Central pattern generators and higher order values?

Reframing the Square Wheels of Global Governance (Part #8)

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As a consequence of insights into pattern language from the perspective of various disciplines, reference is increasingly made to the range of patterns appropriate for consideration in governance. Central pattern generators are biological neural networks that produce rhythmic patterned outputs without sensory feedback. As noted by Gerasimos G. Rigatos (Advanced Models of Neural Networks: nonlinear dynamics and stochasticity in biological neurons, Springer, 2014, p. 84):

Dynamical models of coupled neural oscillators can serve as Central Pattern Generators (CPGs). This means that they stand for higher level control elements in a multi-layered control scheme which provide the activation frequency and rhythm for controllers operating at the lower level, e.g. controllers that provide motion to robot's joints. CPG methods have been used to control various kinds of robots, such as crawling robots and legged robots and various modes of locomotion such as basic gait control, gait transitions control, dynamic adaptive locomotion control, etc. CPG models have been u.sed with hexapod and octopod robots inspired by insect locomotion. CPGs have been also used for controlling swimming robots, such as lamprey robots. Quadruped walking robots controlled with the use of CPGs have been studied.... Models of CPGs are also increasingly used for the control of biped locomotion in humanoid robots.

Three-fold patterns: The loopwheel design (noted above) calls for speculative reflection on the possibility of an analogous pattern with respect to governance, perhaps to be understood as an "inner wheel" or "governor". This possibility merits reflection in the light of the oldest, and perhaps most fundamental, insights into the configuration of such an inner wheel. In that sense the loopwheel pattern can be compared with variants of the triskelion or triskele. As noted in the Wikipedia description, the spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. As indicated there, variants have been used in Europe from Neolithic times, in Celtic culture, and in the Mediterranean region from classical Greek times. Variants are noted in Asian cultures. It features in Christian church architecture. Curiously it is also a symbol favoured by the controversial BDSM community.

For the purpose of this argument two variants of the triskelion are presented below in animations to evoke reflection on the significance of such an underlying "central" dynamic in governance.

Rotational wheel-like animations of the triskelion
Rotations generated from images in Wikipedia

The triskelion has been compared in previous arguments to the significance of such a pattern in the higher order insights associated with trinitarian principles or deities, notably with the pattern fundamental to some understandings of governance: liberty, equality, fraternity (Imagining Order as Hypercomputing: operating an information engine through meta-analogy, 2014; Holiness framed by a triangulated configuration of holes, 2014). The animations, with their "spring", "leg" and "shock absorbing" implications (as clarified by the loopwheel design), suggest a dynamic absent from imagery tending to reinforce the static, structural patterns of conventional governance.

Borromean rings	Phenomenological epoché	Christian Trinity
Notable for their topological implications	As explored by Francisco Varela	Reproduced from Wikipedia

The fundamental cognitive significance of such triadic patterns is evident in the semiotic triangle of meaning of Charles Ogden, and the triangulated Oedipus complex of Jacques Lacan, as separately discussed and interrelated using animations (Interrelating disparate threefold cognitive patterns as a polyhedron, 2017).

3D Configuration on tetrahedron of triadic articulations (screen shots of unfolding-refolding animations )
4 "Cognitive" triangles (GIF animation)	4 "Symbolic" triangles (GIF animation)
Images prepared using Stella Polyhedron Navigator

Given the directionality possible in any rotational dynamic, it is also of interest to explore counter-rotation of the earlier three-fold symbols, as in the animations below. Although constructed to offer "closing" and "opening" animations, on inspection the two variants alternate between these conditions and therefore should not be distinguished except to make that evident.

Counter-rotation of three-fold symbols
Triskelion A ("opening")	Triskelion A ("closing")	Triskelion B ("opening")	Triskelion B ("closing")

Of particular interest is the manner in which the animations "engender" a fourth "implicit" position through their vertical reversal in the counter-rotational cycle. The relevance to value-based governance merits reflection in the light of the Axiom of Maria, notably appreciated from the perspectives of Carl Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz.

Given the challenge of "otherness" for governance, such triadic patterns justify even more speculative exploration (Reframing the Dynamics of Engaging with Otherness: triadic correspondences between Topology, Kama Sutra and I Ching, 2011).

