Estimation of discrepancy of color qualia using Kullback-Leibler divergence.

Qualia have traditionally been considered difficult to measure objectively, but with the recent spread of fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and other techniques, various experimental efforts have been made. In this paper, focusing on the qualia for color, we created 6 colors with different RGB values for reference colors of RED, light GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, and PURPLE, and showed them to 306 subjects. For example, for RED and 5 generated colors, we asked them, "Choose a color that you feel is RED," and asked them to choose. A probability density function was defined for each of the five generated colors and the reference color, which is the primary color of RED, light GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, and PURPLE, and the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the probability density function of the reference color and the generated color was calculated, the relationship between the number of samples of the selected color and the Kullback-Leibler divergence was obtained, and the difference in color sensation-qualia was calculated accordingly. As a result, it was confirmed that the larger the distance of the Kullback-Leibler divergence, the smaller the number of samples, but that the distribution shape in which the number of samples decreased for each color differed greatly. This suggests that if we see a color such as RED to PURPLE, we are randomly choosing a color that "feels."

Modeling of will and consciousness based on the human language: Interpretation of qualia and psychological consciousness.

In a previous paper, the authors proposed a mathematical definition of a public language and a new model of consciousness based on that public language. Consciousness spans a wide range of disciplines, including medicine, philosophy, mathematics, physics, and psychology, and it is desirable that the model of consciousness should also be able to answer questions of consciousness in each discipline. This paper applies the HLbC model proposed by the authors to the question of psychological consciousness and examines whether it can explain the phenomenon. Regarding the problem of so-called optical illusions, such as Rubin's vase, it can be explained by the fact that consciousness is caused by a stochastic fluctuation of consciousness with respect to figures that can be interpreted in multiple ways. Empathy and mutual understanding are also proposed to be mathematically represented and understood in terms of the Kullback-Leibler divergence, which is the basis of the HLbC model. Furthermore, the HLbC model was applied to prospect theory, the basis of behavioural economics, and confirmed that its properties can be successfully explained. From the above, we confirmed that the proposed HLbC model can explain the phenomenon of psychological consciousness.

Mathematical definition of human language, and modeling of will and consciousness based on the human language.

To propose a mathematical model of consciousness and will, we first simulated the inverted qualia with a toy model of a neural network. As a result, we confirmed that there can be an inverted qualia on the neural network. In other words, the qualia were individual-dependent and considered difficult as an indicator of consciousness and will. To solve that difficulty, we introduce a probability space and a random variable into a set of qualia and define a human language for events. Based on this idea of human language, consciousness and will are modeled. In this proposal, future actions are randomly selected from the comparison between "recognition of events" by external observation and past episodic memory, and the actual "recognition of actions" is regarded as the occurrence of consciousness. The basic formula is also derived. This proposal is compared with other past philosophical discussions.

Effect of face shield design on the prevention of sneeze droplet inhalation.

A flow simulation was performed for face shields to investigate whether varying a shield's edge shape could prevent droplets from entering the shield. Face shields with two types of edge shapes were used. The "Type I" shield had small plates mounted on the top and bottom edges of the shield to physically inhibit the sneeze inflow. The "Type II" shield had small brims sticking forward from the shield surface and small plates sticking upward and downward at the top and bottom edges to inhibit the entrainment flow produced by the vortex ring using sneeze flow. We confirmed that the flow characteristics around a face shield can be controlled using the shield's edge shape. In Type I, the entraining flow inside the shield was inhibited by the mounted small plate at the bottom edge, ensuring the inhibiting effect, but not at the top edge. In Type II, the entrained flow inside the shield was inhibited by the mounted brim and small plate at the top edge, ensuring the inhibiting effect, but not at the bottom edge. The effects of the Type II design parameters on the flow characteristics around the face shield were examined. The results indicate that at the top edge, increasing the length of the brim and not mounting the small plate at an incline from the shield surface improves the inhibition effect. At the bottom edge, shortening the length of the brim and mounting the small plate at an incline from the shield surface improves the inhibition effect.

Effect of sneezing on the flow around a face shield.

A flow analysis around a face shield was performed to examine the risk of virus infection when a medical worker wearing a face shield is exposed to a patient's sneeze from the front. We ensured a space between the shield surface and the face of the human model to imitate the most popularly used face shields. In the present simulation, a large eddy simulation was conducted to simulate the vortex structure generated by the sneezing flow near the face shield. It was confirmed that the airflow in the space between the face shield and the face was observed to vary with human respiration. The high-velocity flow created by sneezing or coughing generates vortex ring structures, which gradually become unstable and deform in three dimensions. Vortex rings reach the top and bottom edges of the shield and form a high-velocity entrainment flow. It is suggested that vortex rings capture small-sized particles, i.e., sneezing droplets and aerosols, and transport them to the top and bottom edges of the face shield because vortex rings have the ability to transport microparticles. It was also confirmed that some particles (in this simulation, 4.4% of the released droplets) entered the inside of the face shield and reached the vicinity of the nose. This indicates that a medical worker wearing a face shield may inhale the transported droplets or aerosol if the time when the vortex rings reach the face shield is synchronized with the inhalation period of breathing.