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Living in the light of stellar metaphors of brilliance


Psychosocial Implications of Stellar Evolution? (Part #2)

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Reference to the metaphor stellar evolution and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram has been made in the following distinct contexts which each refer to the more articulated description which follows below:

Evolution of gated conceptual communities in the light of stellar evolution (as discussed in Dynamically Gated Conceptual Communities: emergent patterns of isolation within knowledge society, 2004):

The appropriateness of the metaphor derives from what might be termed the physics of communication amongst the "stars" of the knowledge firmament -- and the limited number of parameters by which this could be modelled: interactivity of participants (temperature?), visibility (luminosity?), membership/connectivity (mass?), insight/inspiration/curiosity (hydrogen?), weight of facts/tradition/confirmation (gravity?).

Use of the metaphor is discussed more extensively below as a template through which the following alternative uses may be explored.

Point-making and identity in the light of stellar evolution (as discussed in Going Nowhere through Not-knowing Where to Go: sustaining the process of autopoiesis through point-making, 2013):

Why are "light" and "brilliance" such acceptable metaphors in communication processes and the appreciation of insight? Why are celebrities in many domains termed "stars"? Why the preoccupation with "visibility" in the promotion of people and initiatives? Why the value and meaning attached to "enlightenment"? Why the ambiguity and concern relating to the "dark" (Enlightening Endarkenment: selected web resources on the challenge to comprehension, 2005).

Conscious life in the light of stellar evolution (as discussed in Towards an Astrophysics of the Knowledge Universe: from astronautics to noonautics? 2006):

How does the array of relatively simple reactions sustain the complexity and coherence of a sun? Can consciousness be understood in terms of the patterns of solar reactions through which light and heat are generated for mundane life -- in the light of Cybernetics and Human Knowing (A Journal of Second Order Cybernetics, Autopoiesis and Cyber-Semiotics) ? What then is to be understood by hydrogen and helium?

In the further course of evolution, the star may become unstable, possibly ejecting some of its mass and becoming an exploding nova or supernova or a pulsating variable star. The end phase of a star depends on its mass. A low-mass star may become a white dwarf; an intermediate-mass star may become a neutron star; and a high-mass star may undergo complete gravitational collapse and become a black hole. Are some of these patterns not reminiscent of the possible final stages of life of media personalities -- especially movie "stars", but also the geniuses of our era?

Conceptual evolution in the "space-time" of knowledge space (as discussed in Present Moment Research: exploration of nowness, 2001):

Consideration could be given to combining the processes implicit in metaphors explored above into what amounts to an understanding of conceptual evolution in the "space-time" of knowledge space? This might be mapped by some equivalent to the astrophysicists Hertzsprung-Russell diagram -- which indicates the evolutionary pathway of stars in terms of changing mass and luminosity. What is required is a sense of the evolution of conceptual attractors in knowledge space in terms of the attraction they exert and their visibility. With respect to fascination with the origin of the physical universe, it is especially intriguing in this context to consider how analogues to its first "3 seconds" may be a characteristic of the subjective sense of the present moment.

From this perspective there are cognitive processes in the first fractions of a second of attention that continually form the universe that is then open to subsequent experience as fully made. How does "the future" relate to the space-time of cognitive space? The seemingly esoteric debates about whether the universe started with a Big Bang may be explored for their systemic significance as patterns to moment-by-moment creativity, as well as to cell division. The process of concept formation at the moment of creativity, or of cell division after conception, have structural similarities to insights into universe formation.

There may be a way in which the coherence of the moment may be experienced as a kind of standing wave phenomenon. Analogues to the formation of "heavy atoms" may be detected as the creative process meshes with reality -- suggesting a kind of periodic table of creative insight. This would help to explain the ability of traditional cultures to generate cosmologies through which their reality is structured. In particular it clarifies the perspective from which, as noted by Diana James, Australian Aboriginal cultures are able to live in a continuous present that is intimately associated with a mythical Dreamtime.

Focus on the brightest "stars" and stellar evolution (as discussed in Openness and Closure in Pattern Language: Geometry versus Resonance, 2012):

In contrast with insights mined from the preoccupations of fundamental physics (with the very small and short-lived), there is an irony in this respect to the significance of those borrowed from the very large and long-lived, namely from astrophysics (Towards an Astrophysics of the Knowledge Universe? from astronautics to noonautics, 2006).

Whether in strategic gatherings, or in gatherings of physicists, "stars" are a focus of attention -- especially the "brightest". Some topics could be said to be avoided like "black holes" or "dark matter". The "gravity" of their pronouncements may be felt -- recalling the origin of the term in gravitas. As noted above, the temperature of discourse may be significant -- especially in "heated" exchanges. It is of course the case that "stars" may be recognized as exploding upon the scene like supernova, whilst the visibility of others may diminish over time, perhaps imploding and becoming spent -- as with any "model", beauteous and elegant, or otherwise.

Efforts to formulate a Theory of Everything -- through such gatherings -- would treat any psychosocial processes as totally irrelevant, despite their role in the recognition of Nobel laureates. Astrophysics frames the physical processes in terms of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. -- a major step towards an understanding of stellar evolution or "the lives of stars". A corresponding insight is offered into the "careers" of concepts, within the strategic universe of the United Nations, by Johan Galtung (Processes in the UN system, 1980), as quoted separately with respect to Meaningful opportunities and the movement of meaning (1988):

  • a fresh concept is co-opted into the system from the outside... The concept is broad, unspecified, full of promises because of its (as yet) virgin character, capable of instilling some enthusiasm in people who do not suffer too much from a feeling of dé-vu having been through a number of concept life cycles already....
  • the organization receives the concept and it is built into preambles of resolutions; drafters and secretaries get dexterity in handling it.... The concept thus moves from birth via adolescence to maturity, meaning that it has been changed sufficiently to become structure and culture compatible....
  • from maturity to senescence and death is but a short step: the concept thus emasculated can no longer serve the purpose of renewal as what was new has largely been taken a away and what was old has been added in its place - except, possibly, the term itself....
  • a fresh concept is co-opted into the system from the outside, e.g. one that has already been through its life cycle in another part of the UN system. For the rest read the story once more.

If such a strategic concept is understood to be a "point" in knowledge space, mixing metaphors in the light of Galtung's comment, it might be asked whether attention should be given to the "half-life" of any strategic point -- especially those recognized as "hot topics". The question also relates to the extensive research on anomalies by Charles Fort, widely quoted to the effect that: I conceive of nothing, in religion, science or philosophy, that is more than the proper thing to wear, for a while.

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