</a>Pattern language

Polyhedral Pattern Language: Software facilitation of emergence, representation and transformation of psycho-social organization (Part #6)

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The large set of polyhedra of distinct types together constitute a repertoire of patterns of order. As such they are a resource on which to call for subtler forms of psycho-social organization.

The key initiative with respect to pattern language has been that of Christopher Alexander and his team (A Pattern Language, 1977; The Timeless Way of Building, 1979). The idea of a pattern language appears to apply to any complex engineering task, and has been especially influential in software engineering where patterns have been used to document collective knowledge in the field. In a subsequent study (The Nature of Order, 2003-2004) the mostly static patterns from A Pattern Language have been amended by more dynamic sequences, which describe how to work towards patterns.

Alexander's earlier pattern language insights have been adapted experimentally to explore a more generic 5-fold Pattern Language (1984) of relevance to psycho-social organization:

• Physical environment: an adaptation of Alexander's own pattern description
• Socio-organizational environment: the pattern as it applies to the organization of social groups, organizations and networks.
• Conceptual environment: the pattern as it applies to the organization of a conceptual framework or a body of knowledge.
• Intra-personal environment: the pattern as it applies to the organization of modes of awareness adopted by a person.

A question to be explored with a polyhedral software application is the extent to which such patterns can be suitably, and memorably, represented by families of polyhedra. This is the crucial question, determining the relevance of this approach.

Is the taxonomy of psycho-social organization now in what might be termed a pre-Linnaean stage, given the significance that came to be attached to Linnaean taxonomy? Of interest in this respect is the role first played in flowering plant classification of the number of stamens in the bloom. It might be asked whether conceptual models (including their strategic and organizational reflections) could not be usefully distinguished by the kinds of numbers used too distinguished polyhedra (cf Representation, Comprehension and Communication of Sets: the role of number, 1978).

It would be very interesting if any periodic table of polyhedra -- each understood as a classification -- could be understood as providing insight into a classification of classification systems (cf Birger Hjørland, Lifeboat for Knowledge Organization; Classification, 2008). What indeed are the Patterns of Conceptual Integration (1984) in the light of the range of challenging examples (cf Patterns of N-foldness: comparison of integrated multi-set concept schemes as forms of presentation, 1980)? How such a periodic table might be "tuned" is fundamental to any response to the divisive psycho-social initiatives that are a preoccupation of governance (Tuning a Periodic Table of Religions, Epistemologies and Spirituality -- including the sciences and other belief systems, 2007).

Also of interest in this context s is the possibility of considering each polyhedron as modelling a learning system. This would then relate to the literature on the classification of learning systems, currently of relevance to artificial intelligence research (Douglas J. Pearson and John E. Laird, Incremental Learning of Procedural Planning Knowledge in Challenging Environments, 2005). Of relevance to understanding through polyhedra is the investigation of adaptive learning of geometry (Harri Ketamo, An Adaptive Geometry Game for Handheld Devices, Educational Technology and Society, 6 (1) 2003).

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