Emergent Language of the Birds?

Re-Emergence of the Language of the Birds through Twitter? (Part #9)

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How might understanding the rules associated with such dynamics facilitate self-organization in global society? (Consciously Self-reflexive Global Initiatives: Renaissance zones, complex adaptive systems, and third order organizations, 2007).

"Whither maps" and "Whether maps"? Might such modelling give rise to maps analogous to the weather maps to which people are exposed daily -- suggesting how they might benefit thereby or protect themselves from the "elements"? In terms of the sense of the diversity of directions pursued by flocks of migrating birds -- possibly forming "cyclones" and "anti-cyclones" -- could these be understood as "whither maps"? Given the collective decision-making challenges each such movement implies, could they be understood as "whether maps"?

Could appeals for collective action then be understood as "flocking calls" for which a rule-set would be advantageous -- if not vital to the emergence of collective intelligence? (Enabling Collective Intelligence in Response to Emergencies, 2010)

More problematic is the sense in which, whilst the genetic loss through extinction of bird species is to be regretted, it is readily forgotten that there is also the loss of the biomemetic heritage communicated through their movement. It is with this modality, held by them, with which humanity might fruitfully engage -- as have poets.

Conferences of the birds: To the extent that animal flocking behaviour may be seen as corresponding to gatherings of humans in face-to-face or cyberspace mode, how might such insights relate to the insights associated with myths based on the same metaphor, notably the Conference of the Birds (1177) of Farid ud-Din Attar or the Parlement of Foules of Geoffrey Chaucer? Of similarly elusive significance to the Language of the Birds in that context, are understandings of the "circulation of the light" and their potential implication (Circulation of the Light: essential metaphor of global sustainability? 2010).

How do the contributions in practice to the Parliament of Minds (edited by Michael Tobias) compare with such imagined discourse? It is curious that the metaphor is borrowed in describing humans as "flocking" to collective events -- possibly even on different continents.

Perhaps most intriguing is the momentary nature of such gatherings, whether of birds or tweeters, as a fleeting celebration of nowness (Present Moment Research: exploration of nowness, 2001). This is characterized by momentary alignment in time -- starlings on a telephone line -- when the aspiration is to have the whole of humanity "aligned", "on program" and "singing from the same hymn sheet", despite other possibilities (Engaging with Globality -- through cognitive lines, circlets, crowns or holes, 2009).

Semantic web and the harmony of the birds: Much is made of the emergence of the semantic web and its expected role in a global knowledge society. Little is said about any "harmonious" organization of knowledge and the diversity of "ways of knowing".

Given the sense of harmony implicit in the metaphor of the Language of the Birds, with the enchanting implications of birdsong, how might such harmony permeate global knowledge society? Suggestive is the manner in which the birds nest and gather within the various understandings of the Tree of Knowledge , including especially that shared by the Abrahamic religions (as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), and that of Humberto R. Maturana and Francisco Varela (Tree of Knowledge: the biological roots of human understanding, 1992). For one reviewer, Morris Berman (The Roots of Reality, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 29, April 1989, 2, pp. 277-284):

[This] is a landmark attempt to integrate biology, cognition, and epistemology into a single science, reversing the dualism of fact and value, and of observer and observed, that has haunted the West since the seventeenth century. The authors see perception as a reciprocal and interacting phenomenon, a "dance of congruity" that takes place between a living entity and its environment. This, they argue, implies a relativity of worldviews (there are no certainties), as well as the existence of a biology of cooperation going back millions of years. Recognition of a lack of absolutes, and of the nature of perception itself, they assert, make it possible for us today to change things for the better, as a deliberate and conscious act. [see also Humberto R. Maturana, Response to Berman's Critique of the Tree of Knowledge, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 31, April 1991, 2, pp. 88-97]

Clues to the nature of any such "harmony", and its implications for human society, might also be found in:

