Imagining local-global connectivity through innovative mace and vajra design

Local Reality of Overcrowding -- Global Unreality of Overpopulation (Part #14)

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As traditional symbols valued in the comprehension of governance, there is clearly a case for asking whether any such symbols are currently "fit for purpose". Whilst there are complex ceremonial rituals and protocol in relation to them, typically they are held to be static -- even if they are carried from place to place and variously manipulated. The symbols themselves are not dynamic in any sense, whatever the dynamics they may be said to imply in relation to governance. In the case of the vajra, reference is made to its association with a thunderbolt. As noted above, both mace and vajra are held to be potential weapons and derive their power from that traditional association.

It is however most curious that any comprehensible dynamic is currently most obvious in baton-twirling, readily deprecated as trivial in relation to governance, despite the extremely serious consideration given to its role in formal parades. Clearly use of a "lightsaber" is far more evocative for many. Is it time for a "lightmace" or a "lightsceptre" -- especially given the traditional "thunderbolt" associations of the vajra symbol? Given the 5-sense argument developed above (and below), use of such a weapon in a martial art offers associations to both the classic strategic manual (The Book of Five Rings, 1645) and to the use of sword-surrogates as in stick-fighting, quarterstaff and kendo.

It is in this sense that there is a case for exploring how a mace-vajra might now be designed in relation to an orb-ghanta given the issues raised above regarding comprehensibility of paradoxical connectivity and issues relating to the unreality of any "other" -- even to its illusory nature, emphasized in the contrasting experience between "local" and "global".

Aspects of the challenge have been delightfully suggested by the mace-feather incommensurability discussed above in a sensitive Canadian context. It is indeed in that context that a current mace design has been called into question with respect to a university mace (Lindsay Dowling, A Symbol of Significance: Dal seeks ideas for new ceremonial object to replace university mace, Dal News, 7 March 2017; Jacob Boon, Dalhousie takes another swing at replacing ceremonial mace, The Coast, 7 June 2017). The controversy has been extended to include that of the Canadian parliament (Pat Steenberg, Redesign the mace to include Indigenous contributions, The Star, 3 July 2017; Todd Lamirande, Redesign Parliament mace to include Indigenous contributions, National News, 14 September 2017). In South Australia, such a redesign has been framed as a regular student project (Parliamentary Mace, Makers Empire, 2017).

Design principles? Notably in highlighting the complex subtleties of the "global"--"local" relationship, these might include:

• indication of potential, whether:
  • higher order of connectivity
  • vulnerability degrees of pathological dysfunction and disconnectivity -- especially as a consequence of cognitive reductionism
• ability to carry:
  • complexity, notably reframed in terms of aesthetic subtlety inviting multiple interpretations
  • a diversity of alternative perceptions, readily framed as incommensurable (as with the mace-feather argument above)
  • contrasting perspectives rendering one end only partially visible from the other, if at all (indicative of the challenge of recognizing a local perspective on one side of a globe from one on the other other)
• embody cognitive paradox of transition in comprehension between incommensurables:
  • from local to global
  • from marginalized extremes to global norms (as indicated by the mace-feather distinction in Canadian discourse)
• take advantage of emerging information technology in its enhancement of the scope of creative imagination:
  • 3D facilities, including virtual reality
  • interaction with the design, possibly allowing for modification of parameters
  • emphasis on animation rather than stasis
  • morphing possibilities, namely transformation between distinctive forms rather than locking into a singular unchanging form
• retain a degree of relationship to traditional designs, and the principles on which they have been based (possibly to the point of embodying legendary symbolic attributes and iconography)

In considering possibilities, note the extensive array of Sceptre 3D Models, as well as those of the mace (Free 3D Mace Models; Mace 3D models, CGTrader) -- referring primarily to traditional forms of mace as a weapon. Interactive variants exist of the original symbol (3D Vajra, Sketchfab; Vajra 3D models, STLFinder), as with the ghanta. Some are designed for 3D printing. A virtual reality variant, depicted below, is also accessible (Vajra (Dorje) 3D Model).

Screenshot of a Vajra (Dorje) 3D Model (virtual reality)

Reproduced from 3D CAD Browser

It is appropriate to note that many of the accessible "Vajra 3D Models" are primarily those of the Vajra jet fighter of India. This recalls appropriation of the Merkabah, a fundamental symbol of Jewish mysticism, in naming the primary Israeli battle tank (the Merkava), as indicated separately with respect to analogous design considerations (Framing Global Transformation through the Polyhedral Merkabah: neglected implicit cognitive cycles in viable complex systems, 2017).

Examples of exploration of particular design options:

Screenshots of vajra-mace in 3D -- virtual reality animations enabling viewer interaction
Use of rotating 2x2 Möbius strips	Use of rotating 2x5 half-Möbius strips
Wireframe variant	Wireframe variant

As an illustration of some of the options indicated below, the following animations show how the ends of the mace-vajra (and any central sphere) might be variously rendered visible or invisible. The rotations are also indicative of routines in baton twirling. Modifying the transparency of the ends is especially helpful in suggesting how incommensurables -- such as "local" or "global" -- might be held to be nonexistent or meaningless in symbolic terms. Modifying the transparency of the central sphere is also suggestive of conditions under which there is a disconnectivity and a failure of integration.

Indicative experimental animations of wireframe versions of a mace-vajra
Rotation out of the plane of the screen	"Sceptre-mode"	Rotation in the plane of the screen
Virtual reality interactive 3D variants: x3d, wrl. Video variants (mp4): rotation-out-of-plane; rotation-in-plane; rotation-vertical

In the light of the manner in which the major end of a sceptre may be heavily decorated with jewels of symbolic significance, there is a case for viewing one end of the above model along its polar axis, as shown below.

