Hi all,
This is Brendan and I’m excited to join this cool lil webby site. I just had the first notes spill out of my head from whatever it is that is brewing in there. I’d like to share those with you here and would appreciate any and all feedback, negative, positive, etc. Thanks.
Communication and Planes of Existence
Communication is a complex network of individuals and collectives in their exterior forms and behaviors and their interior motivation systems, patterns, drives, and desires.
The Network/Matrix Metaphor
To imagine this network (visualize) we can consider individuals as “nodes” and collectives being formed by the “lines” or “interconnections” between these various nodes.
Connections as Potential vs. Connections that are Activated
To imagine the ideal network, each of these nodes would have infinite and equal connections (equally infinite which is a paradox but I digress). This can be referred to as connections of potential.
Now this is not the case in “reality.” In “reality” though the nodes possess equal potential (i.e. infinite), they have not acheived equal activation. As a result, some nodes stand as especially activated. Consequently, these nodes play a particularly important or noticeable role in the field or realm of activation (we can refer to the realm of activation loosely with the word “reality”). Those nodes in their manifestation in the universe (or multi-verse) we are familiar with will show up and appear as standout individuals or institutions (standout used neutrally). There is likely an additional category of non-visible nodes playing a crucial role such as secret organizations, quietly “crucial” individuals, or metaphysical rules of a given universe which I won’t go into here. It should just be noted for the time being that these “shadow” nodes are at least theoretically possible.
A closer look at ”nodes”
A node in its ideal mode is an individual with infinite interconnections and infinite internal processing or comprehension (need to expand this concept). The extension of this inner processing out into external connections can be visualized and understood as “planes.” As you add in infinite additional nodes this generates an infinite matrix of interconnecting planes.
These are essential components in allowing for a universe or multi-verse (I’m aiming for a minimalism here). Whether or not these universes or multi-verses actually exist is inconsequential since they have the potential to exist.
As a tool for mapping and generating theory and insight (limited endeavors) these nodes can be located along mappings of this network.
In the field of communication we can think of the links between nodes as lines of communication, verbal, non-verbal, and any other. These can be thought of as interlocking planes of existence. Though it is infinitely impossible to map this infinite potential of individuals, it is paradoxically possible to map the field of activated lines and nodes of interaction even while drawing upon the hypothetical of potential. That being said, any map of the realm of activation will draw most extensively on the study and reconstruction of activated history (history in a classical sense and history used to denote past experience or memory). This also complexifies as the degree to which awareness is activated in an individual (or collective group of) invesgative “node(s)” (or map-makers to carry on that metaphor) since the degree of awareness will modify the planes of activation and potential that can be historically reconstructed which will modify the map they produce. (This is just another way of saying that there are actively working “things” in reality that any given map-maker or theorist will not be aware of and will therefore not incorporate into their “map.”) The science of universe mapping (theory) is an endlessly imperfect science (like all science) similar to all things in the realm of activation (at least from any perspective coming from within the realm of activation). In other words, a perfected map would not just be a mup but “reality” itself. In other words, we are living the perfect map from the perspective (aperspective) of “potential” or “uncertainty” or “infinity.” That will be discussed further later.
In communication, an individual node needs to be looked at as a perspective-taking being, a center of infinity, and an activated external and internal being (“measure” and observe the external and internal activations present and working in any given individual). We can study an individual’s internal lines (or planes) of thought, external brainwaves or communication or speech-acts, internal emotions, impulses, drives, and desires…to name a few. A few to be focused upon initially are receptivity and listening in a speaker.
Communicative Diving
One of the first recommendations that jumps out from this line of reasoning is what we will term “communicative diving.” As a communicator, to strive towards effectiveness, essentially what one wants to do is to attempt to dive into the other”s (the one being communicated with) various planes of active existence. Actually it is more complex than this, maybe a better wording would be to discuss aligning otherwise dissonant planes of being in two (or more) communicative actors. This is currently as far as I have gotten though I can add that further explication of this concept will draw particularly from the work of Jurgen Habermas, Jean Gebser, and Ken Wilber.
Until another time, I leave you with my own attempt at sounding wise: Lack of interest in any other implies a lack of imagination in myself.
