Other Blogs And Books

Here is a quick look at my other blogs before you start this one.

My main blog, where the most recent postings on all topics are to be found, is http://www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/

If you liked this blog on patterns and complexity, you will also like my blog about cosmology, http://www.markmeekcosmology.blogspot.com/

http://www.markmeekearth.blogspot.com/ is my geology and global natural history blog for topics other than glaciers. www.markmeekworld.blogspot.com is my natural history blog concerning glaciers.

http://www.markmeekniagara.blogspot.com/ is about new discoveries concerning natural history in the general area of Niagara Falls.

http://www.markmeeklife.blogspot.com/ is my observations concerning meteorology and biology.

http://www.markmeekphysics.blogspot.com/ is my blog about physics and astronomy.

http://www.markmeekreligion.blogspot.com/ is my religion blog.

http://www.markmeekcreation.blogspot.com/ is proof that there must be a god.

http://www.markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/ is about economics, history and, general human issues.

http://www.markmeekprogress.blogspot.com/ concerns progress in technology and ideas.

http://www.mark-meek.blogspot.com/ is my autobiography

http://www.markmeektravel.blogspot.com/ is my travel photos of North America. http://www.markmeekphotos.blogspot.com/ is my travel photos of Europe.

My books can be seen at http://www.bn.com/ http://www.amazon.com/ or, http://www.iuniverse.com/ just do an author search for "Mark Meek"

The Most Basic Formula

Has anyone out there ever thought that there is a physical formula by which everything in the universe inevitably operates that is as yet undocumented? At times, I got the feeling that the universe was more orderly then it should be considering the laws of physics alone and that there could well be something out there that was all around us and had not been discovered yet.

There are four mathematical patterns that I have called "primes", for primal or primary. Everything that exists or ever can exist consists of manifestations and combinations of these four primes, or fundamental patterns.

The primes operate in an unvarying sequence: domain, level, comparison and, compensation. This is the formula that governs everything in existence. Nothing can exist that does not function by this sequence.

This primary sequence forms what we can call the walls and corridors of reality. In the same way, you can go anywhere you want in your own house, right?

Actually, you must follow the set pattern of walls and rooms. If you just walk in a straight line, you will probably run into a wall. In a city, you can walk or drive anywhere you like, but you actually must follow the pre-set pattern of the streets and sidewalks when you do.

This is the way that all of reality works, anything that exists, anything that happens, must follow this pre-set sequence of the basic patterns, the primes. If reality was the jam in a jar, the primes would be the jar.

Primes are mathematical entities in that they are patterns having no real existence of their own until they are manifested. In the same way, the number six has no real existence until we see six of something. Then the number becomes real because it has been manifested.

However, now we can see that the counting numbers 1,2,3,..... are not the most fundamental branch of mathematics as had been assumed. Numbers compose the level prime, which is the second prime, after domain.

Basically, whenever anything exists, we have a domain. These domains must each consist of  at least one level and the only thing that differentiates any domain from any other is levels, which is the second prime. Physicists tell us that everything is really numbers, and any pattern in these numbers comprises a domain. There would be no level prime if there was only one level in existence, which would be the one and only domain, for levels to be meaningful there has to be more then one. Basically, any condition is a domain but a condition of a condition is a level.

Nature always operates by comparison of levels, which is the third prime. Whenever this third prime, comparison (of levels) orders that a change must take place, we have what is known as compensation. This is the fourth prime.

If there were only empty space, with all space identical and no matter or electromagnetic radiation within, there would only be one domain. If there was matter, but no movement or change was possible, there would be the first two primes, domain and level. It is only when change and movement is possible that the last two primes, comparison and compensation, are manifested.

No matter how you analyze anything, no matter how you break things down, this four-part prime sequence is the kernel of reality that is absolutely invariable. This simple sequence governs everything that can exist or ever can happen. This is literally the core of logic. Everything else in physical reality can vary except this formula.

Surely there is more to be discovered about the primes and about this new field of primary theory. To make contributions to this new field, all one has to be able to do is think. No scientific equipment is required. This is only an example of the fact that there is so much around us that we do not notice because it is hidden in plain sight. I have written a book about this, "The Theory of Primes".

Advanced Patterns

The primes that I have defined in the post above, "The Most Basic Formula" and in my book "The Theory of Primes" are what we would call the foundation of reality. This four-part formula describes the pattern sequence by which everything that exists or happens operates.

This is at an even deeper level of reality than the Big Bang. Indeed, when the universe began, it did so by following the four-step prime sequence, domain-level-comparison-compensation. Everything that has happened since then has followed exactly the same sequence.

As I described, patterns, including the primes, are mathematical entities like numbers or geometric shapes. Like all mathematical entities, patterns have no real existence until they are manifested by some "given". For example, a triangle or the number six have no real existence in themselves until they are manifested by something triangular in form or six of something.

The primes existed before the universe did but went unmanifested until the universe came into existence. The universe, the given, manifested the primes that were already in existence. These four primes, or fundamental patterns, that I have defined constitutes the foundation of reality, more primal than the familiar "given", which is space, matter, energy, etc.

However, there is also a "structure" of reality, based on this foundation, that I would like to describe here.

SECOND-TIER PATTERNS

The four primes are the foundation of reality, or what we would call the first-tier patterns. So, let's begin our look into the structure of reality with the next level of reality, the second-tier patterns.

By the second tier, domains are already established. Thus, second tier patterns are what we could call "relational patterns". These are patterns that are manifested by the given, our universe, that itself manifests the primes, the first-tier patterns.

At each tier of reality, the patterns of that tier and of the tiers below are manifested. Thus, reality can be described as having a kind of pyramid structure.

