The Brain, A Decoded Enigma Part 24

The tolerant spirit, characteristic to Europeans too, has to be preserved as absolutely necessary in a symbolic society, but it can turn against the society in fundamental problems.

The liberalism, spirit of adventure and desire of knowledge are basic components of the European spirituality, and they cannot be given-up, as long as Europe will exist.

Europe will be in great danger anytime when it will distort the European spirit, as it had been defined above.

This evaluation discussion should be ended here, but unfortunately all I have stated up to now is not really correct in a scientific approach. As we know, a scientific approach is based on the existence of a declared local model. This local model has to generate the definitions of the terms used. Let's start building a local model, and then we can return to read the above statements.

Let's begin with the 4 terms: liberalism, tolerance, spirit of adventure and desire of knowledge.

Liberalism is a.s.sociated with the technical capacity of a brain to build several long-range models, a.s.sociated to the same external reality. Moreover, that brain has to compensate for the design deficiency XD3 (with A and B variants, see MDT).

As several models exist, a.s.sociated to the same external reality, the possibility exists to activate any of them or several at one time; these models can change dynamically. The liberalism and the spirit of tolerance are closely connected. Liberalism admits several ways of action, and tolerance makes possible the choice of several ways, alternatively or simultaneously. Liberalism and tolerance are characteristic to an evolved and high quality brain. It is very important to note that tolerance implies the knowledge of several models a.s.sociated to the same external reality.

When the brain cannot build anymore several models a.s.sociated with the same external reality, it will restrain itself to a single model, and intolerance appears.

The perfectionists (e.g. the Americans) can have a serious problem here. Perfectionism means rejecting basically all the models, except one created by specialists. Thus, the tendency to induced schizophrenia (XS1B) increases for the perfectionists.

Example: The prompter is used in some TV broadcasts. The persons reading the news are totally de-personalised and practically recite, sometimes without understanding what they are saying, even when they are the authors of the texts. When news is presented, both speakers and listeners have two problems: to read/listen to the message and to understand its meaning. When the perfectionism of transmission of the message is exagerated, people will allocate less energy to understanding its meaning. Using the prompter is against the tolerance and the spirit of adventure characteristic to Europeans.

Let's a.n.a.lyze now the spirit of adventure and the desire of knowledge.

In front of a complex external reality, we need to build more and more complex ZM models. Without them, ZAMs can be built only approximately. This situation is practically very frequent, and the reaction to imperfect ZMs will characterize the spirit of adventure and the desire of knowledge.

It is clear that if we have no good quality ZMs, we cannot build good quality ZAMs, and this will block even more our possibility to build good quality ZMs.

A solution is to develop the ZMs and ZAMs (by simulation on suitable test models) up to the moment when we have enough guarantees that an action on the external reality will evolve as predicted. This is how perfectionists act. A second solution is to act based on the imperfect available models, evaluating the risk in a more or less precise way. The action in these circ.u.mstances characterizes the spirit of adventure.

The spirit of adventure is strongly related to the desire of knowledge. In fact, we can say that the desire of knowledge (to have better and better ZMs) is driven by the spirit of adventure (to activate ZAMs that we know to be imperfect).

Perfectionists are more goal-oriented, and not knowledge-oriented.

Example (effects of perfectionism): The Americans have imposed the operating systems for computers and many programs a.s.sociated with them. Perfectionists have created them. Their scope is to attain a goal and not directly knowledge. This spirit is incompatible with the European spirit and many Europeans feel it. Forced to evolve in a perfectionist type environment, the computer user becomes slowly but surely an accessory to the computer.

Another example can be given a.s.sociated with the negative effects of perfectionism. After the 9/11 events, the perfectionist American solution was the introduction of draconic customs and border rules and other homeland security rules, which are not efficient in any real situation. The perfectionists have no other available method. In Europe, the spirit of adventure and desire for knowledge is manifest, which means that the Europeans do not act according to 'rules' as perfectionists do, but use their independent capacity of learning and acting in a new unknown environment.

We will see on long-term the efficiency of the European methods in a world in which, according to MDT, the dispersion of the human brain development level is increasing dangerously.

ENDNOTES

This book can create problems to the majority of readers. The main problem is connected to the a.s.similation mode of new knowledge. The usual way, promoted by the educational system at all levels is a.s.similation of story-type models (logically structured or not)in an image type environment.

This book offers no chance to those who expect a story-type model a.s.sociated with image models. It cannot be in any way a.s.sociated to any image model. The book presents a single symbolic model; it has to be understood as it is, as a whole, based on logic.

The basic requirement is to have the capacity to build and operate symbolic models. People who work in positive sciences (physicists, mathematicians, engineers...) are favoured, while others have little chance to understand anything.

Some 'test' readers of the book were displeased by the repet.i.tion of several issues in different contexts. This method is mandatory when a new symbolic model has to be a.s.similated.

The persons who have the tendency to build story-type models will be very much disturbed by the repet.i.tions, as the repet.i.tion sends them back to the point where the statement appeared for the first time. This will fragment the story- type model. Once fragmented, it cannot be continued and a new story-type model has to be built. This produces irritation in this category of readers.

On the contrary, those who build normal models will consider repetion as positive, as it reconfirms the correctness of the a.s.similated normal model. The model is logical and thus can be developed by anybody who has abilities in building and operating symbolic models.