• traditional speculation regarding the harmony associated with the music of the spheres, common (like the Language of the Birds) to various cultures (Jamie James, The Music of the Spheres: music, science and the natural order of the universe, 1993)
• the "songlines" (or dreaming tracks) associated with Australian Aboriginal understanding of the land in which they are cognitively embedded (Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines, 1987) previously used as a metaphor of relevance to emergence of the semantic web (From Information Highways to Songlines of the Noosphere: global configuration of hypertext pathways as a prerequisite for meaningful collective transformation, 1996)
• the possibility of "tuning" such emergent harmony, as separately explored (Tuning a Periodic Table of Religions, Epistemologies and Spirituality: including the sciences and other belief systems, 2007)
• the cognitive possibilities implied by overtones and higher orders of comprehension, as noted above and separately explored (Polarities as Pluckable Tensed Strings: hypercomprehension through harmonics of value-based choice-making, 2006)
• the role of creative improvisation in ensuring the emergence of harmony -- notably understood as offering insights into social organization (John Kao, Jamming: the art and discipline of business creativity, 1996).
• efforts to articulate global strategic initiatives through harmony, as separately explored (A Singable Earth Charter, EU Constitution or Global Ethic? 2006)
• given the recognition of "conceptual primes" (as noted above) and the "ear" of mathematicians for the "music" of prime numbers, it might be asked whether there is not an analogous "music" to be "heard" amongst conceptual primes, perhaps reinforced by their patterned binary organization within a Fibonacci spiral (Marcus du Sautoy, The Music of the Primes, 2003). Is it the poet that has the "ear" to distinguish conceptual primes -- requiring a form of "perfect pitch" to attune any set of them? This would accord with the sense in which that binary coding, in the Chinese classical tradition, is effectively an identification of individual hexagrams (for example) as conceptual primes -- whose meaning is explicated in part by poetic commentary.

Given the use of sonification by physicists as a means of comprehending patterns of complexity, there is a case for exploring the representation of bird/boid movement as a "lens" through which to comprehend the higher order relationships between memes. Might the sonification of tweets be possible and instructive to enable patterns of movement to be better comprehended, as discussed separately (Convertor from Text to Poetry, Song or Music: computer-assisted aesthetic enhancement of treaties, declarations and agreements, 2007) ?

Harmony and counterpoint -- through interjection: The quest for "harmony" in psychosocial systems -- notably at the global level with the expectation of universal agreement -- fails to take account of the recognized role of counterpoint in ensuring a richer pattern of harmony. In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more "voices" that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent. It is a feature of classical music, having developed strongly during the Renaissance.

It may be understood in terms of its Latin derivation as punctus contra punctum meaning "point against point". Debate within society, notably in the Westminster parliamentary model, sees "points" being made by the opposition against those made by the governing party. However, even when the notion of "point-counterpoint" is recognized in relation to debate, this is not described as a form of "counterpoint" in eliciting a richer and more inclusive harmony -- as in the musical case. What might be the guidelines for memetic counterpoint? (Guidelines for Critical Dialogue between Worldviews, 2006).

The manner in which an alternative "voice" is integrated into the whole in music -- a challenge of composition -- is not an inspiration in the case of debate or its outcomes. Indeed the purpose of democratic debate is to ensure that a dominant voice marginalizes potential alternatives such that they do not figure in the outcome -- with which all are expected to agree. As noted (in the Annex) : if you are not with us, you are against us. The resulting outcome is aesthetically impoverished as a result -- and as such lacks "universal" appeal. In a sense such "harmony", considered representative of desirable "integration", needs to be "liberated" from what amounts to unchallenged "groupthink" (Liberation of Integration through pattern, oscillation, harmony and embodiment, 1980; Groupthink: the search for Archaeoraptor as a metaphoric tale, 2002).

With respect to any Language of the Birds, there is a continuing debate as to whether birdsong is "music" -- being defined by some to be characteristically human (David Cohen, Birdcalls and the Rules of Palestrina Counterpoint: towards the discovery of universal qualities in vocal expression. Israel Studies in Musicology, 1983). It is therefore a question whether birds sing in harmony or show evidence of counterpoint. But appropriately, "competing" songs by birds asserting identity and territory might well be considered "counterpoint" -- as could be the case in interdisciplinary and interfaith discourse, could the harmony of the whole be heard. The soundscape of a forest offers harmony characterized by interjection by different "voices" (punctus contra punctum).