It is complexity along with the inter-relatibility of the domains manifested by the given which determines the second-tier patterns that can be manifested. The relationships between domains varies according to a range between sub-domain and completely separate domain.

We could use a scale and say zero if a completely separate domain and one hundred if a fully incorporated sub-domain. Zero would mean that every matter particle in the universe would be completely separate in space from every other particle and one hundred would mean all the matter in the universe in one gigantic sphere. The more independent domains are in the second tier, the closer to zero on the scale, the more domains there will be in the given overall but the fewer patterns are likely to be manifested.

The midpoint of domain inter-relationship, fifty, is the most likely to cause the manifestation of the maximum number of patterns because it would have maximum complexity, while either extreme; zero or one hundred, will result in no patterns being manifested at that tier due to the low complexity, so that there would be only the basic first-tier primes.

The fundamental second-tier pattern to be manifested can be called either barrier or boundary, depending on the circumstances. This pattern requires a "double domain" for it's manifestation. That is, at least one domain existing within a larger domain, such as a planet in a universe.

Barrier and boundary are essentially the same thing. Boundary is the limits of a domain. Barrier is a levels gap, for example you cannot buy something costing two dollars if you only have one dollar, there is a barrier.

Thus, boundary is a domain expression while barrier is a level expression. Domain and level are the first two primes.

SECOND-TIER PATTERNS IN OUR UNIVERSE

In terms of patterns, the basic plan of our universe is what I call the "double domain", this means that there is at least one domain within a larger domain. This plan permeates our universe.

Usually, but not always, space is the larger, or outer, domain and matter is the smaller, or inner, domain. Keep in mind that although this is the plan of our universe, there could be many more possible pattern plans for a universe, whether or not there are other universes to manifest them.

My theory is that the primes, the first tier, is absolutely primary and invariable. But the second-tier patterns are manifested due to the nature of our given; the space, matter and, energy. If the universe were composed of some kind of "stuff" that was utterly different from our familar space and matter, the second-tier patterns would also be different, although the primes would always be the same.

The second-tier patterns that I am going to describe can only be manifested in a universe with a double-domain pattern plan and enough available complexity. The outer, as well as the inner, domains are both necessary for the first of the second-tier patterns to be manifested, barrier/boundary.

The outer domain sets the limit to the levels of the inner domain and if the inner domain does not match, then barrier/boundary will be manifested. Each inner domain manifests barrier/boundary unless it's levels are equal to that of the outer domain, in which case it would not be defined as an inner domain.

It requires more than one inner domain, in other words complexity, to open up the possibility of more patterns being manifested besides barrier and boundary. I am presuming that all possible second-tier patterns in a double-domain universe are manifested by our universe, although I cannot be absolutely sure of that.

Some examples of double-domain are: athletes are inner domains, the playing field is the outer domain. Chess pieces are inner domains, the chess board is the outer domain. Planets and stars are the inner domains, space is the outer domain. Residents are the inner domains, the house is the outer domain.

This is the basic pattern plan of our universe and so many of the most important levels thereof are the ratios between inner and outer domains.

Just as there are four primes in the first tier, there are also four basic patterns manifested within the double-domain universe pattern plan of the second tier. The barrier/boundary pattern is a part of the double-domain plan and so is not included in these second-tier four.

The first of the four second-tier patterns is pathway. Examples of manifestations of pathway that we see all over the world and the universe are: orbits of one body around another, arteries and veins in our bodies, electrical circuits, hallways in buildings, roads, the ballistic path followed by a ball, the course of a river seeking the path of least resistance, any line from one point to another, the flow of time.

The second of the four second-tier patterns is bridge. The difference between pathway and bridge is that bridge overcomes some manifestation of barrier, which we saw is part of the double-domain pattern.

Indeed, bridges and barriers go together. Examples of bridge/barrier are: bridges over rivers, gates or holes in walls, energy to do work, money to buy something, a device to make work easier. Bridge/barrier essentially means the same thing as possible/impossible.

The third of the four second-tier patterns is seed. A seed is the beginning of the formation of a domain. Examples of seed are: any kind of growth pole, such as the beginning of a town, a body in space attracting more mass by gravity, condensation nuclei for clouds, a flame in flammable material.

The fourth of the four second-tier patterns is alphabet. An alphabet, in patterns terminology, is a large domain composed of smaller domains which exist just for the purpose of forming the larger domain. An ideal example of alphabet is the human body composed of it's various organs. Livers or hearts form to exist as parts of the body and have no reason to exist outside the body.

The difference between alphabet and sub-domain, as I described in The Theory of Primes, is that a sub-domain, such as a rock on a planet, or an atom in a molecule, can have an meaningful existence outside the larger domain of which it is a part, while in alphabet that is not the case. Examples of alphabet are: DNA sequences in the larger structure, ingredients in a cake, players in a team sport, actors in a cast, components in a car.

We can see that, while there are four second-tier patterns just as there is four primes in the first tier, the relationship between the four is different in the second tier. When pathway is manifested, it does not necessarily mean that bridge will be a factor. When bridge is crossed, it does not necessarily mean that a domain will form by seed. When seed brings a domain into manifestation, it need not mean that the domain will manifest alphabet.

In contrast with the primes, the first two, domain and level, always go together like hand in glove, domain always manifests levels. While the last two primes, comparison and compensation may not be manifested at at all. We can also see that the first-tier primes can be compared to atoms in the same way that the second-tier patterns can be compared to molecules composed from the primary atoms.

THIRD-TIER PATTERNS IN OUR UNIVERSE

There is yet another tier of reality in our universe that I have identified, the third tier. I say "in our universe" because if another universe does, or could, exist, the patterns of the upper tiers may be completely different than in our universe or, may not exist at all.

