MindScript

A human-readable language for describing the scripts we run without realizing we're running them.

Much of human behavior has a structure:

Something happens - we interpret it. An emotion appears. A belief becomes active.

We evaluate the situation against what we want, fear, remember, or expect. And then we do something.

Most of that happens automatically.

MindScript is an experimental notation for making some of those patterns visible. It borrows ideas from programming languages such as Java and SQL, but simplifies them heavily so the result can be read almost like ordinary English.

The goal is not to claim that the mind is literally software.

It is much simpler: If a recurring mental pattern can be described clearly enough to inspect, it may become easier to understand, question, test, and change.

MindScript gives us a language for doing that.

A Simple Example

Suppose criticism tends to trigger defensiveness. In MindScript, we might describe that as:

WHEN criticismReceived

WHERE criticismFeelsPersonal

DO {
    pain = pain + 1
    defensiveness = defensiveness + 1
}

IF defensiveness > curiosity
DO {
    argue()
}

That isn't intended to be computationally precise. Its value is that the pattern becomes visible. We can now ask:

• Why does criticism automatically become rejection?
• Where did that association come from?
• Is the condition always true?
• What happens if curiosity becomes stronger than defensiveness?
• Could another script run instead?

MindScript turns an internal pattern into something we can put on the table and examine.

MindScriptDoc

Further details can be found in our MindScript documentation.