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Cyclic adaptive resilience
Adaptive Hypercycle of Sustainable Psychosocial Self-organization (Part #13)
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Given the initially stated concern with resilience and navigation of the adaptive cycle, it is appropriate to take account of necessary engineering design innovations in response to the need to navigate the unusual conditions of potentially problematic terrain on the Moon or Mars. One such concept is a flexible spiral wheel which deflects under load and torque, creating a larger contact area and thus more traction than a rigid wheel in a lunar-like terrain (NASA Lunar Surface Mobility Components). In the case of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), the buggy is designed with special wheels. Each wheel has a unique spiral flecture pattern that connects the external part of the wheel with the spoke to absorb shock and prevent it from transferring to other parts of the rover.
| Fig. 9: Spiral wheel design adapted to problematic terrain (as indicated by the extensive comparative literature on lunar rover design) | |
| Fig. 9a: Mars Rover Mission | Fig. 9b: Concept for lunar surface vehicle wheel (related concepts included the spiral-spring wheel, hoop-spring wheel) |
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The question is what is to be learnt from such mechanical design considerations in response to dynamic stresses that might have their analogues in the configuration of strategic preoccupations of governance essential to adaptive resilience -- as suggested in relation to the cognitive configuration of the hexagrams in Fig. 2. The literature on lunar rover design specifically recognizes the exceptional challenge of the terrain and the conditions. Such thinking might well inspire thinking regarding the need for any new cognitive "vehicle" to navigate the unusual conditions of governance in the future -- including expectations of the unexpected. Briefly put, does governance need a "new set of wheels"? What does "extra-planetary" imply in cognitive terms?
The designs depicted in Fig. 9 suggest that the transformation "links" or "pathways" indicated between the hexagrams of Fig. 2 should be considered not simply as connecting tension elements (cybernetic transmission "lines") but also as having inherent resilience (as with the elasticity of rubber), capable of responding flexibly to "positive" and "negative" forces. Also of interest, offering a related design metaphor, is the increasing recognition of the spiral pump, especially recessive spiral pumps based on the Fibonacci spiral. It has also been hypothesized that the Golden Ratio may represent the mathematical basis for hand-heart development so as to achieve optimal form and function (Jason Yongsheng Chan, et al, The Golden Ratio Optimizes Cardiomelic Form and Function, 2009).
Of further interest is the extent to which the challenges of traction in potentially challenging terrain offer insights into possible ways of framing individual identity, as suggested in the introductory paper (Emergence of Cyclical Psycho-social Identity: sustainability as "psyclically" defined, 2007).
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