Cognitive implication in a Chinese system articulated through weather-related metaphors

Correlating a Requisite Diversity of Metaphorical Patterns (Part #6)

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The relative lack of clarity with regard to climate classification, as noted above, and the extensive use of weather metaphors to frame existential "ease" and "dis-ease", suggest a revaluation of the classic Chinese pattern of BaGua as a device for holding and interrelating weather as existentially experienced.

Weather and Whether: As the "Book of Changes", the I Ching (an articulation of the BaGua pattern) is known to have been influential in Chinese politics over several thousand years (Tze-ki Hon, The Yijing and Chinese Politics, 2012). It offers an explicit interplay between weather and decision-making through the metaphors on which it based. Ironically, whether it is to be recognized as the earliest Global Weather Model, it could also be recognized as the earliest Global Whether Model -- to be compared with modern exploratory simulations of relevance to forecasting, decision-making and governance.

Drawing inspiration from a Chinese framework could be seen as consistence with the argument of Susantha Goonatilake (Toward a Global Science: mining civilizational knowledge, 1999). This draws attention to the creativity from which non-western cultures may benefit in drawing upon the connectivity enabled by metaphors engendered by their culture.

Why 8? Whilst Chinese literature has long accepted the following articulation into an 8x8 pattern of 64 conditions denoted by hexagrams, much attention has focused on the various ways in which these might be most fruitfully arranged. This is not the concern in what follows, but is discussed separately (Strategic patterns in terms of knowing, feeling and action: using a Chinese perspective, 2008). It is ironic to note that debate continues with regard to alternatives ways of organizing the periodic table of chemical elements, especially now that this 8-fold pattern is informed by new insight into the associated mathematics (Dennis H. Rouvray and R. Bruce King, The Mathematics of the Periodic Table, 2006)

Of particular interest is "why 8"? Seemingly this follows from the insight in the much-cited paper of George Miller (The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: some limits on our capacity for processing information Psychological Review, 1956). It is extraordinary that this constraint is so widely evident in categorization, but with relatively little comment on its implications, as discussed separately (Representation, Comprehension and Communication of Sets: the role of number, 1978; Patterns of Conceptual Integration, 1984). It would seem to be "natural" that both "climate" and "weather" distinctions should reflect this constraint in some way. The pattern is of course evident both in the organization of the periodic table of chemical elements and in the octave structure of a particular tuning system of music (and the instruments by which it is played).

Memorability: Since a concern in what follows is that any "weather categories" should be memorable, some preliminary attention can be given to the terminology by which the 8 conditions are distinguished in order to derive unique single letter abbreviations -- following the coding approach favoured with respect to climate regimes. Possibilities include:

• Heaven (H), Creative (C), Unconstrained (U) or Sky (S). The last seems to be the best in that it combines both an association with weather ("clear skies") and creativity ("blue sky"), whilst avoiding the spiritual associations alienating to some
• Receptive (R), Ground (G) or Earth (E). The last seems most appropriate and is most common.
• Wind (W) or Breeze (B). The first seems most appropriate and is most common, despite the constraint on the following
• Water (W), Gorge (G), River (R), or Abysmal (A). Of these Gorge and Abysmal are common associations in Chinese commentary. River may be too specific. There is therefore a preference for Abysmal (but in the form of Abyss) as the invisible underwater depths -- avoiding confusion with use of Wind (W)
• Lake (L) has Marsh (M) as a common alternative. The first seems more appropriate
• Thunder (T), Mountain (M), and Fire (F), as commonly used. require no modification for distinctive mnemonic purposes

With respect to memorability, the question might be asked as to how memorable is any conventional classification of climates, irrespective of how recognizable are the categories of weather. A similar question can be asked of the clusters of the periodic table of chemical elements, recognized as a challenge to memory (Kyle Buchanan, Memorize the Periodic Table: the fast and easy way to memorize chemical elements, 2013).

A better recognized challenge is that of the multiplication table, given the importance it now has in a quantitative society (How to Easily Memorize the Multiplication Table; Teach the Times Tables with Pictures and Stories). Learning the complex set of interrelated metabolic pathways is enabled by a set of songs (Harold Baum, The Biochemists' Songbook, 1995). What might be the corresponding challenges for a qualitative array of relevance to "cognitive weather"? Are there (cognitive) weather pattern songs?

As with multiplication tables and the periodic table, how is the following pattern to be remembered? The form of the trigram coding is traditionally held to offer some indication, but the combination of two trigrams in the body of the table is a far greater challenge -- as in the case of the chemical elements. Given its importance in training for the civil service in various stages of Chinese governance, it would be useful to explore how the pattern was learned and taught (Geoffrey Redmond and Tze-Ki Hon, Teaching the I Ching (Book of Changes, Oxford University Press, 2014). This could be usefully compared with how conditions of governance were ordered and arranged in the prestigious degree course at the University of Oxford -- Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology ("PPP") -- valued as preparatory to engagement in the British civil service.

