Polyhedral Configuration of 384 Governance-relevant Yi Jing Transformations
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 19 Jun 2023
Anthony Judge | Laetus in Praesens - TRANSCEND Media Service
Experimental Interactive Mapping of 64 6-Linked Hexagrams Using Force-Directed Layout
Introduction
17 Jun 2023 – The experimental configurations presented here follow from a previous exercise in adapting the remarkable articulation of the commentary on the 64 conditions interrelated in the traditional Chinese Yi Jing (Richard Wilhelm, The I Ching or Book of Changes, 1967). That exercise adapted the commentary in metaphoric terms to render it variously applicable to governance-related preoccupations (Transformation Metaphors — derived experimentally from the Chinese Book of Changes (I Ching) for sustainable dialogue, vision, conferencing, policy, network, community and lifestyle, 1997).
Despite the coherence of the original, as widely known, a continuing concern has been how best to configure the seemingly complex pattern in order to render it more comprehensible and memorable through a variety of visual presentations in 3D. These contrast with traditional circular configurations in 2D. An early variant, the so-called Shao Yung circle of hexagrams, confirmed the early intuitions of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz in developing the binary coding system now fundamental to computer operations (James A. Ryan, Leibniz’ Binary System and Shao Yong’s “Yijing”, Philosophy East and West, 46, 1996, 1; Anne D. Birdwhistell, Transition to Neo-Confucianism: Shao Yung on Knowledge and Symbols of Reality, 1989).
The circular form was explored as the basis for ordering patterns of transformation (Networking Alternation: an alternation network of 384 pathways of organizational transformation interpreted for networks in the light of the Chinese Book of Changes, 1983; Diagram of 384 Relationships between I Ching Hexagrams, 1983).
The Yi Jing remains one of the most remarkable efforts to interrelate an extensive range of psychosocial and value-related conditions traditionally deemed fundamental to governance in China. It is also remarkable for the enduring appreciation in which it has been held. The focus contrasts with current conventional Western preoccupation and modelling of resource-related issues — assumed to be the key to the resolution of global challenges and crises (Recognizing the Psychosocial Boundaries of Remedial Action, 2009).
The announced return of the United States to membership of UNESCO in 2023, after an absence of five years, has been presented as a necessary means of counter-balancing the cultural influence of China on world order (China concerns prompt US move to rejoin Unesco, The Guardian, 12 June 2023; US decides to rejoin UNESCO and pay back dues, to counter Chinese influence, ABC News, 12 June 2023). The concern is notably with respect to policies relating artificial intelligence, particularly as developed and deployed by American corporations (China, AI and a say on world order: Why the US wants back in UNESCO, France24, 13 June 2023).
Of some relevance is UNESCO’s strategic approach and programmatic focus (The Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures, UNESCO, Executive Board, 179th, 2008) consistent with that articulated by the United Nations (Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, UN Resolution A/56/6, 2001). This contrasts with efforts to promote a singular cultural perspective as a means of reinforcing monopolar hegemony — for which a comprehensible model of requisite complexity has yet to be articulated (Club of Rome Reports and Bifurcations a 50-year overview, 2018).
Ironically the further development of the visual presentations of the current exercise has been enabled by lengthy exploratory exercises with ChatGPT, as previously described (Use of ChatGPT to Clarify Possibility of Dialogue of Higher Quality, 2023; Coherence of Sustainable Development Goals through Artificial Intelligence, 2023; Artificial Emotional Intelligence and its Human Implications, 2023). Those exercises included the enhancement (with the aid of ChatGPT) of earlier force-directed layout applications which had established proof-of-concept — but without enabling direct access to the commentaries as currently demonstrated (Eliciting Memorable Spheres and Polyhedra from Hyperspace, 2015).
As presented here, enabling user interaction with dynamic presentations frames the question of how the coherence of conditions fundamental to viable global governance are to be rendered comprehensible — given the variety of systemic transformations which merit consideration. It might also be asked to what extent pre-trained artificial intelligence is able to integrate the relationships encoded by the hexagram transformations of the Yi Jing. Given the binary encoding fundamental to those distinctions, of particular relevance is their relationship to the set of 16 logical connectives explored with ChatGPT as fundamental to dialogue of higher quality.
As noted in concluding the final interaction with ChatGPT, of particular potential interest is the ability of an AI-enabled smartphone (or similar device) to record and analyze dialogue in real-time and present its development visually in the form of an evolving map — as suggested by the technology long-developed to present “passing patterns” in ball games for the benefit of spectators and for subsequent analysis by players and coaches.
The argument concludes with discussions of polyhedra as mnemonic aids to”re-membering” psycho-social coherence and the challenge of interrelating incommensurable dimensions of governance.
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