Polar view of one end of mace-vajra showing rotation of 5 half-Möbius strips
Solid rendering (end structure periodically transparent)	Wireframe rendering (end structure periodically transparent)

Options for separation between polar extremities, variously suggestive of cognitive complexity: The requisite subtlety is most readily indicated by use of the Möbius strip, as indicated above, following the argument of Steven Rosen (Science, Paradox, and the Moebius Principle: the evolution of a "transcultural" approach to wholeness, SUNY, 1994):

• 2: single Möbius strip (employed twice, or alone if the central sphere is omitted)
• 3: half-Möbius strip x 3 (employed twice, or alone if the central sphere is omitted)
• 4: Möbius strip x 2 (employed twice, or alone if the central sphere is omitted)
• 5: half-Möbius strip x 5 (employed twice, or alone if the central sphere is omitted)
• 9: Möbius strip x 3 (employed twice, or alone if the central sphere is omitted)

Any such distinctions are somewhat consistent with current interest in the Triple Helix model of innovation (inspired by the functional role of the double helix and triple helix of biochemistry), in contrast with its proposed extension to a Quadruple Helix model, or a Quintuple Helix model. These are variously discussed separately (Contrasting the implications of "triple helix" -- cognitive and otherwise, 2017; Systemic closure: fourth helix -- and beyond? 2017; Suggestive representation of dynamics of a "cognitive wormhole" associated with a quintuple helix, 2017; Climbing Elven Stairways: DNA as a macroscopic metaphor of polarized psychodynamics, 2007). Given the challenge of the symbolic feather to the mace of Canada by the Indigenous nations (as noted above), there is some irony to the resemblance between the fine structure of a feather and the wireframe rendering of 5 half-Möbius strips in virtual reality -- recalling the 5 nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Options for polar extremes: Clearly a basic design choice is between asymmetric ends (typical of mace and sceptre design) and a symmetric form (typical of the vajra), unless animation is used to alternate periodically between choices. The choice arguably has implications for comprehension of governance and the nature of the cognitive relationship reinforced between "local" and "global". Possibilities include:

• some form of crown, as is characteristic of sceptre design (although then primarily for one end). Some cognitive implications are discussed separately (Engaging with Globality through Cognitive Crowns, 2009).
  
  
• some form of lotus pattern (as recognized in relation to the vajra), notably if its opening and closing was a feature of a dynamic design. This recalls the arguments made by Orrin Klapp (Opening and Closing: strategies of information adaptation in society, 1978). These could be extended to the challenging relationship between objectivity and subjectivity (Max Deutscher, Subjecting and Objecting: an essay in objectivity, University of Queensland, 1983)
  
  
• heart-pattern, notably as explored separately with respect to a variant in 3D (Symbolizing Collective Remembering Otherwise: encompassing the "headless hearts" and heartless heads" through their dynamic entanglement, 2018), especially a Heart symbol as a standing wave pattern of feedback loops (2018). To the extent that each end is then formed by the juxtaposition of two tori (as depicted above), of potential interest are the related dynamics of one or more Lissajous curves, as shown separately (Cognitive heart dynamics framed by two tori in 3D, 2016; Implications of a 3D heart symbol, 2018). [Thanks are due to Sergey Bederov of Cortona3D for earlier development of that structure, as used here].
  
  
• symmetric form of Platonic and Archimedean solids, especially given the jewel bedecked features of some sceptres and the significance attributed to them, as discussed separately (Patterning Archetypal Templates of Emergent Order: implications of diamond faceting for enlightening dialogue, 2002). The vajra symbol is also known as the Diamond Sceptre. Additional possibilities include:
  • nesting polyhedral forms, possibly with animations indicative of cycles of emergence, as illustrated separately (Psychosocial Implication in Polyhedral Animations in 3D: patterns of change suggested by nesting, packing, and transforming symmetrical polyhedra, 2015). Such a dynamic might be especially associated with any central sphere between the extremities.
  • positioning a succession of polyhedra along the length of the separation between the extremes, possibly in conformity with the above-mentioned square-cube law. Such a presentation might be considered reminiscent of the spinal sequence of chakras and any association of kundalini with the "thunderbolt" symbolism of the vajra. These associations are also suggestive of the extent to which any mace-sphere could be considered a form of external projection of the "spine" of the nation or other collective -- as much as the nature of individual identity within it. Similar bodily projections are evident in the case of "heart" (of a community), headquarters, if not of hindquarters (despite the necessary distinction from arsenal for security purposes). From such a symbolic perspective, are global organizations to be considered as characteristically "spineless", given the notable lack of any mace? Alternatively, is the configuration of flagpoles in front of their headquarters to be considered as an approximation to the fasces symbol?
    
    
• spherical pentagram, namely the 2D form projected onto a spherical end (as is typical of any symbolic orb). This is potentially especially interesting in the light of the seminal role played by the Pentagramma Mirificum in the mathematics of navigation around the globe, as discussed separately (Global Psychosocial Implication in the Pentagramma Mirificum: clues from spherical geometry to "getting around" and circumnavigating imaginatively, 2015). The images presented there also indicate how one such spherical pentagram is matched by a second (inverted) version on the other side of the sphere. This is suggestive of how each could be associated with a sphere at each end of the mace-vajra (with the implication that it is in their projection into any central sphere that the two patterns would be linked by great cucles).
  

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