Of particular interest is the sense in which interjection is readily associated with ignorance, whether on the part of those making it or in their recognition of ignorance in those against whom they are making it. As counterpoint it corrects for assumptions of a misplaced sense of adequacy and concreteness in elicting expression of a more comprehensive understanding. Iit is a response to "subunderstanding" in the terms of Magoroh Maruyama (Polyocular Vision or Subunderstanding, Organization Studies, 25, 2004, 3, pp. 467-480).

A counterpoint appreciation is appropriately fundamental to the patterns of binary coding (see Annex) which can indeed be explored, and rendered more comprehensible for some, as a musical notation. This has been extensively argued by Michael Drake (I Ching: The Tao of Drumming, 1997, pp. 20-21) in the light of a thesis by Melinda Maxfield (Drumming the I Ching, 1991):

The I Ching is a keyboard or periodic table of rhythm archetypes. Each pattern pulsates specific qualities of energy which give inherent structure and meaning to the possibilities of being.... so the rhythm archetypes contain the potential of communication and understanding. Resonance is they key to unlocking the rhythm generating patterns of the I Ching code.... Sound is a carrier wave of conscious, intelligent energy. Resonance, therefore, is a sounding again of information or pure knowledge....Through drumming, it is possible to co-create a resonant field with a rhythm archetype. Each linear image [of a hexagram]...depicts a particular drum pattern, which renders the essence of each rhythm archetype into sound.

The argument is perhaps usefully highlighted by the archetypal "debate" between the World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum, as previously explored (All Blacks of Davos vs All Greens of Porto Alegre: reframing global strategic discord through polyphony? 2007). To the extent that counterpoints are "heard", they are heard as interjections -- readily (and often preferably) suppressed by either party. An even more extreme example is offered by the (non) interaction between the European Community, whose values are celebrated by its anthem (Beethoven's Ode to Joy), and the population at large -- whose values were exemplified by the winner of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest (Lordi, a demonically attired hard rock band).

Other metaphors through which to approach the dynamics of discourse are those of juggling and ball games. In the latter case "passing patterns" are of great significance (Mark Weston, Passing Patterns, 2006; Athalie Redwood-Brown, Passing patterns before and after goal scoring in FA Premier League Soccer, International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 2008; Association for Soccer Education and Teaching, Passing Patterns and Small Sided Games, 2008; Alan Reifman, Network Analysis of Basketball Passing Patterns II, 2006). As with drumming, the binary coding explored in the Annex allows juggling patterns to be denoted by in terms of "throw" and "catch".

With respect to the cognitive implications of the semantic web, will complex "chordal" relations between memes be elicited -- rather than the simplistic binary filtration of search "results"? How will patterns of concepts become evident, as intimated by current concept mapping and semantic mapping experiments? How will these relate to open source initiatives such as Freebase -- a large collaborative knowledge base, developed by MetaWeb Technologies, consisting of metadata harvested from many sources?

Language of Angels vs. Language of Angles? The Language of the Birds is also known as the angelic language. There is much speculation about the nature of angels on whose guidance many devoutly believe humanity is dependent -- probably to a greater degree than is attributed to  politicians. "Angels" are of course deprecated as pure superstition by science. The study by Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake is not very helpful in this respect -- and with but a passing reference to birdsong (The Physics of Angels: exploring the realm where science and spirit meet, 1996). Several alternative perspectives could however be fruitfully considered.

It is accepted that angels, to the extent they "exist", would now be described as living in subtler dimensions which could well accord with understandings by physics of multidimensionality. The human brain is very constrained in its capacity to understand such multidimensionality, especially in the ways it is explored by physics (Dynamics of Symmetry Group Theorizing: comprehension of psycho-social implication, 2008). Anthropomorphizing such complex "configurations" is clearly one route to comprehension, as congenial to some as it is alienating to others. The remark of Kenneth Boulding (Image, 1956) with regard to an "individual" might as well apply to an "angel":

Our consciousness of the unity of self in the middle of a vast complexity of images or material structures is at least a suitable metaphor for the unity of group, organization, department, discipline or science. If personification is a metaphor, let us not despise metaphors -- we might be one ourselves.

