The Foundations of Psychitecture

In the past, we humans have learned to control the world outside us, but we had little control over the world inside us. Every epoch attempted to describe the human mind using the language and metaphors of the leading technology of the time. Plato compared the intellect to a chariot. Descartes referred it as a technical clock. It was a steam engine for Sigmund Freud. Today computer is the most common analog for the mind.

The current metaphor of the mind as a computer is by far the most prevalent and accurate we have ever encountered. Our feelings, emotions, and ideas are all felt inwardly in the mind, yet they are all based on physical phenomena that may be changed by external events and technology. Our minds don’t generate emotions or cognitions arbitrarily: they are patterns coded into this software.

Our minds are the most complicated machines that have ever existed, which is why we can’t precisely anticipate human behavior. The fact that our minds are machines does not prohibit them from having a large range of experiences. Furthermore, comparing our minds to machines does not imply that they have been pre-programmed by evolution and are now bound to repeat themselves indefinitely until death. Our genes don’t decide who we are, but they do affect how much our experiences may change us during infancy, adolescence, and adulthood.

Your lifestyle choices, such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise, have a significant impact on your brain’s health and function. As interesting as the possibility for future mind alteration may be, much of it is now inaccessible to us. At this time in history, the most potent way to improve the brain is through its software: your ideas and actions. Your mind is altered by everything you do or encounter. Even posting images of your meal is a type of exercise that strengthens the connections between particular neurons while weakening the synapses between others.

The default human mind is a naturally disordered environment. By default, there are almost no chances of becoming well acclimated to this reality. Children cry and scream more than adults not just because their brains are not fully formed, but also because real-world experience compels you to adopt techniques over time. Childhood tantrums, anguish, irrationality, and impulsiveness exemplify being a prisoner to one’s default software. When society falls short, societal pressures try to bring you to the line of psychological adequacy, and psychotherapy can be used to help you get there.

“Any man could if he were so inclined to be the sculptor of his brain.”

-Santiago Ramon y Cajol,

(Advice for a young investigator.)

Written by: Maryum Ahmed.