A short summary has been given at the beginning of the book. Based only on this summary and a few observations based on external reality, anybody could rewrite, maybe even better than I, this whole book. The reason is that any symbolic model is developed univocally based on logic.

Another aspect I want to underline is that this is a fundamental model. Based on it, one can build an unlimited number of local models a.s.sociated with specific problems. Anybody who has a.s.similated the model can develop it with his/her own resources for specific problems. E.g. this fundamental model can generate a new positive science called "psychology".

Children starting with age 12 can understand the book. At this age, children can build and operate relatively complex symbolic models, including computer programming.

Humans have a basic problem related to the perception of the external reality. I have discussed with several people who have not been disturbed by the fact that, e.g. in psychology, the terms used have no normal definitions (only descriptive ones). There are people who believe that a positive science is a science that uses apparata and gives precise results of some measurements. Even among physicists problems exist, most don't even realize that what they are doing is integrated into symbolic models. They know very well the models they build and operate, but some do not know the term 'symbolic model'. Many do not realize that any symbolic model is integrated into another symbolic one, until a fundamental symbolic model can be reached.

Example: Many will be surprised to find out that any computer program is a symbolic model. A program written e.g. in Java, is a symbolic model. The Java language itself is a symbolic model. Java is probably included in the symbolic model called C++. C++ itself is included in a.s.sembler, which on its turn is included, together with all the programs, which have ever been written, and any program which will ever be created, in the fundamental symbolic model called machine language.

Whatever the level we are on, a computer program starts with the construction of the symbolic model. This means that we need to declare the elements, their properties and the fundamental relations in between them. This is valid for languages based or not on algorithms. Anything which follow is called simulation on models. Properties of elements or of relations can be changed, and we can see what happens. Once this symbolic model is stable (has no logical contradictions), it has to be calibrated, i.e. needs to be verified on cases where the result is known. In most cases, the calibration implies a larger effort than building the model.

What we obtain from any computer program is a prediction of the model. If the program is stable (logical) and if it pa.s.sed the calibration tests, then its predictions will be compared with the external reality. We remind here that the a.s.sembly of all predictions of a symbolic model is called reality a.s.sociated to the model.

It is not at all surprising that, in the same way as with the brain, terms as truth or reality can be a.s.sociated to a computer program, with the definitions from MDT theory of the brain. The reason is easily understandable: we extend to the exterior our own structure of models of the brain. Seems to be impossible to do anything except this!

The above statement is interesting also under another aspect. Thus, no connection exists between the basic functions of the brain and a computer. However, we use computers to extend to the exterior the functions of our brain.

MDT makes a few predictions that are very difficult to accept. The educational system is based on a.s.similation of image and symbolic models, and verifying of the a.s.similation in specific tests.

This method has a problem. Based on the theory, those who have abilities to a.s.similate models have reduced qualities in building new models. The problem is related to the fact that the level of consciousness depends on the capacity to build new models. Thus, school has the tendency to promote individuals with reduced level of consciousness.

MDT shows that there are people knowledge-oriented and action-oriented. The action-oriented are not favourised by the educational system, and the ones oriented to knowledge are overappreciated. The action-oriented people move the society forward, and the educational system does not understand this many times.

The theory defines schizophrenia as the incapacity to build and operate long- range models. Long-range models are required not only for the formation of consciousness but also for the prediction of problems that might occur in the future. The schizophrenic method is to solve the problems as they appear, one step at a time. An 'elaborate' form of schizophrenia is called pragmatism.

The normal way of interaction with external reality is to have long-range models a.s.sociated with the external reality. These models can predict the occurence of future problems which can be prevented before their appearance.

Here is the English version of my book "Creierul o Enigma Descifrata" (in Romanian) which is also available in the frame of Gutenberg Project. I want to thank to Dr. Angela Vasilescu and Adrian Moisa for their help in the translation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

There is no specific bibliography. MDT is a fundamental theory.

That is, all the terms and all the definitions of them are generated by the model. No book can be used because in any book there are used terms with definitions which are not compatible with MDT's terms and definitions.

Example: there is a book of a researcher named t.i.tu I. Bajenescu with the t.i.tle "The performance of the artificial intelligence" (Albastra Publis.h.i.+ng House, Sibiu, Romania, in Romanian language). In the Bibliography of this book, the author has many hundreds t.i.tles, including 241 of his own. There is, in the book, a dictionary of the main terms used by author.

One of these terms is "intelligence". The author defines it by 16 different statements which contains at least 12 undefined words (to know, to understand, rational, conceptual knowledge, sensation, intuition, to discover, spirit, to addapt, character, to learn, problem, experience...).

Thus, to understand what is "intelligence" we need to know in advance the definitions a.s.sociated with all of these terms. These defint.i.tions must contain only words which are already defined.... An endless proces starts in this way.

Of course, the author has no definition of the term "intelligence"; he has only a description of it. Even worse, based of the impressive bibliography, it is clear that this very important term has no definition. The authot himself recognize this by saying: "the intelligence is a hard to define concept because it is impossible to find a single definition to be accepted by all".

In a.s.sociation with the above example, MDT-model generates the normal definition of the term "intelligence" as the facility to make and opperate a long range model.

The book cited above cannot be used and the situation is the same with all the books a.s.sociated with the function of the brain, available now.