The disturbing implications of Gödel's incompleteness theorems regarding undecidability have now been reinforced by the work of Harvey Friedman (Boolean Relation Theory and Incompleteness. 2010) through identification of entirely new forms of incompleteness. In his summary of such challenges, Richard Elwes (It doesn't add up, New Scientist, 14 August 2010) asks whether "a gaping hole has opened up in the foundations of mathematics". However, with respect to the above argument, perhaps even more challenging, is what this may imply for a "gaping hole" in the foundations of philosophical reflection on the development of consciousness and the governability of the planet. Curiously, as noted by Elwes:

With Friedman's work, it seems Gödel's  delayed triumph has arrived: the final proof that if there is a universal grammar of numbers in which all facets of their behaviour can be expressed, it lies beyond our ken.... The only way that Friedman's undecidable statements can be tamed, and the integrity of arithmetic restored, is to expand Peano's rule book to include "large cardinals" -- monstrous infinite quantities whose existence can only ever be assumed rather than logically deduced.... We can deny the existence of infinity, a quantity that pervades modern mathematics, or we must resign ourselves to the idea that there are certain things about numbers we are destined never to know

Such large cardinals, notably understood to be "inaccessible", have yet to be fully admitted into the axioms of mainstream mathematics. Might they have been as readily named "angels" as "cardinals"?

Another approach is to assume that there is a necessary degree of conflation of the senses -- synaesthesia -- through which any such "entities" could be apprehended. In a sense they minimally require a polysensorial mode of cognition. Any relevant distinctions would need to be made in that mode (Strategic Challenge of Polysensorial Knowledge: bringing the "elephant" into "focus", 2008; Cyclopean Vision vs Poly-sensual Engagement, 2006). Provocatively, given the cognitive significance of the "playful" relation between "memetics" and "mimetics", it might be argued that a fruitful "angle" on "angels" is to recognize the possibility of the conflation of these lexical distinctions -- readily acceptable to the dyslexic, as in the former case. Supportively perhaps, for in Les Demeures Philosophales (1929), Fulcanelli argues:

The language of the birds is a phonetic idiom solely based on assonance. Therefore, spelling, whose very rigour serves as a check for curious minds and which renders unacceptable any speculation realized outside the rules of grammar, is not taken into account.

"Angels" might then be better understood as the fundamental nodal clusterings of memetic relationships in an appropriately dimensioned topological space -- thereby holding their "angular" relationship to one another. More cognitively problematic is the extent to which any "experience" of "angels" is liable to involve a challenging degree of self-reflexive mirroring, as previously considered (Stepping into, or through, the Mirror: embodying alternative scenario patterns, 2008).

A related possibility is to consider that any multidimensional "movement" -- any detected (elegant) pattern of movement of memes -- might be equally difficulty to distinguish from "angelic" forms. More than the need for a "conflation of the senses" is a recognition of a need for a conflation of intelligences, consistent with the theory of multiple intelligences -- notably including the kinaesthetic intelligence so fundmental to swarm intelligence. A form of "cognitive fusion" may be required, as enabled for fighter pilots (Enactivating a Cognitive Fusion Reactor, 2006). This may be associated with understandings of "grokking" (Authentic Grokking: Emergence of Homo conjugens, 2003). In terms of any sonification of such movement, the resonances by which the soundscape and its "inhabitants" are defined could also be mapped in terms of the wide range of centro-symmetric polyhedra (Polyhedral Pattern Language: software facilitation of emergence, representation and transformation of psycho-social organization, 2008).