Weather-patterned conditions: The table below is a presentation of the traditional combination of the 8-fold pattern of weather-related conditions. In terms of "weather", it is interesting to explore whether it is capable of holding the extended variety of extreme weather and severe weather conditions discussed above -- especially in terms of extremes of "unseasonal weather", as experienced rather than as conventionally categorized. Wikipedia, for example, distinguishes: heat waves, cold waves, heat bursts, tornados, downburst and derecho, squall lines, cyclones, waterspout, dust storms, wildfires, hail, heavy rain (monsoons), heavy snowfall, ice storms, drought. Inclusion of "mountain" (M) in the pattern of the table is of interest given the major role played by mountains in engendering weather, as with the microclimates engendered by rivers (A).

However, of equal interest is the exclusion of some so-called natural disasters (landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, lightning, tsunamis) from the conventional categories of severe or extreme weather. These could however be considered as usefully encompassed by the following table. This exemplifies the distinction between climate framed from an external, global observational perspective and weather as experienced locally as including such phenomena. Ironically, with respect to the discussion of "dis-ease" (above), "dis-aster" derives etymologically from "ill-starred", offering a traditional association of "ease" to auspiciously starred.

This challenging correspondence is the first of 5 correspondences tentatively correlated in this discussion. It is interesting that those with most skills in populating the table below with distinct forms of weather might include poets and the locally weather-wise. From a Chinese perspective, the literature on this correspondence is notably associated with the traditional geomantic discipline of feng shui. Indicative in this respect is the government fact sheet provided by the Hong Kong Observatory (Weather Feng Shui?). As with those of a poet, the methodological concern would be how to disassociate most fruitfully any such insights from the magical beliefs with which they may be more popularly associated (Jerry Alan Johnson, Daoist Weather Magic and Feng Shui, 2012)

Combinations of 8 trigrams forming the pattern of 64 hexagrams of the I Ching
	Sky (S)	Thunder (T)	Abyss (A)	Mountain (M)	Earth (E)	Wind (W)	Fire (F)	Lake (L)
Upper
Lower
	Sky (S) Sky (S) 01	Thunder (T) Sky (S) 34	Abyss (A) Sky (S) 05	Mountain (M) Sky (S) 26	Earth (E) Sky (S) 11	Wind (W) Sky (S) 09	Fire (F) Sky (S) 14	Lake (L) Sky (S) 43
	Sky (S) Thunder (T) 25	Thunder (T) Thunder (T) 51	Abyss (A) Thunder (T) 03	Mountain (M) Thunder (T) 27	Earth (E) Thunder (T) 24	Wind (W) Thunder (T) 42	Fire (F) Thunder (T) 21	Lake (L) Thunder (T) 17
	Sky (S) Abyss (A) 06	Thunder (T) Abyss (A) 40	Abyss (A) Abyss (A) 29	Mountain (M) Abyss (A) 04	Earth (E) Abyss (A) 07	Wind (W) Abyss (A) 59	Fire (F) Abyss (A) 64	Lake (L) Abyss (A) 47
	Sky (S) Mountain (M) 33	Thunder (T) Mountain (M) 62	Abyss (A) Mountain (M) 39	Mountain (M) Mountain (M) 52	Earth (E) Mountain (M) 15	Wind (W) Mountain (M) 53	Fire (F) Mountain (M) 56	Lake (L) Mountain (M) 31
	Sky (S) Earth (E) 12	Thunder (T) Earth (E) 16	Abyss (A) Earth (E) 08	Mountain (M) Earth (E) 23	Earth (E) Earth (E) 02	Wind (W) Earth (E) 20	Fire (F) Earth (E) 35	Lake (L) Earth (E) 45
	Sky (S) Wind (W) 44	Thunder (T) Wind (W) 32	Abyss (A) Wind (W) 48	Mountain (M) Wind (W) 18	Earth (E) Wind (W) 46	Wind (W) Wind (W) 57	Fire (F) Wind (W) 50	Lake (L) Wind (W) 28
	Sky (S) Fire (F) 13	Thunder (T) Fire (F) 55	Abyss (A) Fire (F) 63	Mountain (M) Fire (F) 22	Earth (E) Fire (F) 36	Wind (W) Fire (F) 37	Fire (F) Fire (F) 30	Lake (L) Fire (F) 49
	Sky (S) Lake (L) 10	Thunder (T) Lake (L) 54	Abyss (A) Lake (L) 60	Mountain (M) Lake (L) 41	Earth (E) Lake (L) 19	Wind (W) Lake (L) 61	Fire (F) Lake (L) 38	Lake (L) Lake (L) 58

The weather-related distinctions associated with the pattern above are presented below with their traditional metaphorical connotations basic to the use of the I Ching as a "whether model" in articulating psychosocial tendencies to change. This challenging correspondence is the second of the 5 correspondences tentatively correlated in this discussion.