Although my Theory of Primes stipulates that the first-tier patterns, the primes, are invariable and, unlike the upper tiers, have no dependence on the nature of the given (matter, energy, etc.) at all. There seems to be a limit of a few basic patterns at each tier of reality. At each of these tiers or stages, the patterns of that tier, as well as the ones of lower tiers are manifested.

As I stated above, the tiers seem to form a pyramid shape because proportionally very little of the given that manifests second-tier patterns also manifests third-tier patterns. This third tier also exists within the all-encompassing double-domain plan of our universe. It is manifested by the same given that the lower two tiers are.

Just as the second-tier patterns incorporate in double-domain form the first-tier primes, the third tier patterns incorporate both. As with each stage, patterns are manifested that are not manifested by the lower stages.

The third tier of reality consists of living things, while the second consists of inanimate matter. The living things of the third tier use the "vessel" plan. For example, human beings have skin and a skeleton forming a vessel to contain the rest of the body's components. This is, once again, a manifestation of the double-domain pattern plan that so dominates our universe but would not necessarily dominate another universe if one existed.

The four-step operational sequences by which both the first and second tiers function is also apparent in the third tier of reality. Consider the labor that human beings do. Everyone that works can be categorized in a four-part sequence: people who make things, people who move things, people who fix things and, people who run things. Although in our complex world, many occupations include elements of more than one of the four categories.

We can also see that each tier has it's own set of rules as well as being bound to the rules of the tiers below it. The rules of the first tier is simply the prime sequence: domain>level>comparison>compensation. The rules of the second tier in our universe are mathematics and the laws of physics. The living things composing the third tier are also bound by these rules and also by their instincts and human beings by their man-made laws.

The pattern that is manifested by the third tier but not by the two lower tiers is peak. All living things, including humans, thrive when certain factors in their existence are at a peak, rather than too high or too low.

With humans, several examples of peak are obvious. Work, play, food and, sleep are prominent parts of live for which peak is manifested. All humans will be better off with a certain peak in each of these things. They will be worse off if they have too much or too little.

Peak is also manifested in the four work categories. For example, society would be less efficient if there are too few or too many workers moving things in comparison with those making things. It is only in living things that this peak, referring to efficiency, is manifested. This pattern is meaningless to the inanimate matter of the second tier of reality in our universe.

THE THEORY OF PUDDLES

The fact that the two tiers above the primes of the first tier depend on the nature of the given (space, matter, energy, etc.) leads us to our next step in our study of the structure of reality, what I have termed "The Theory of Puddles".

On the earth's surface, the low spots in the ground determine where puddles of water will form after it rains. The pattern structure of reality works the same way. The structure of reality can be described as "sloped". That is, there is "high ground" and "low ground" in reality.

The underlying first tier of reality, the primes, can be described as "flat", with no high or low "territory". It is the given that, while manifesting the primes, creates high and low territory which applies the tiers that come after. Indeed, each tier of reality contributes to the sloping of the higher tiers that may come after.

Some things in our universe are very common; electrons, atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, hydrogen and, rocks. These very common entities found in the universe can be described as "puddles" in terms of patterns. Such common entities would be found on the low ground of the terrain of reality.

In contrast, some things are rare; heavy water (in which the atoms of hydrogen have neutrons), gold, red giant stars, white lions and, billionaires. These rare entities are definitely not puddles like the common entities but exist on the high ground of the terrain of reality.

The basic primes of the first tier do not favor the existence of the common entities over the rare entities at all. It is not until the primes are manifested by some given that a sloped terrain of reality forms. Whatever entities or situations are very common in a certain tier can be described as "puddles" that form on the lowest ground.

Those entities that are rare, but possible, form on the higher terrain of the reality. Depending on the given, of course, the slopes and high ground can be totally different.

We cannot see these slopes, but all that we see around us is the result of this slope. If there was no slope, everything that could exist would have an equal chance of existence in equal numbers. Smaller things are lower on the slope simply because they require less for their existence than larger things.

Primes, and the rest of mathematics, forms the underlying "flat" and level foundation upon which to build reality in our universe. It is the given that builds a sloping landscape upon this flat foundation and causes puddles to form. As soon as we have a given, a curved or sloping landscape begins to form. There can be real existence but puddles form and dictate what will be common and what will be rare.

Biological life follows exactly the same pattern at a higher tier of reality. Ants and beetles are puddles, while brontosaurus lies on the high ground on the slope of third-tier reality. Cities and towns are puddles just as planets and stars are.

In a flat landscape, anything can theoretically exist and has an equal chance of existence. But in our universe, when anything exists, it becomes a part of the landscape itself. An asymmetry is thus created when the entity becomes a part of the landscape, causing it to slope. Puddles begin to form because in the sloping landscape, reality becomes biased toward the existence of some things over others.

In any curvature, the probability of existence for all possible existences becomes unequal. In other words, puddles form. There is a form of tension in which a given creates potential complexity and existences but in doing so, it slopes the terrain of reality and limits the range of existences.

With what we could call "flat reality", when something exists to manifest the primes, it has no effect on the terrain of reality as far as anything else existing. If reality is curved, it does. The reality of our universe is obviously curved, at least above the first tier.

Whether or not the reality of a universe or situation is flat or curved depends, of course, on the nature of the given. In terms of human expression, numbers are part of the underlying flat landscape, while the words we have created to describe the world around us are puddles. This landscape of patterns always exists, even if there is nothing to manifest the patterns.

Any given conforms to this landscape and in doing so, forms a higher-tier landscape. It operates somewhat like a dump truck emptying a load of dirt on a flat surface so that higher and lower levels of terrain form as the dirt conforms to the underlying flat surface. The laws of physics are part of the secondary curved landscape and not part of the fundamental flat landscape of the first-tier primes.

