Complex entanglement of comprehension

Going Nowhere through Not-knowing Where to Go (Part #7)

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Projection of identity into geometry and topology: Projection of distinct "heliocentric" attributions into "geocentrically" perceived "planets", thereby enabling comprehension -- through the "specialization" of a subtle, complex, integrative dynamic, mirroring aspects of the whole. Through point-making I am -- whole

Intuitive understanding carried metaphorically by "point", "hole", "globe". With identity imagined and denied, by "making" or "getting" the point, and by "making" or "filling" holes -- through which a sense of fulfillment is variously achieved. Most fundamentally these processes are recognized in those of motivation and sexual fascination. The significance is collectively evident with respect to any massive national budgetary "hole" -- or military intervention as a "point-making" exercise. It is otherwise evident in that context in use of "line" -- as an extension of "point" -- in discussion of a budgetary line, a "bottom line", and alignment with a strategic initiative, but especially of "crossing the line". Of particular relevance is the sense in which the "gravity" of any preoccupation engenders a sense of what is "right" -- perceived as "upright" or righteous -- namely an alignment that passes through the "centre of gravity".

The complexity of the entanglement is usefully carried by forms such as the Mobius strip and the Klein bottle, as separately discussed (Intercourse with Globality through Enacting a Klein bottle, 2009). These variously suggest the possibility of a "stereoscopic" liminality through which cognitive engagement with greater conceptual depth might be enabled.

Of interest is how simple a system of denotation can be elaborated in order to hold these comprehension process distinctions. Possibilities are suggested by the hexagram notation of the I Ching and T'ai Hsüan Ching, or the notation elaborated for the calculus of indications by George Spencer-Brown (Laws of Form, 1969).

Beyond epicyclic governance? There is a case for exploring the manner in which the challenges of "global" governance are effectively constrained through what amounts to a "geocentric" understanding of "global". In this sense, the "global" of strategic management has epicyclic characteristics, notably what those deprecated as a "fire-fighting" response to periodic crises and Black Swan surprises. This is to be contrasted with the "globallty' of aspirations and promotion of unity and universalism -- better distinguished and understood through the "heliocentric" metaphor (cf. Future Generation through Global Conversation: in quest of collective well-being through conversation in the present moment, 1997).

Beyond epicyclic governance?
	"geocentric" like planet (Earth)	"heliocentric" like Sun
going nowhere	path dependence (tail-chasing dog) questing for something, experiencing emptiness	already there (self-sustaining dynamic) engaged dynamically with no-thingness and emptiness of form
nowhere to go	knowing {constrained by habitual path dependence} externalization of direction of movement frustrating pursuit of externalities	not-knowing (where to go) internalization of movement embodying a generative process of not-knowing where to go

Eppur si Muove: The much studied confrontation between Galileo Galilei and the Catholic Church (the "Galileo Affair"), regarding the movement of the Earth around the Sun, offers a valuable template through which to explore the individual and collective cognitive challenges to the comprehension of such a shift in perspective -- culminating in his alleged declaration of Eppur si Muove ("and yet it moves") after being obliged to recant his views. Especially intriguing is the manner in which the qualitative values with which a "geocentric" worldview is "obviously" imbued mirror those of the subtlest, integrative, existential experience -- but requiring a paradoxical cognitive twist through a form of mirror inversion, usefully suggested by the Mobius strip. The geometrical convolutions of the epicycles of a "geocentric" perspective are reflected in the "cognitive convolution" required by the paradox so evident in the Mobius strip -- appropriately echoed by the title employed by Douglas Hoftstadter (I Am a Strange Loop, 2007).

The attributes most valued in a "geocentric" understanding are then those associated more fundamentally with "heliocentric" understanding; immedicacy, warmth, connectedness. The values deprecated in "heliocentric" are those consequent on "geocentric" attractions and their associated distractions.

Why should "science" assert so categorically that it will not fall victim to a similar cognitive trap -- echoing the historical role of the Catholic Church in response to emergent insight? The orthodoxy of conventional science -- represented so ably by Dawkins and others -- has its dogmas in relation to reality, as at that time, despite the astoundingly counter-intuitive insights of fundamental physics.

The argument can be explored in relation to the hypothesized technological singularity, namely the theoretical emergence of superintelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the technological singularity is seen as an occurrence beyond which events cannot be predicted. In that respect a scientifically and philosophically credible understanding of the 'technologically singularity' requires a more satisfactory explanation of how consciousness fits into a cosmic evolutionary scheme, as argued by Tom Lombardo (Consciousness, Cosmic Evolution, and the Technological Singularity, Journal of Futures Studies, 17, 2012, 2, pp. 93-100).

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