TREE VS. NET
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From: Bruce S.
Date: Thursday, September 13, 2007, 1:10 PM
Subject: Tree vs. Net
ID: 258468

I've been reading (re-reading) a fascinating book -- published in 1981, back in the days when the integral vision was still pretty strong. A million ideas had been released, starting in the late sixties, and some people were still pretty much on top of all of it. Since those days, it's become much more difficult. We never did get a really adequate "integral theory" -- and synthetic theories and projects have endless political problems (a "synthetic" theory pulls together ideas from many disciplines -- each one of which has its own controlling elite and separatist protocols...)

This book I like so much -- is called Maps of the Mind -- by psychologist Charles Hampden-Turner. I discovered yesterday I could get a pretty good used copy on Amazon, for about $6.00. So I ordered one.

I've been scanning a lot of text lately -- and here's a link to one of Hampden- Turner's "maps". This is a brief article on the theories of psychologist Francisco Varela, who is working with "right brain / left brain" issues -- particularly suggesting that "the right brain is the NET, and the left brain is the TREE."

We can understand the NET concepts in terms of free association and "semantic networks" -- and the TREE in terms of linear order and top-down hierarchy. Varela sees these forces in opposition within the psyche. For me, working with the idea that the entire structure of cognition can be interpreted in top-down linear terms (if you know how to do it), this is a fascinating model.

The text in this "map" is very succinct and elegant -- and the diagram is a bit "cyborg" in its vibes, but it makes the point. NET vs. TREE -- a powerful image for the creative force of cognitive evolution.

http://globalresonance.net/documents/mapsofthemind55.pdf