As we know, a puddle is a low spot where water tends to accumulate. There are an infinity of patterns waiting to be manifested by some "given". When the universe of space and matter begins, and patterns do begin to be manifested by reality, it inevitable forms a "slope". This slope of reality means that some patterns are more likely to be manifested than others. The rare patterns are at the "high" end of the slope, and the common patterns form a "puddle" at the low end of the slope. In our universe, hydrogen atoms still comprise maybe 90% of all atoms, so they would definitely be in the puddle of the low end of the slope of reality. Diamonds are rare, they would still be in the puddle of reality because they exist, but would be in the shallows of the puddle higher on the slope.

This "slope" of reality could actually be described as a ratio between the potential complexity in the universe, and the available information that was introduced into the universe by the Big Bang. Just as any slope has a ratio between the height on one side and the height on the other side. If the available information in reality and the potential complexity were equal, reality would be flat, there would be no slope and no puddle, everything would be different from everything else so that there would be no words but only names. But that is not the case and the puddle of reality that we have is based on the inequality between the potential complexity in the universe and the information available to create patterns in that complexity.

THE UNIVERSE OF PATTERNS

We exist in a universe of space, matter, energy, and so on. That is not the only universe there is. There is also a universe of patterns. We can see primes and higher-tier patterns manifested all around us as I have described above and in the Theory of Primes. There is also almost certainly an infinity of patterns, most of which never have, and probably never will, be manifested by some given, such as a universe.

Suppose that, all over the world, people made sure that the number twenty-one was not manifested by anything anywhere. The number twenty-one would still exist in reality, even if it was unmanifested. Patterns are also mathematical entities and work the same way.

If another physical universe that was not composed of space, matter and, energy like ours, but was of a completely different "stuff", a completely different set of patterns could be manifested there which we will never see. Although my Theory of Primes stipulates that the basic primes will always be the same.

It would be the patterns of the higher tiers that could be different. In the universe of patterns, a pattern is no more or less a valid pattern whether it is ever manifested or not, just as the number 72,947,110,935 would be no less valid of a number if it were not manifested anywhere.

My perception of the patterns is, of course, limited by the universe in which I live. There almost certainly is fourth-tier patterns that exist that I do not see here. There could be a very special universe with one hundred ninety eight tiers instead of our universe's three. Once again, it does not matter if those patterns are ever actually manifested or not by any given.

The structure of the tiers of patterns could actually be a tree, rather than a pyramid, as we see in our universe. This would mean that more than one set of patterns in a given tier emerges out of the lower tier and are separated from the other set in some way that we do not see in our universe.

The pattern plan of our universe, the double-domain, is itself a puddle that has been brought into manifestation by the slope of the terrain of reality in our given. Indeed, the patterns which are manifested by any given, such as a universe, are themselves the result of the slope.

There is probably an infinity of universe pattern plans, of which the slope of reality in our universe chose the double-domain. There is also sure to be an infinity of patterns aside from the ones I have described on these two upper tiers on the high slopes of the terrain of our reality that have given way to the ones I have described here, which have formed our reality puddles.

The Seven Patterns Of Life

Wouldn't it be great if life were really simple? If your answer is yes, then I have some very good news. I have developed an illustration of my Theory of Primes involving the seven basic patterns of which all of life is a manifestation.

These are not genuinely new patterns, independent of those I described in the underlying patterns of everything in existence, but are what we could term "practical patterns". Everything that any living thing has ever done can be described by seven basic patterns, but these are all built on those fundamental patterns described in "The Most Basic Formula" and "Advanced Patterns". Life is very simple indeed.

It would be very good to become closely familiar with this set of patterns because it is how all of life operates. Everything that we do consists of manifestations and combinations of these patterns.

The first pattern of life is LEVER. A lever is used to redirect a force in one direction to another direction. So, a lever exchanges one thing for another thing.

All living things manifest the LEVER pattern virtually all the time. We exchange our time to complete necessary tasks. We exchange the money we earn to buy the things we need (This pattern could also be called "Exchange" or "Trade"). Whenever we move, we exchange northness for southness, eastness for westness or, downness for upness.

All machines made by humans manifest the LEVER pattern. In physics, a lever is actually the simplest of machines. A transmission exchanges rotary motion for linear motion. Motors exchange the energy in fuels for movement. A saw, axe, wedge or, nail exchanges force over a wide area for the same amount of force but over a very narrow area.

Money, time and, energy are "currencies" often exchanged whenever the LEVER pattern is manifested. Freedom is another such currency. Marriage is exchanging freedom for the marriage partner and membership is the exchange of some degree of freedom to belong to a group.

A mechanical lever pushes back in the opposite direction from which it is pushed and in the same way, the LEVER pattern of life represents how we tend to get back what we give out, if we work hard, we tend to prosper and if we are nice to others, they tend to be nice in return.

LEVER is all about living things exchanging something they have for something they require, it is not a genuinely new fundamental patterns but is associated with the second prime, LEVEL, and represents the exchange of one level for another.

The next pattern of life is RIDGE. I have heard the saying somewhere that "Life is a beach" but it seem to me to be more accurately a ridge. The ridge of life represents balance and the aim is to remain as close as possible to the crest of the ridge during the path through life.

RIDGE is the practical manifestation of the PEAK pattern in the third tier of patterns in our universe that I described in "Advanced Patterns". The pattern that differentiates living things from inanimate matter is that living things manifest some peak of efficiency that is meaningless with non-living things.

In the tasks that humans perform during the manifestation of the LEVER pattern, there is always some optimum way of going about it that is sought. For example, it does not make sense to train some people as bricklayers and some as surgeons and then send the bricklayers to perform operations and the surgeons to lay bricks. It would bring us closer to the peak of efficiency to have the surgeons performing the operations and the bricklayers laying the bricks. Either way, the LEVER pattern would be manifested equally but not the RIDGE pattern.