Four-fold patterns: Similar significance can potentially be derived from four-fold patterns of which the most controversial is the swastika, given the contrasting interpretations of it and its symbolic implications for recent history (Swastika as Dynamic Pattern Underlying Psychosocial Power Processes: implicate order of Knight's move game-playing sustaining creativity, exploitation and impunity, 2012).

As noted, and illustrated there with animations, the swastika offers an encoding of the dynamics of the nonlinear Knight's move of chess and is therefore intimately related to creativity and strategic surprise. It is for this reason that the Knight is part of the emblem for the US Psyops as a traditional symbol of "special operations" -- signifying the ability to influence all types of warfare. Appropriately it is discussed by Wikipedia in relation to various positional plays in the game of go. This is framed as the most challenging strategy game and the ultimate test of artificial intelligence, as exemplified by the recent, widely-publicised victories of AlphaGo.

In support of this argument in relation to the wheel metaphor, the right and left-facing forms of the swastika are presented in rotation in the contrasting counter-rotating animations below. These are presented with the counter-rotating variants of the four-fold lauburu, previously discussed (Improvisation in Multivocal Poetic Discourse: Basque lauburu and bertsolaritza as catalysts of global significance, 2016).

Animations of counter-rotation as suggestive of a "central pattern generator"
Swastika ("closing")	Lauburu ("closing")	Swastika ("opening")

The patterns generated are partially a consequence of the relative degree of shading of the two counter-rotating forms in each case. The relative speeds of rotation could also be changed.

The swastika patterns are presented on a 3x3 grid which serves to illustrate the possible Knight's moves in chess (as previously illustrated). Use of the grid here challenges the problematic tabular pattern of "square wheels" caricatured above. It is intriguing that counter-rotation of the swastika introduces a more fruitful manner of engaging with the binary controversies with which it is so commonly associated.

More complex implications of the animation of the lauburu pattern are discussed separately (Paradoxical container for the uncontainable: prescriptive constraints on creativity, 2016).

Requisite "counter-rotation" as fundamental to viable governance? It could be argued that conventional governance derives its inspirations from static symbols, whether three-fold of four-fold. There is thus a curious contrast between the static nature of any round table and the implication that the "wheels" of governance actually rotate in some way. With respect to rotation it is however especially significant to note the problem to which rotation in one direction only may give rise in any vehicle which is expected to "fly". This is notably evident in the case of multi-engine propeller-driven aircraft requiring counter-rotating propellers (spinning in opposite directions) or single engine aircraft using coaxial contra-rotating propellers, as distinguished in the animations below'

Principles of counter-rotation as necessary for governance?
Counter-rotating propellers	Contra-rotating propellers
Reproduced from Wikipedia; made by Michael Frey - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

The issue of counter-rotation is especially evident in the case of the helicopter. Most helicopters have a single main rotor, but the torque (or twisting force) created as the engine turns the rotor causes the body of the helicopter to turn in the opposite direction to the rotor (by conservation of angular momentum). To eliminate this effect, some sort of anti-torque control must be used, which typically takes the form of a second propeller. These are highly suggestive of metaphors to counteract any analogue to torque in governance as a consequence of unidirectional efforts to achieve "lift-off". There are several common configurations that use the counter-rotating effect to achieve this, as noted by Wikipedia:

• Tandem rotors are two counter-rotating rotors with one mounted behind the other.
• Coaxial rotors are two counter-rotating rotors mounted one above the other with the same axis.
• Intermeshing rotors are two counter-rotating rotors mounted close to each other at a sufficient angle to let the rotors intermesh over the top of the aircraft without colliding.
• Transverse rotors are pair of counter-rotating rotors mounted at each end of the wings or outrigger structures. They are found on tiltrotors and some earlier helicopters.
• Quadcopters have four rotors often with parallel axes (sometimes rotating in the same direction with tilted axes) which are commonly used on model aircraft and drones.