Arguably, at least for some, it is difficult to imagine a "holier" representation than the visual rendering of E₈ -- any of several closely related exceptional simple Lie groups and Lie algebras of dimension 248. Arguably, for some at least, their renderings exceed by far those of any (static) cathedral rose window. Such mathematical objects are recognized as being of a very high order of symmetry -- appropriate for an angel? There is an irony to the failure to relate such possibilities to the significance attributed to the geometrical symmetries of the decoration of the mosques of Islam (Keith Critchlow, Islamic Patterns, 1976).

A musical analogue would be equally astounding, suggestive of the purported birdsong of the Language of the Birds in their totality -- possibly as associated with a mythical Conference of the Birds.

Future "aesthetics of governance": The argument above suggests the possibility that the Language of the Birds may ensure the emergent self-organization of community through the collective intelligence associated with movement and harmony -- enhanced by "counterpoint" in both cases. It is through that degree of organization that their collective intelligence would be expressed -- perhaps to be understood as overtones. To the extent that it is a language in which rhythm plays a vital role, there is a case for exploring all the implications for the cognitive organization of governance (A Singable Earth Charter, EU Constitution or Global Ethic? 2006; Poetry-making and Policy-making: arranging a marriage between Beauty and the Beast, 1993). The possibility is especially pertinent in the current engagement with cultures for which poetry may be of quite unusual significance at every level of society (Poetic Engagement with Afghanistan, Caucasus and Iran: an unexplored strategic opportunity?, 2009; Strategic Jousting through Poetic Wrestling: aesthetic reframing of the clash of civilizations, 2009). How profoundly ironic to enable the spread of democracy with drone deployment -- given its musical connotations: a Naive A-Tonal Operation?

The question for global governance is how to derive insights from such patterns in ensuring a more fruitful and appropriate organization of knowledge and insight -- as is appreciated in the composition and performance of music, especially in its improvisation. Will such features emerge as a consequence of the evolution of human society, as separately explored ? (Aesthetics of Governance in the Year 2490, 1990). How might this relate to speculation regarding the nature of a postliterate society? Especially intriguing is the possibility that some cultures may have a stronger disposition for harmonic relationships guided by a relatively constrained rule-set. The case of African cultures disadvantageously subject to unfamilar modes of knowing offers one example, as previously argued (Knowledge Gardening through Music: patterns of coherence for future African management as an alternative to Project Logic, 2000).

How will such non-binary organization of knowledge sustain imaginative responses to the challenges of the future -- and their collective comprehension (Imagining the Real Challenge and Realizing the Imaginal Pathway of Sustainable Transformation, 2007; In Quest of Mnemonic Catalysts for comprehension of complex psychosocial dynamics, 2007). In such terms a case is usefully made for recognizing the role of myth in contemporary society, especially among the young as future voters -- and despite its deprecation by science (Relevance of Mythopoeic Insights to Global Challenges: cognitive integration implied by the Lord of the Rings, 2009). Of relevance in that example is the purported engagement of Tolkien with the Language of the Birds (Jay Weidner and Sharron Rose, Tolkien at the End of Time: alchemical secrets of The Lord of the Rings). In a problematic global context, the ability of myth to engender coherence merits attention, as demonstrated in the case of cultural epics such as the Mahabharata or the Kalevala (Cognitive Fusion through Myth and Symbol Making: archetypal dimensions, 2006).

The current framing of those challenges in terms of the collective resilience required to navigate the adaptive cycle suggests the merits of configuring its semantic paradoxes through a Möbius strip (Adaptive Hypercycle of Sustainable Psychosocial Self-organization, 2010). The configuration of the dimensions noted above (and in the Annex) might then be said to imply such a pattern, as well as the figure-8 pattern elicited by the meme mapping exercise (noted above).

The elusive/allusive nature of the Language of the Birds highlights a modality in which the current problematic consequences of misplaced concreteness and premature cognitive closure are elegantly (even provocatively) avoided -- an expression of the Vedic cognitive adage Neti Neti. This might be expressed as a healthy emphasis on emergent potential rather than on linear progress -- increasingly so characteristic of the dysfunctionalities of the myth of sustainability (Entelechy: actuality vs future potential, 2001). The Oulipo variant of the Language of the Birds (noted above) is a provocative approach to such reframing (Lipoproblems: developing a strategy omitting a key problem, 2009).

