Coherence of a cognitive nexus comprehended dynamically

Comprehension of Requisite Variety via Rotation of the Complex Plane (Part #9)

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Whilst the distinctions made above are valuable, it is not as though society lacks patterns of distinction. The challenge would appear to lie both in how they are interrelated systemically and how any such system can be understood as working coherently -- even how it may be cognitively embodied. Inherently problematic is any assumption of permanent solidity or rigidity as is readily attributed to a fixed category, statically framed (by convention and definition), as separately discussed (Dynamic Transformation of Static Reporting of Global Processes: suggestions for process-oriented titles of global issue reports, 2013)..

Ironically the challenge to such rigidity has been most recently exemplified -- with a very high degree of controversy -- through the politics of gender identity and sexual identity, as discussed separately (Global Civilization through Interweaving Polyamory and Polyanimosity? Loving/Hating the world otherwise through contractual bonding with any significant other, 2018; Reimagining Intercourse between the Righteous Unrightly Challenged: attraction and harassment in psychodynamic terms beyond the binary blame-game, 2017). The latter discusses:

The consideration there of notations of "requisite ambiguity" offers animations associated with the Chinese trigram system. Shu Shengyu (2015) explicitly notes the challenge of comprehending the relationship between yin and yang in terms of the intimate dynamics of "coitus". As seemingly the most fundamental driver in the dynamics of global civilization, defying all rationalization, any specualtion in that regard is justified (Reframing the Dynamics of Engaging with Otherness: triadic correspondences between topology, Kama Sutra and I Ching, 2011).

Coherence through Chinese frameworks: A particular merit of the Chinese 8-fold articulation is the manner in which it has long been rendered comprehensible (to a degree) through metaphor, most notably climate-related metaphors as indicated above. As indicated there, Ii is in this sense that the argument here follows from that made separately with respect to the possibility of understanding the strategic challenge of climate otherwise (Enhancing Strategic Discourse Systematically using Climate Metaphors: widespread comprehension of system dynamics in weather patterns as a resource, 2015; Weather Metaphors as Whether Metaphors, 2015). In a period of notably shambolic global governance, that argument was presented in anticipation of the significance of the UN Climate Change Conference (Paris, November 2015).

The apparent role of incommensurability, indicated above as a feature of requisite cognitive and strategic variety, suggests that this may have further implications. The manner in which the "ways" of any eightfold way may be mutually incompatible to some degree (if not mutually incomprehensible), could be compared to the (eight?) gears of a vehicle -- only one of which can be appropriately used at any time. Expressed otherwise, each way is inadequate and "unfit for purpose" under certain conditions. Gear shifting (enabled by a gearbox) allows such imperfection to be managed by the driver -- recalling the Buddhist recognition of cognitive imperfection and the Sanskrit adage: Neti Neti (Not this, Not that). The gear metaphor is also helpful in that the cognitive distinctions made above relate to different kinds of motion.

It is in this sense that the traditional circular configuration of the BaGua is of value for the coherence it implies. Of further interest is the manner in which this is traditionally configured in the form of a magic square, as noted by Quincy Robinson and Paul Martyn-Smith (Evidence of Modern Physical Knowledge from Asiatic Antiquity: Re-integration: Nine Realms of Middle Earth, 2015) and by Shu Shengyu (The Relations Between Ancient China's Taoism and Modern Mathematics and Physics, 2015). A magic square could also be understood as a form of cognitive gearbox with its operative coherence suggested by its so-called magic constant -- 15 in the variant depicted below.

As noted separately (Chinese articulation of magic square insight, 2015), histories of mathematical insight into the development of magic squares make repeated reference to their first recognition in China as the Lo Shu square (Schuyler Cammann, The Magic Square of Three in Old Chinese Philosophy and Religion, History of Religions, 1, 1961, pp. 37-80; Frank J. Swetz, Legacy of the Luoshu: the 4,000 year search for the meaning of the magic square of order three, A K Peters, 2008). With respect to the Wu Xing configuration (indicated below), in Chinese culture the "elements" in the phase diagram have long had metaphoric interpretations rendering them variously comprehensible and meaningful. The mathematical relation of the 5-fold pattern to the 8-fold pattern is extensively discussed by Shu Shengyu (2015).

Traditional magic square configuration of BaGua a cognitive gearbox?	Wu Xing Five Phases, the Five Agents, the Five Movements, Five Processes
Adaptation of depiction by Shu Shengyu (2015)	Reproduced from Wikipedia

Metaphor mining vs. Data mining: Of relevance to this argument, comprehension of the states of matter through metaphors with which they are often associated, lends itself to understanding in terms of the symbolism of the classical four-element Western pattern, with its implication of a fifth. Although this can be readily deprecated, it does however allow for representation in a phase diagram with plasma as a fifth state of matter (Cognitive patterns of environmental significance, 2010). Such distinctions might then correspond to the stages of reification as the quality of knowing in the moment "hardens" into objective reality -- passing through analogues to the states of matter (plasma -- gas -- liquid -- solid).

In a condition of society in which there is ever greater need for integrative comprehension, the degree of investment in data mining could be said to be incredibly disproportionate. It is far from evident that ever more powerful techniques of data mining are enabling more integrative comprehension -- except (potentially) for artificial intelligence. A complementary case could be made for "metaphor mining" -- neglected by contrast (Google search: data mining, 37,500,000 hits; "metaphor mining", 1,180). It is however intriguing to note that such results have apparently not been affected by the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity announcement of The Metaphor Program in 2011, with participation of the US Army Research Laboratory,

An example of such metaphorical exploration is indicated by the following juxtaposition using the coding system of the tetragram rather than of the trigram. The tetragram is employed by another Chinese classic the Taixuanjing (T'ai HsÃüan Ching), as discussed separately (9-fold Magic Square Pattern of Tao Te Ching Insights -- experimentally associated with the 81 insights of the T'ai HsÃüan Ching, 2006).

Correspondence between distinctions of the Standard Model and a pattern of tetragrams

Reproduced from Metaphorical Insights from the Patterns of Academic Disciplines: Learning from the Standard Model of Physics? (2012)

As suggested by the arguments of Alexander Wendt (2015) there is a subtlety calling into question the prevailing dissociation of "outside" with respect to "inside" (World Introversion through Paracycling: global potential for living sustainably "outside-inside", 2013). This subtlety is notably evident in the interpretations through metaphor of the Chinese encoding systems.

Whereas the argument above has focused primarily on the objective articulation of the complex plane, there is some irony to the complementary insight offered by the notion of a plane of immanence, as articulated by Gilles Deleuze (Stephan Günzel, Immanence and Deterritorialization: the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, 1998). A degree of reconciliation is offered by the discussion of a "complex plane of immanence" by Inna Semetsky (Deleuze, Education and Becoming, 2006). This is seen to be a feature of the thinking of John Cage, as articulated by Joseph Edward Panzner (The Process That Is the World: Cage/Deleuze/Events/Performances, Ohio State University, 2012):

This world of the preformed and pre-existent fed-forward into reproductive production is identified with the "world of objects", the realm of transcendent stabilities, rather than the fluctuating and complex plane of immanence. While the transcendent is real so far as it acts in the conscious reproduction of preexisting objects, it is clearly of secondary importance to the primary plane of immanence, understood as the world-in-becoming, the process that is the event-of-all-events. (p. 69)

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