Self-Consciousness: Human Brain as Data Processor

by Masakazu Shoji

Overview

A summary of author Masakazu Shoji’s previous works, Self-Consciousness: Human Brain as Data Processor, explains self-consciousness by using a simple, mechanical model of the human brain, which reflects its past development of evolution by natural selection. The model was built from the information acquired from the unbiased, introspective observation of Shoji’s own mind and other rational assumptions. In this study, geared for those with a background in the research and science of psychology, Shoji introduces a new approach based on systems and information science; it relies on the synthetic method of study by designing the human brain’s functional model. It deals with the self-conscious directly, without adding in subconsciousness or quantum mystery, as has been done previously. The model was designed realistically using hardware built with genetic instructions, using neurons as the elements of digital and analog operations. Shoji shares that versions of this model reveal how humans acquire and store memories of images of the outside objects, sense the images internally, execute necessary actions directed by the images, feel an emotional state by facing life’s events, and develop intelligence by accumulated experiences. The model also explains mysterious mental experiences, such as seeing dreams, daydreams, phantoms, ghosts, and feeling premonitions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532093913
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	576
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Masakazu Shoji earned a PhD in electronics and an ScD in physics. He worked as a physicist and microprocessor designer for Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, for thirty-five years. He’s been interested in human self-consciousness, mythology, and New World antiquity since his youth, and he uses this background to study human self-consciousness. He is also author of Self-Consciousness: The Hidden Internal State of Digital Circuits.

Editorial Reviews

2020-10-20
A nonfiction work that offers an in-depth look at the mechanics of the human mind.

Shoji follows the thread of his book Self-Consciousness: The Hidden Internal State of Digital Circuits (2013) with an examination of how the mind knows itself and engages with the outside world. This extensive work dissects complex topics regarding brain function, such as language processing, memory, and writing systems. The author provides diagrams to illustrate his concepts (such as a “Block-Subblock Support Circuit”), and he often breaks his explanations down into the language of mathematics: “distortion of the Cartesian ↔ polar coordinate conversion.” His conclusions include the notion that fear is ultimately “the driving force creating the human mind” and that excessive competition in modern society may lead to humanity’s downfall. One can easily infer that Shoji’s logical, unadorned prose style stems from his decades working as a semiconductor-chip designer for Bell Laboratories.Amid such technical material, the author also reveals much about himself, such as early memories of his childhood in World War II–era Japan. He notes that he believes firmly in the theory of evolution and states that he doesn’t look for answers about human advancement in a God figure. He’s also immensely fond of myths and holds particular reverence for advanced ancient cultures, such as that of the Inca people. As a result, the book creates a unique perspective by not only examining ideas about the brain, but also the man behind those ideas. Some portions, however, are undeniably dense (“the arc specification that is vector c’s reversal and rotation, is specified by the excitation of a character bus line”), and close reading, if not rereading, will be required to get a clear picture. Still, this well-organized work does manage to shed light on the endlessly complex phenomenon of the self.

Not a light read but a fine starting point for exploring the mysteries of the brain.

Kirkus Reviews