Aesthetic explorations of governance: Renewed efforts are being made to simulate the detailed dynamics of global society according to the conventional thinking of specialists in international relations. As previously diuscussed (Considering All the Strategic Options -- whilst ignoring alternatives and disclaiming cognitive protectionism, 2009), these include the Sentient World Simulation (SWS) and the FuturIcT project (The FuturIcT Knowledge Accelerator: unleashing the power of information for a sustainable future). In the light of the above argument, it is questionable whether these approaches will engender insight appropriate to comprehension of the challenges -- whether in the eyes of policy-makers or of those who purportedly mandate them. The election of the Belgian Herman Van Rompuy (aka "Haiku Herman") as president of the European Council might be understood as responding more appropriately to the requisite subtlety of a Language of the Birds -- especially in the light of the analysis in the Principia Cybernetica regarding a special political modality known as the "Belgian compromise". Typical solutions derived in this way are such that complex issues are settled by conceding something to every party concerned, through an agreement that is usually so complicated that nobody completely understands all its implications.

In relation to the Language of the Birds, it is therefore interesting to note the continuing appeal of the magnum opus of Nobel Laureate Hermann Hesse (The Glass Bead Game, 1943). This is skillfully allusive regarding the nature of that "game" as an organizing focus for a society -- analogous at a psychocultural level to the Olympic Games. It effectively points to the possibility of a Language of the Birds. Another imaginative exercise is that of the poet Robert Graves in imagining a society governed by poets (Seven Days in New Crete, 1949).

Of current relevance to explorations of the modality of a Language of the Birds, is the flourishing cultural phenomenon, the Société Imaginaire (founded in 1984), and sustained by the initiative of the Batuz Foundation as "a cultural answer to globalization". It claims to group over 500 artists, writers and scholars from around the world (The Imaginary Society, International Herald Tribune, 4 January 1995). The challenge of "describing" and "defining" the necessary subtleties of such an initiative is well illustrated by the "non-descriptions" of it offered in the "antimanifesto" by Poet Laureate Mark Strand on its website:

People ask, "What is the Société lmaginaire? Does it exist? Or is it an Illusion?" The answer is: the Société Imaginaire exists, but it cannot be summarized without its subtlety being blunted or its fluency being compromised. It lives by refusal, by saying "no" to what other groups or societies depend on for survival. It has no manifesto, and will not be bound by any explicit formulation of its aims. It exists as a paradox; it is most alive when its life can be least assumed. Although it welcomes attempts to define what it is, it knows none will be right. If its members are evasive when asked to explain it, it is because they know that any answer, once uttered, comes too late. It is committed to "beyondness", to being always one step ahead of what can be said about it. Thus, it keeps growing. And though it has a history, a past amply documented with poems, prints, and statements of various sorts, it is always in the act of discarding them. Its archive is not just the natural by-product of its existence, but the repository of what should not be repeated. Its attention is fixed on the blank where the features of its new face will take shape. Its members are everywhere. They write to each other, and collaborate on projects that are dedicated to simultaneously establishing the Société and abolishing it, giving it an artifactual and literary history that it must forget. It is not dedicated to the cliché that we learn by experience. Rather, it believes that experience must be mistrusted, only then is learning possible. Its aim is not to describe the world, but to remystify it. It offers creation as a mode of life and a condition for living; at least for a time. This time.

In this period of conflict, the Société Imaginaire has given focus to its concerns in a project in Afghanistan. This is consistent with the above-mentioned recogition of the potential role of poetry in that arena (Poetic Engagement with Afghanistan, Caucasus and Iran: an unexplored strategic opportunity?, 2009). However, given the involvement of the European Union there, it is unfortunate that the aesthetic insights of "Haiku Herman" do not enable that engagement to be reframed (Ensuring Strategic Resilience through Haiku Patterns: reframing the scope of the "martial arts" in response to strategic threats, 2006).

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