. I would like to begin by paying my respects to philosophers such as Shankaracharya, Immanuel Kant, David Hume and J. Krishnamurti from whom I have learnt a lot and more importantly realized that I am not the only one to have such ‘weird’ questions and ideas in my mind.

I would thank Sanjeev Sanyal, author of Land of Seven Rivers and Marianne Talbot, Faculty of Philosophy at University of Oxford for providing valuable inputs and suggestions.

I would like to thank my friends Anubhav Jha, Jai Sandhu and Subodh Chawla for providing useful suggestions and ideas.

I would also thank my parents for providing unconditional support to the endeavours I have taken in life including this one. They stand like a banyan tree under which I enjoy the freedom to play around.

Finally, I want to dedicate this book to my wife Neha without whose support I would not have the audacity to even think about writing this book. She was there to support and help me at each and every step of the process especially at times when I doubted myself.

Foreword

The mind, how it works, the ideas of ‘self’ and ‘consciousness’ have intrigued mankind for as long as the existence of humanity itself. As technology enables us to make greater inroads in understanding the human brain, a fierce debate rages amongst neuroscientists, psychologists and philosophers as they attempt to answer these questions.

In an age where humans are modelling machines on their own behaviour and to be more ‘human-like’, Ravi’s book offers an interesting perspective on how the human mind can in turn be understood as a computer which processes information. With this approach he simplifies ideas such as self and consciousness while also helping in deal with practical problems of life such as fear, anxiety, boredom and even dealing with relationships.

His book strikes a chord in my heart. Throughout my life I’ve been asked how do I do so many things together. My reply to that question always is that I think of myself as a multitasking computer with a Unix kernel. A Unix kernel does many processes together by using round robin i.e. initiating many tasks in parallel and giving time to every processes regularly. With this method the computer is able to execute multiple tasks and it seems as if they are being done in parallel! That, I believe, is the secret to multitasking abilities.

For me, this perspective also raises an interesting question about what will happen if the two continue to converge – i.e. the human brain and machines. The questions of what is the mind, the self and consciousness might need to be answered all over again.

Coming from India, this book is also special because we’re the birthplace of zero without which modern day computing would not be possible and of Sanskrit which is the most logical language for coding. Maverick thinkers like this may actually make India the birthplace of a new theory of evolution which is based on computing theory itself! Or of an artificial intelligence which is more human than humans themselves! The scope of this perspective is boundless – the idea of convergence of the human mind and machines in how they work may give rise to a lot more interesting developments and more philosophical or existential questions, not just for humans but maybe for machines too!

When I read the book written by Ravi, I found an overwhelming similarity of computing concepts to real world questions that we ask. It might not be the answer to a lot of questions that you want to know in the world, but we might discover the answer to a lot of them as 42.

It gives me pleasure and pride that a fellow engineering alumnus has written a book on such an important subject. He is an engineer turned consultant turned civil servant who’s given a fresh perspective on an age-old philosophical conundrum. You should read this book if you want to answers to your questions and I wish Ravi the very best.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Founder, Paytm

Introduction

Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.

―Immanuel Kant,

Critique of Practical Reason

Are you curious by nature? Do you think and introspect? What do you think about most often? Our minds are filled with all sorts of questions. Sometimes, we are primarily preoccupied with practical and day-to-day questions in life such as about the colour of shirt to wear to work tomorrow, ways to meet a stringent project deadline set by the boss, or options of birthday gifts to be given to a loved one, while at other times we are more concerned with abstract questions such as ‘Who are we?’ ‘Where did we come from?’ and ‘Why we do what we do?’ among other questions. Sometimes, we find answers to our questions and sometimes we don’t. But instead of focusing on the contents of the mind, have you ever brought your attention to mind itself? Have you ever tried to understand what is the mind exactly and how it works? Although the mind is so eminently present, yet we often fail to recognize its importance in our lives. If it is understood properly, it cannot only help us lead better lives, but also help satiate our intellectual curiosity.

I have always been obsessed with and curious about the nature of reality and of life and about our place in it. Since my childhood, I have been troubled and intrigued by questions such as what is the purpose of life? Do we have free will? What is the self? How did the universe come into being? This inner urge has pushed me to look for answers everywhere. I have tried to understand such issues through the lens of physical sciences like physics and biology, social sciences like philosophy and psychology, religious texts, and also from everyday observations. Although these have helped in sharpening my understanding, my experience has led me to believe that ultimately, the answers don’t lie outside but within us. For that, we must understand how the mind works.

Understanding how our mind works is the key to answering complex questions of life and reality. After all, it is only through mind that we know everything. But despite the great scientific breakthroughs in the past two centuries, I feel our understanding