The "Golden Rule" to treat others as you would like to be treated is an example of the balance that is the RIDGE pattern as is any legal system because it is an attempt to balance the rights of some people against other people, thus forming a ridge. Anything utilizing checks and balances to keep a system in balance from constitutional government to the prey and predators in the food chain manifests the RIDGE pattern.

In our economic system, the division of labor (labour) seeking the assign the number of workers to each task in such a way that maximum efficiency of production will be attained is the RIDGE pattern again. Another clear example is the balancing of wages on one side and prices on the other side that forms a ridge.

Seeking a balance in the lives of workers between work and recreation is another manifestation of the RIDGE pattern as is having a well-rounded curriculum in school and the fact that one of the requirements of a good diet is that it include several food groups.

Think of the several supporting poles of a tepee leaning together to form a ridge. All of these are the ways that the RIDGE pattern makes living beings different from inanimate matter. When people express opinions and disagree on things, this is yet another manifestation of this pattern. An opinion, religion or, philosophy is an effort to find the crest of the ridge in some way.

A sub-pattern of the RIDGE pattern is what we could call support. Many activities and things constructed by living things, including the maintenance of life itself, requires some periodic supports. This is because our level of complexity is higher than that of our inanimate surroundings, and there must be some supports to maintain us at this higher level. The RIDGE pattern of life is at a higher level of complexity then it's inanimate surroundings, and must have certain supports to hold it at this higher level.

Some of the basic manifestations of this support sub-pattern are necessary regular habits like sleeping, eating, drinking and, washing. In anything that we build, we impart our higher level of complexity and so our buildings and machines require periodic maintenance. Just the buildings and machines themselves, with walls or framework to support their structure, are manifestations of this support sub-pattern.

The third fundamental pattern of life is the TREE pattern. The most obvious manifestation of this is an actual tree that spreads out from the central trunk to seek as much sunlight as possible. This pattern is also manifested in non-living things, streams come together to form a river, for one example.

Some life patterns are also found in the lower two tiers of patterns, as described in "Advanced Patterns". However, in the world of inanimate matter, it is almost manifested as a concentration due primarily to gravity instead of a spreading out, while living things use the pattern in both ways, explosions of stars and volcanic eruptions being among the rare exceptions.

Any activity centering around a home, base or, hub and gathering food, possessions or knowledge is a manifestation of the TREE pattern. This includes exploration and discoveries, the branching outward and seeking to gather in.

Farming involves the TREE in both ways, the sowing out of seeds and the gathering in of crops. Any kind of manufacturing utilizes the same pattern, the "sowing" out of the product, the gathering in of profit and, the sowing out of wages to keep the operation going. A hierarchy of any type in an organization is also a tree in structure as is a city surrounded by a supporting hinterland.

A variation of the tree pattern, which I decided not to define as a separate pattern of life, is a pyramid. Any hierarchy is shaped life a pyramid. An athletic elimination tournament is also a pyramid. The wealth structure, with many common people on the lower level and wealthy people on top, is also obviously a pyramid.

Another variation of the TREE pattern of life is stages or generations. Human generations, from grandparents to parents to children, clearly resemble the branches of a tree. The trunk of the tree can be seen as the first generation. The major branches extending directly from the trunk are second generation branches. The more minor branches extending off those branches are the third generation, and so on. The stages in completion of a major project follow this pattern. Successive improvements in technology or sometimes political changes are also described in terms of generations.

A stage in the development of something is often what we could call a negative. When something takes place, it sometimes ends up creating a negative image of itself, and it is worth becoming familiar with this sub-pattern. A mold, used in manufacturing, is useful in that it forms a negative image of itself. If you walk in snow, you can see your footprints, but this may compress the snow that was stepped on into ice so that, when the snow melts, the raised negative image of your footprints can be seen on the surface. In the Bible is the story of Ruth, daughter-in-law of Naomi. Naomi moved to Moab with her husband and two sons, her sons married before the husband and both sons eventually died. We could thus say that Naomi was left with a "negative image" of her original family.

The fourth life pattern is SHELF. This is manifested any time living things store or house something or "put it on the shelf". This pattern covers the storage of fat in the body just as it does food in the kitchen. It also includes the dens and nests of animals as well as the homes and buildings of humans. It includes the momentum stored in a flywheel and the energy stored in a battery. Books on library shelves as well as merchandise in stores are also manifestations of the SHELF pattern.

The fifth life pattern is COPY. The most obvious manifestation of this pattern is reproduction, but it goes far beyond this. All intelligent living things learn from experience and try to copy that which has worked previously. The corrections and adjustments that are made in order to attain perfection are represented by the RIDGE pattern, with the goal to be as close as possible to the crest of the ridge.

Learning from experience is represented by the RIDGE and COPY patterns together. Doing or making anything according to, or taking account of, a previously used plan manifests the COPY pattern. Any type of mass production is another example of the COPY pattern.

A variation of the COPY pattern is what we could call spiral. A spiral is something that creates more of itself. The universe as a whole is anti-spiral, but the complex realms of living things often witness spirals taking place. An obvious example is in economics, a recessionary or wealth spiral can get started as an upward or downward spiral.

The sixth, and final, life pattern is PIXEL, as in the pixels of a computer screen. PIXEL represents our knowledge and view of the world around us. As we gain knowledge and experience, we are looking at the same picture, but with a higher pixel count.

We could have included knowledge and experience under the TREE pattern of life. But PIXEL is different in that it can be distorted like a funhouse mirror when we think with our emotions instead of with logic.

