Nature as a cognitive exoskeleton for humanity?

Cognitive Embodiment of Nature Re-cognized Systemically (Part #3)

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Global civilization, now proudly acclaimed as knowledge-based, is characterized by specialization of every kind. At the same time much is made of the purported "equality" of human beings, as solemnly enshrined in various declarations and religious principles. The problematic conversion between one system of belief and another, whether religious or ideological, confirms the perception of inequality in practice. It is of course the case that an extraordinary "inequality" is acknowledged with respect to income and control of resources -- whether or not this is deplored. As currently framed there is little likelihood that these understandings will be modified to any degree (Cultivating the Myth of Human Equality: ignoring complicity in the contradictions thereby engendered, 2016).

Biomimicry? It is therefore interesting to take a more speculative approach, given the rate at which the species in nature are becoming extinct or endangered -- most notably as a consequence of human activity, whether or not this impoverishment of the environment is deplored, and irrespective of assertions that "nature is dead". There is however a curious tendency to recognize that human society may have something to learn from nature for its own advantage, whether this is understood in terms of biomimicry or technomimicry, as separately discussed (Technomimicry as analogous to biomimicry, 2011).

Rather than define species in terms of their form and genetic make-up (as is the current preoccupation), another possibility is opened by defining species in terms of the distinctive manner in which each organizes and processes information. This naturally follows from the genetic constitution of each. It is also consistent with the recognition by fundamental physics that all matter can be understood in terms of information and energy, however these are to be comprehended and related.

Species as information patterns? From such a perspective each species is an information processing pattern, with the set of such species effectively constituting a pattern language, as originally articulated by Christopher Alexander (A Pattern Language, 1977). This offers various possibilities of generalization (5-fold Pattern Language, 1984).

In turn this then frames a question of potential interest to theoretical biology, namely how this complex set of patterns emerges and how they may be understood as interacting. With increasing interest in simulation of the global society of humans, how might such skills be adapted to exploring the interactions between millions of species -- each with a distinctive pattern of information processing?

Cognitive exoskeleton? The exploration can however be taken further by considering how humans may in practice "borrow" patterns of information organization and processing from species in nature. This is not a focus of any research at this time, however recognition of a degree of credibility of such human adaptability is evident in the familiar characterization of the behavioural patterns of some humans in terms of: sharks, wolves, snakes, rats, cockroaches, bulls, tigers, and the like. Some may be characterized as plants: rose, lily, creeper, tree, and the like. The names of species may even be applied to individuals, whether by their parents or as nicknames in the light of their behaviour, or the qualities it is hoped they may have.

Such names may also be applied to corporate bodies and countries. Indeed there are a number of strategic management studies which recommend that corporations (and their managers) should learn from the behavioural skills of animals (D. Lynch and P. Kordis, Strategy of the Dolphin: scoring a win in a chaotic world, 1988; J. Moore, Predators and Prey: a new ecology of competition. Harvard Business Review, 1993). Natural species may well be adopted as totems or symbols, whether by countries, political parties, teams, military groups, tribal factions, and other bodies -- even scouts and guides. This is especially the case with totem animals in indigenous cultures (Native American Totem Animals and Their Meanings, Legends of America; James Cowan, On Totems. Resurgence, 138, 1990, pp. 30-34).

In a period in which there is extensive research into powered exoskeletons to enhance the capacity of the physical body for military or other purposes, there is a case for considering the nature of a cognitive exoskeleton -- and how the species in nature may be indicative of a multiplicity of possibilities. The immersive features of virtual reality offer other pointers, possibly to be understood as combining biomimicry and technomimicry, as imagined in science fiction:

One situation explored by a number of writers is however of relevance to comprehending the complexity of multiple realities. That is the problem of piloting or navigating a spacecraft through "hyperspace" or "sub-space", as imagined in the light of recent advances in theoretical physics and mathematics. Because of the inherent complexity of such environments, several writers have explored the possibility that pilots and navigators might choose appropriate metaphors through which to perceive and order their task in relation to that complexity - for example, flying like a bird, windsurfing, swimming like a fish, tunnelling like a mole, etc (see discussion below on animal movement). The mass of data input, otherwise completely unmanageable is then channelled to the pilot in the form of appropriate sensory inputs to the nerve synapses corresponding to his "wings" or his "fins". The perceptions through the chosen metaphor are assisted by artificial intelligence software. The pilot switches between metaphors according to the nature of the hyperspace terrain. It may prove to be the case that insights into the variety and combinations of such complex 'terrains' have been richly mapped by the Chinese classic, the I Ching [more]. Such speculations do at least stimulate imagination concerning a possible marriage between metaphor and artificial intelligence in relation to governance. (Detachment from embodiment within traps, 2002)

To the extent that the pattern of each "species" embodied in this way is a potential trap, in the event of being locked into that modality, ensuring an exit from the exoskeleton is an obvious concern to enable other "incarnations" -- as discussed in the context of the above quotation.

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