At Tom Munnecke's Pattern Language workshop, we got to see copies of all
four volumes of the series on the nature of order. Expensive, but more
than worth the effort to own; I agree with Andrius's enthusiasm. (01)
Comments below.
Cheers
Jack (02)
Andrius Kulikauskas wrote: (03)
> I'm surprised that I haven't seen anybody write about Christopher
> Alexander's new book "The Nature of Order". (He's the author of "The
> Timeless Way of Building" and "A Pattern Language"). I share my first
> thoughts. Andrius, http://www.ms.lt
> --------------------------------------
>
> I share my first thoughts on a new book that I have been reading on
> the trains and buses on my way to Croatia. Is anybody else reading
> it? It is by the author of "The Timeless Way of Building" and "A
> Pattern Language". I wrote this letter for our working group
> http://groups.yahoo.group/group/consideringGod/ where I am working on
> "uncovering the structure of everything". Andrius, http://www.ms.lt
> ------------------------------------------------------
>
> Before I left, I got "The Nature of Order" by Christopher Alexander,
> so I have taken that with me. It is great, and very helpful for me at
> this time.
>
> As an architect, he wrote earlier about What makes a building alive?
> and is now thinking more generally about life. But also, about our
> understanding of it, particularly why are we building buildings with
> so little life, and why are we living in them.
> <snip> (04)
There exist many other authors who have taken on a holistic approach to
thinking, including the books _The Web of Life_ (Frijtof Copra), _Life
Itself_ (Robert Rosen), and many others. What Alexander brings to the
table, I think, is the point of view of an artist. There will
eventually come to pass perhaps many variants of a grand synthesis to
include artists, mathematicians, physicists, theologeans, and more. (05)
>
> He writes of fifteen properties of life that he goes through. He
> finds these as ways that centers relate to each other. They are:
>
> 1. levels of scale
> 2. strong centers
> 3. boundaries
> 4. alternating repetition
> 5. positive space
> 6. good shape
> 7. local symmetries
> 8. deep interlock and ambiguity
> 9. contrast
> 10. gradients
> 11. roughness
> 12. echoes
> 13. void
> 14. simplicity and inner calm
> 15. not-separateness
>
> I have a hypothesis for what they are. I think that they are features
> by which "anything" may connect itself with "everything" as centers.
> They are the ways that anything goes beyond itself and comes to that
> original everything.
>
> I have been working to unify those four structural families. It seems
> that each one relates the division into three (taking a stand,
> following through, reflecting) with one of its four representations.
> Each one of these representations makes use of a vantage point for God
> of different degrees of awareness. They are:
> - necessary, actual, possible
> - object, process, subject
> - one, all, many
> - be, do, think (06)
I notice a great similarity in these categories to those which were
evolved and in development by C. S. Peirce. The first category falls
into modal logic, which was the subject of his last efforts, which were
aimed at developing Gamma Existential Graphs. John Sowa converted Beta
Existential Graphs into what are called Conceptual Graphs, and Mary
Keeler has commented that Gamma Existential Graphs will require user
interface capabilities we do no presently have. (07)
>
> <snip>
>
> Andrius (08)
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