Upper	Sky (S)	Thunder (T)	Abyss (A)	Mountain (M)	Earth (E)	Wind (W)	Fire (F)	Lake (L)
Lower	creative, force, heaven, sky	arousing, thunder, shake, initiative, inciting, movement	abysmal, water, gorge, dangerous, in-motion	mountain, keeping still, bound, resting, stand-still, completion	earth, receptive, devoted, yielding, field	gentle, wind, ground, penetrating	clinging, fire radiance, light giving, clarity, flame adaptable dependence	joyous, open, tranquil, lake
S: creative, force, heaven, sky	Creative   (S/S) [1]	Power of the great (T/S)  [34]	Waiting   (A/S) [5]	Taming power of the great (M/S)  [26]	Peace   (E/S) [11]	Taming power of the small (W/S) [9]	Possession in great measure  (F/S) [14]	Break-   through  (L/S) [43]
T: arousing, thunder, shake, initiative, inciting, movement	Innocence   (S/T) [25]	Arousing   (T/T) [51]	Difficulty at the beginning (A/T) [3]	Corners of the mouth  (M/T) [27]	Return   (E/T) [24]	Increase   (W/T) [42]	Biting through   (F/T) [21]	Following   (L/T) [17]
A: abysmal, water, gorge, dangerous, in-motion	Conflict   (S/A) [6]	Deliverance   (T/A) [40]	Abysmal   (A/A) [29]	Youthful folly   (M/A) [4]	Army  (E/A) [7]	Dispersion   (W/A) [59]	Before completion (F/A) [64]	Oppression   (L/A) [47]
M: mountain, keeping still, bound, resting, stand-still, completion	Retreat   (S/M) [33]	Preponderance of the small  (T/M) [62]	Obstruction   (A/M) [39]	Keeping still   (M/M) [52]	Modesty   (E/M) [15]	Development   (W/M) [53]	Wanderer   (F/M) [56]	Influence   (L/M) [31]
E: earth, receptive, devoted, yielding, field	Standstill   (S/E) [12]	Enthusiasm   (T/E) [16]	Holding together (A/E) [8]	Splitting apart   (M/E) [23]	Receptive   (E/E) [2]	Contemplation   (W/E) [20]	Progress   (F/E) [35]	Gathering together   (L/E) [45]
W: gentle, wind, ground, penetrating	Coming to meet   (S/W) [44]	Duration   (T/W) [32]	Well   (A/W) [48]	Work on what has been spoiled (M/W) [18]	Pushing upward   (E/W) [46]	Gentle   (W/W) [57]	Caldron   (F/W) [50]	Preponderance of the great (L/W)[28]
F: clinging, fire radiance, light giving, clarity, adaptable dependence	Fellowship with men (S/F) [13]	Abundance   (T/F) [55]	After completion  (A/F) [63]	Grace   (M/F) [22]	Darkening of the light  (E/F) [36]	Family   (W/F) [37]	Clinging   (F/F) [30]	Revolution   [49]
L: joyous, open, tranquil, lake	Treading   (S/L) [10]	Marrying maiden (T/L) [54]	Limitation   (A/L) [60]	Decrease   (M/L) [41]	Approach   (E/L) [19]	Inner truth   (W/L) [61]	Opposition   (F/L) [38]	Joyous   (L/L) [58]

Varieties of emotional experience: Clarifying the distinctions in the table would again be aided through associations offered by poets (and song lyrics). Whilst there have been many efforts to clarify the varieties of religious experience, it is curious that in a world in which many suffer from their experience in relationships, that so little effort is made to clarify the variety of emotional experiences systematically. This is despite the suggestions of William James in that respect (Phil Oliver, Varieties of Emotional Experience: James's Radical Turn, American Philosophy, 2002). The challenge of doing so has been noted by William Cunningham and Jay Van Bavel (Varieties of Emotional Experience: differences in object or computation?, Emotion Review, 2009) following a century of research, as noted by P. J. Lang (The Varieties of Emotional Experience: a meditation on James-Lange theory, Psychological Review, 1994).

Similarly with regard to the experiential challenge of relationships, there is little effort to clarify the spectrum of relational experience in any ordered manner, as previously noted (An Approach to Systematic Classification of Interpersonal Relationships conceived as essential to alternative life styles, social and personal transformation, 1978).The above table suggests the possibility of a more complex patterning. The evolution of transactional analysis to relational transactional analysis offers pointers in this respect. Useful also are the indications of Carmen Lynch and Victor Daniels (Patterns of Relationships: the relational gestalt: which movie are we in? 2000).

The association of the distinctions to the experience of weather accords with the common framing of relational conditions (thundery, stormy, cold, hot) and with idiomatic expressions such as "raining on my parade". Given the "severe weather" characteristic of many relational experiences, there is a case for an analogue to any study of severe weather processes (cf. Amy McGovern, et al, Understanding Severe Weather Processes through Spatiotemporal Relational Random Forests, 2010 Conference on Intelligent Data Understanding).

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