The last pattern of life has to do with organization, which is us imposing our level of complexity on the lower level of surrounding inanimate matter. This pattern is ALPHABET, and is when something is not meant to have meaning in itself but only as part of a larger structure.

Inanimate matter can be no more complex than the Big Bang, which began the universe, and the laws of physics. When further complexity is added to inanimate matter, it results in alphabetization. The first thing that we usually think of when we think of an alphabet is the letters of which words are composed, but that is only one example of the concept.

Alphabetization is the difference in complexity between inanimate matter and living things. This pattern is not seen in inanimate matter.

Suppose that you see a rock on the ground. The rock is a sub-domain of a larger domain, which is the entire planet. However, the rock would have just as much meaning if it were on the other side of the world, at the bottom of the sea, on another planet, or floating around in space.

But how about one of your feet? It would not make any sense, or have any purpose, anywhere except where it is. It would be completely illogical to have feet in existence by themselves without being attached to bodies.

This is what I mean by alphabetization. A foot is a part of the alphabet of the whole body. The way that complexity is added to some system, the body is composed of the same elements as inanimate matter but is far more complex, is to alphabetize it. In other words, taking meaning from sub-domains of the system and transferring the meaning to the whole domain.

Whenever we organize anything, we add complexity in the form of information by alphabetizing it. We see this alphabetizing in all that humans do. When cars are built, the parts are part of the alphabet of the whole and, in most cases, make little sense as sub-domains by themselves.

Now, doesn't life seem so much simpler? Everything about all living things is a manifestation in some way of six simple patterns; LEVER, RIDGE, TREE, SHELF, COPY, PIXEL and, ALPHABET.

This development of the fundamental patterns really changed my way of thinking. After I had completed the Theory of Primes and really became attuned to how everything is just a manifestation of a few underlying patterns, my thinking felt so fluid and nimble and I could quickly and easily jump from one field of knowledge to another since it was the same patterns underlying everything.

THE PEAK

In my description of the fundamental underlying patterns on this blog, I explained that there are three tiers of patterns overall which I have identified. The first tier is the four primes, the second is the underlying patterns of the laws of physics and the third tier is about living things. The bottom two tiers are manifested by inanimate matter.

The only fundamental pattern manifested by the third tier is PEAK. The lives of living things revolve around manifestation of the peak pattern. This is a pattern which has no real meaning in the universe of inanimate matter.

The Patterns Of Life are: LEVER, RIDGE, TREE, SHELF, COPY, PIXEL and, ALPHABET. The two most fundamental of these are RIDGE and PIXEL.

RIDGE is simply the peak continued over the dimension of time. PIXEL, as in the pixels on the computer monitor you are looking at, represents our knowledge and understanding. We look at the same scene, but as we gain knowledge our pixel count increases in terms of patterns.

In my pattern definition, living things differ from inanimate matter in that all living things manifest a relatively sharp peak. The highest and most complex forms of life manifest the sharper peaks. The peak manifested by a living thing can have any number of dimensions, each factor in the life of the being is one dimension of the peak. When there are more factors or dimensions pertinent to a living thing, it manifests a sharper peak. When there are fewer, we have a rounded or duller peak.

The way in which we usually express this peak which is manifested by and which defines our existence is in terms of quality. In the universe of inanimate matter, the idea of quality is meaningless. Quantity is all that matters. All that there is concerning inanimate matter can be expressed in terms of quantity.

But when we come to living things, it is quality that matters. In life, quality represents the optimum combination of quantities. Quality could be defined as "complex quantity". This vital concept of quality is most easily expressed as a peak, we are at the peak when the optimum combination of quantities exist for the living thing.

Many complex systems will manifest this peak pattern, even those involving inanimate matter. The simplest peak pattern is the shape known to statisticians as "the bell curve". This is the simple curve, shaped like a bell, which is manifested by such things as star and planet sizes, test scores and, life expectancy of living things or products. The bell curves involving people or other living things, such as test scores, are simple because the complexity of the people taking the tests cancels out.

The bell curve involving test scores, for example, means that most people taking the test will score somewhere around the average score while a relatively few people will score well above or well below the average. This means that if plotted on a sheet of graph paper, a shape like a bell will be formed by the number of people falling within a range of scores. Having more people take the test will not sharpen the peak formed by the bell.

In my "Theory Of Puddles" described in "Advanced Patterns", I explained how reality forms a "sloped landscape" in which "puddles" are most likely to form in the low areas and least likely to form on "high ground". These puddles represent anything that exists or happens.

Hydrogen atoms, which represent about 75% of all matter in the universe, are seen as a very large puddle which formed in a very low area on the landscape. Red giant stars, which are relatively rare, are a small puddle on the "high ground" of reality.

The slope of this reality landscape also forms a peak. Actually, it is an upside-down peak, or a valley. The things which came into existence most easily, such as hydrogen atoms, are at the bottom of the valley, while the more rare elements of reality are at the top.

This PEAK pattern is manifested by living things in many ways on many levels. The optimum factors for existence in terms of biological is only the most fundamental. In any task done by humans or other living things, the need for the task forms one side of the peak while the resources available to perform the task form the opposite side. When the task is completed, the two sides meet to form a peak.

A buyer and seller form a peak in a similar way. Human relations manifests a similar peak, we tend to treat others the way they treat us and the two sides meet to form either a high or low peak.

THE ONE AND THE MANY

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On this blog, I point out a pattern that is really profound to all that is done by living things. "The One And The Many" underlies all that we do. Imagine a square divided into many smaller squares, such as the tiles on a floor or wall. The one and the many could be represented by a grid that gives the location of anything in the larger scheme of things.

