The story can best be described as an attempt to test by analogy a theory from the quantum physics description of the micro world on the macro world in the form of my own life from age one to twenty.
In quantum physics theory of the microworld, among many other theories, three concepts - events, precedence and coherence - are used to explain the evolution of the reality we live in. According to this theory, causal relationships link atomic events in causal chains, precedence means that atomic events in the microworld are influenced by the number of similar previous atomic events in the causal chain from which they are supplied with energy and information. Context means that an atomic event has a different outcome depending on the context in which it occurs.
Published in October 2023, the book A Mind Game explores, tests and draws conclusions about whether macro-level events, precedence and contexts during the first formative 20 years of life can explain the effects this interaction may have had on the development of personal characteristics. The traits focused on and described are drawn from the Five Factor Model (FFM), a widely accepted theory in psychology.
The common thread
As the book's narrative spans a wide range of fields from arcane quantum physics to psychological development at the individual level, one wonders what the common thread is. Let's see if we can connect these worlds.
In chapter 1, a theory formulated by a well-known quantum physicist, Lee Smolin, is presented on how atomic events in the micro world relate to each other via assumptions of "energetic causal sets" described as Events, Precedence and Context. In the same chapter, the concepts are defined in everyday life with the help of the Swedish Academy Dictionary (SO) and a theory in psychology, the Five Factor Model, is described regarding factors behind personal development.
Chapters 2 and 3 contain, in addition to Smolin's theories, also a brief summary of some schools within quantum physics regarding the innermost essence of existence and being to give a small insight into the conceptual apparatus of the quantum world. Chapter 4 discusses how the theory from quantum physics' description of the micro world can be tested on the macro world according to the approach "life as a network of causal relationships between events" in order to see what then emerges about how life develops on an individual level. In chapter 5, The Mind Game Explicit, the assumptions behind the Mind Game are scrutinized in more detail to see to what extent they can conceivably hold. Chapters 6 to 10 follow my upbringing from childhood on the small farm through the village school, elementary school and secondary school up to and including high school through the description of a number of events and experiences that are all interpreted within the framework of the Five Factor Model. The account follows a strict order, with first a description of the event I happened to remember, my interpretation of the characteristic(s) according to the Five Factor Model to which the event relates, and a conclusion.
The concluding chapter 11, The Relevance of the Mind Game, considers its validity and draws conclusions about the lessons I have learned from the mind game.