Using the phenomenon of torque, counter-rotation is a feature of the reaction wheels used in spacecraft to maintain position; their failure is thus potentially a cause of mission failure. With the rapid development of drones and space technology, it could be assumed that some of the principles are of relevance to governance. "Spaceship Earth" has been variously promoted as an evocative metaphor for governorship and navigation. Is there a need for "reaction wheels" on Spaceship Earth? There is some irony to the extensive use of "governor" in the control of the speed of an engine, especially since extensive use is made of economic "engine" (Governor Control, 2009).

Whilst the notion of "torque" does not appear to have been considered in relation to global governance, there are indications of its use with respect to strategic management in other contexts (Matthew Harvey, Strategic Torque: social media in higher education. CAUDIT). Of relevance to the following discussion on proprietary metaphors, Business Torque Systems is a registered trademark, as with the marketing agency Torque Global. One rare trace of torque with respect to global governance is its use as a verb (Michael G. Schecter, Our Global Neighborhood) :

In many ways the same point is evident in ... [mainstream] frustration with international economic institutional reform.... the reasons for their frustration, and ultimately for the inadequacy of their policy recommendations, comes from their approach. That approach accepts the international political economy, including the global distribution of power that it implies, as givens and tries to torque institutions in ways to make them responsive to the needs identified by those in powerful positions in that current system. Had they been able to think beyond the current system, which they knew was undergoing massive structural transformations as they were meeting, and tried to envisage what institutional remedies might be most desirable from the vantage point of currently disadvantaged and largely silenced voices, they might actually have come up with a widely different set of proposals, including some that point in the direction of remedies around which large numbers might mobilize. (In: Martin Hewson and Timothy J. Sinclair (Eds.), Approaches to Global Governance Theory, SUNY Press, 1999, pp. 248) [emphasis added]

The equivalent to torque in psychosocial systems may perhaps be better recognized through some aspects of "spin" -- or "arm twisting". Some use of the metaphor is recognized as "political torque" (PM Justin Trudeau says he is aiming to counter the 'political torque and misinformation' on the federal government's controversial carbon-pricing plan, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, 14 October 2016).

With the long association between the flight of birds as an inspiration to that of aircraft design, the point can be argued otherwise with respect to the function of bird wings (Counteracting Extremes Enabling Normal Flying: insights for global governance from birds on the wing and the dodo, 2015). The dysfunctional dynamics between "left" and "right" in politics may well be implicit in the neglected implications of the directionality of reading (Unquestioned Bias in Governance from Direction of Reading? Political implications of reading from left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-down, 2016).

It would appear that development of technology can be usefully understood as prefiguring or heralding applications in psychosocial systems -- as intuitively recognized in central symbols. As noted above, helicopter development has offered clues in this respect, most notably through the work of Arthur Young, as separately discussed (Engendering a Psychopter through Biomimicry and Technomimicry: insights from the process of helicopter development, 2011). Also of interest are the seminal insights of Nikola Tesla with respect to the rotation of a magnetic field (Reimagining Tesla's Creativity through Technomimicry: psychosocial empowerment by imagining charged conditions otherwise, 2014).

The association between the rotation of the fundamental symbols above and the use of propellers, raises the interesting question for governance of the necessary rate of their rotation to achieve "propulsion" -- possibly to enable "lift-off". Technology has also found it necessary to devote considerable resources to propeller blade design and the possibility of their adjustment in controlled flight.

Of further interest is the nature of any transition in psychosocial systems between 2-fold, 3-fold, 4-fold, or N-fold patterns, as provocatively implied by Hindu and Buddhist insights into the system of chakras, or the principles of transmission systems. This may refer simply to the gearbox that uses gears and gear trains to provide speed and torque conversions from a rotating power source to another device.

The rotation of the symbols, together with the spiral design of propellers, suggests the possibility of exploring the implication for governance of the dynamics of such symbols in 3D rather than 2D. With a pair of counter-rotating symbols, animations could be readily produced with each reducing in size alternatively -- to disappear into the centre or emerge from it. An exercise in presenting the lauburu in 3D, for example, is illustrated separately with animations (Psycho-social Hyperbubbling: beyond one-bubble credibility and despair? 2017). Global governance as conventionally imagined can readily be understood in terms of aspirations to a single "bubble".

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