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The one and the many brings us back to the basic primes, the most fundamental level of reality or the First Tier patterns. DOMAIN is the first prime and every domain manifests LEVEL, the second prime. Everything is a domain and the only difference between any two domains is the levels manifested by each. The one in the one and the many is a domain and it's place among all other domains is expressed as levels.

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The one and the many is all about sub-domains. In the double domain plan which pervades our universe of space and matter which I described on the patterns blog, the inner domain is the one and the outer domain is the many.

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You may have noticed that the one and the many is actually the same thing as PIXEL. Except that while the one and the many is fixed, the pixel is variable. The one and the many is the true model of reality while the pixel is our view of or knowledge of that reality. The pixel pattern could be described as the overlay of living things on the one and the many.

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You may have also noticed by now that the peak pattern and the one and the many pattern are actually two ways of describing the same things. The peak is actually the one in the one and the many. The one and the many describes the location of the peak relative to it's sides. There is a one and the many for any manifested peak pattern.

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The next thing that becomes obvious is that a peak is manifested whenever there is a perfect match between the one and the many and the pixel patterns. Whenever a human, or other living thing, is seeking a solution or working towards a goal, that goal or solution is the one that we are seeking among the many.

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Any search also manifests the peak pattern, as well. Finding exactly what we are searching for represents arriving at the peak. The more specific the search, the sharper the peak. A broader search, such as a crop harvest, manifests a duller peak similar to a bell curve.

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An ideal example of the one and the many is news. Something that is newsworthy is simply the one among the many. This means that news is usually bad news. The ordinary is not news but something out of the ordinary is news. However, the peak pattern is also present in the combination of factors coming together to make the news or whatever is out of the ordinary.

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COMPLEXITY

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Finally, we come to complexity. This is a vital part of the description of patterns on this blog. Complexity fits neatly together with the peak. A complex system manifests a peak, the more complex the system the sharper or the finer is the peak.

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This means that the sharpness of the peak provides us with a way to measure complexity. Measurement of complexity is something that would bring tremendous advantages but we do not do very well at it at the present time.

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The one and the many is also closely related to complexity. The number of the many among which the one is to be found is essentially the same as the complexity of the system being described. Any one in a set of the one and the many must necessarily be as complex, meaning holding as much information, as the entire system because it is defined as part of the entire system. Just as, in an addressing system, any one address must be as complex as the entire system.

JUDGING AND MISJUDGING COMPLEXITY IN SEARCH OF OPTIMUM PIXEL SETTING

The PIXEL pattern means seeing some situation in it's optimum complexity, analogous to the fineness of the pixel setting on a computer screen. A fundamental cause of mistakes in judgement is that we mishandle complexity. In making errors, we are often misjudging complexity just as an athlete might misjudge distance. I do not intend this to seem like an element of game theory but we can improve our strategy and judgement in a wide variety of situations by effectively grasping the one and the many.

In misjudging complexity, we far more often underestimate complexity than overestimate it. One thing that we often understate is human diversity. It is simpler and easier to just fit everyone into a structure of pigeon holes, to expect conformity to certain concepts about the world that we may have when, in fact, it does not exist. We may overstate our difference from them in relation to their difference with each other.

Another way that we may oversimplify things is to expect our past experience to be a more reliable guide than it actually is to a different situation. In other words, understating the possibility that things have since changed or that this situation is more different than we think it is.

A dynamic system in which things change is more complex than a static one in which they stay the same. Originality, in other words coming up with fresh new ideas, is a situation that is more complex, and thus more difficult for us, than selecting from existing methods of handling a given situation. This is a form of understating complexity, "doing things the way they have always been done".

In a similar way, we often tend to take advice that is applicable at a certain time for a certain situation and harden it into permanent dogma that we imagine should be applied to every such situation in the future. On the other hand, we want to estimate the effective complexity of a situation that is just right. Since we have limited time and intellect, it is almost as much against our interests to overstate complexity as to understate it.

Remember the cardinal rule that in the one universe of inanimate matter, our goal is to break everything down into simple formulae when possible, but in the world of people, we are dealing with every person as a universe to some extent unto itself and this approach only lead to error. When dealing with physics, we don't want to waste effort painting a wide area with the fine brushes of artists when it can be done with the broad brush of a house painter but when dealing with people, we should not try to create a work of art with a broad brush when we should be doing it with the artist's fine brushes.

In sizing up the situation we are facing, first pick out what is the one and what is the many as I described in the first part of this series. Our most common cause of errors is to understate the scope of the many but can the many possibly be reduced down by considering repetition as lowering complexity?

For example the complexity of a group of human beings tends to be lower than would be their individual complexities added together. This is because opposing factors in people within the group tend to cancel out when we consider the group as one.

The most obvious example is that a military force is much less complex than the individuals would be as civilians. Are we dealing with only one system of the one and the many? Possibly it is more like several overlapping systems so that we have the few and the many instead of the one and the many.

Remember that in dealing with complexity, it is necessary at times to be more creative in measuring or estimating than we would be with ordinary counting. By thinking in these terms and by beginning a strategy by first grasping the one and the many in a situation, we will inevitably make much better decisions.

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Now, doesn't everything seem much simpler? Just remember that these patterns of life are combinations and manifestations of the more fundamental patterns described in "The Most Basic Formula" and "Advanced Patterns".

The Definition Of Life

An age-old question is "What exactly is life?" I mean, what differentiates living things from inanimate matter? Why are a human being, a dog and, a tree alive but a rock is not alive?

We could say that living things are born, they take in food of some type for energy, they reproduce and at some point they die. But a virus also reproduces, although it is not generally considered as alive. Flames and stars also manifest all of the above characteristics of life, even though we do not categorize them as such.

I would like to offer a really practical definition of life. In a previous posting on this blog, "The Patterns Of Life", I pointed out that it is the RIDGE pattern which differentiates living things from inanimate matter.

This RIDGE pattern is a continuous in time version of the PEAK pattern which I defined as the only one in the third tier of patterns in reality on the posting "Advanced Patterns". It is the manifestation of this peak pattern that makes an ideal and practical definition of what is alive, as opposed to inanimate matter.

To understand life and the world, it is vital to also fully understand this PEAK pattern. This simple pattern is essential to any living thing but essentially meaningless in the universe of inanimate matter.

The basic activities of life such as eating, work, play and, sleep all have what would be described as ideal quantities. Put simply, a peak between too little on one side and too much on the other side. We often read of athletes training to hit their "peak" on the day of the game. Such a term is meaningless in the world of non-living matter and energy.

We know that plants are alive also because each species of plant has it's peak, or ideal, amount of water, sunlight and, temperature. This peak concept effectively eliminates fires and stars from the realm of the living. A flame has no peak amount of fuel or oxygen, it only manifests a slope pattern. Simply the more, the better.

In the human world, this peak pattern is so prevalent that we could say that the very purpose of life is to manifest it. The life cycle goes from birth and reaches a peak, the prime of life, and then declines.

Our scale also clearly manifests the peak, we have more difficulty gaining knowledge of something that is either microscopic or astronomical in scale than we do of that which is closer to our own scale range. Whenever we aim at any kind of target, either literally or figuratively, the target itself represents the peak and is sorrounded by concentric zones of near-misses and further misses.

When we speak of some movement, such as Communism or loosely regulated Capitalism "running it's course", we mean that it begins, reaches it's peak, and then fades. The zig-zag of human history, in contrast to a straight line, describing how the way we put our emotions into the ideas that govern society and the way that every such idea tends to be a reaction against a previous idea, means that we, in effect, zig-zag through history instead of taking the more efficient course of a straight line. The zigs and zags form peaks.

When so-called "bubbles" form in the stock or housing markets, these are simply zig-zags with a gradual "zig" as the bubble forms, followed by a sharp "zag" when it bursts.

Put another way, it could be said that life manifests both quality and quantity, while inanimate matter manifests only quantity. The idea of quality is meaningless for non-living matter. Quality is a peak concept, while quantity is a straight line.

This pattern is so essential to life that it can be considered as the very definition of it. Thus I would like to suggest the peak symbol, an upside-down V, as the symbol of life.

The One And The Many

I have noticed something really profound about all life on earth. There is a simple pattern that underlies everything that every living thing does. It runs at least as deep as the idea of yin and yang or anything like that. I will refer to it simply as "the one and the many" and it describes everything about us.

The one and the many is a form of peak that I described in postings on this blog "The Patterns Of Life" and "The Definition Of Life". The one is the summit of the peak and the many are it's base.

Whenever we define or specify anything, we are dealing with the one and the many. When we use question words such as "what" or "where" or "who", we are seeking the one and all other possible answers except the one we are looking for is the many. Whenever we assign a word to something, use of that word indicates that thing as the one and everything else that is described by a different word as the many.

If we are at or specify a place, that place is the one and every other place is the many. Giving or using a person's name designates that person as the one and every other person as the many. The same applies to a number used as an address.

When we use question words like "why"or "how" or some pronouns such as "because", we are requesting an explanation of how the present reality came to be. The present permutation of reality is the one, the factors that led to it, as well as all other possible permutations of reality that do not presently exist, are the many.

In any type of hierarchy, the top is the one and the ones below are the many. When the status quo changes in any way, the result is the one and all other possible results that did not come to be are the many. If we take some kind of chance or risk with odds of say, six to one, the one is the one and the six are the many. This applies to any action involving chance, probability or, coincidence.

When we make a decision or choice, the one we make is the one and the ones that we did not make are the many. Whenever anyone makes some type of effort, the effort made is the one and the efforts not made are the many. If a goal or target is set, that is the one and the non-goals and non-targets are the many.

In matters of predator and prey, or seeking and evasion, the prey must be successful in evading the predator every time, but the predator must be successful in catching the prey only once. This is the one and the many again.

When we deal with adversity such as accidents and illness, the time when an accident happens is the one. All of the times that we go about our daily routines without an accident are the many.

But illness is the opposite of accidents, a whole healthy body is the one and all possible changes from that ideal condition, defined as illness, is the many.

Think about it, this pattern of the one and the many is ingrained in everything you can possibly do, all of your life. I am convinced that thoroughly grasping this pattern that underlies so much that we are and that we do will enable us to better develop strategies to reach all manner of goals and to minimize mistakes.

New Era In Computer Languages

In the autumn of 1999, I completed my book, "The Theory of Primes" about the basic patterns, or primes, that underly everything that can exist or can happen. Everything is manifestations and combinations of the four primes. Nailing down the theory was not an easy process. I had an easier time coming up with my later "Theory of Stationary Space".

In working on The Theory of Primes, I knew I was onto something that there was some basic sequence that underlies everything that had not yet been discovered. I made a long list of all the patterns I observed in the world and universe around me. I then began chipping away at the list, eliminating those that were redundant or were combinations of other patterns.

What I was eventually left with was four very basic patterns that could not be reduced any further and which could combine to form any of the other patterns which I had eliminated. Since these four patterns were primary to everything that can exist, I named them the primes.

After the book was done and I had moved on to other interests and discoveries, I noticed that my thinking seemed to have been changed by working on The Theory of Primes. My thought process seemed to be more nimble and fluid than it had been before The Theory of Primes. I seemed to be more able to quickly and easily slip from one field of interest to another. Each different field of study, cosmology, archeology and, natural history for example, are, after all, manifestations and combinations of the same four primes.

Since I had so thoroughly tuned into these primes in my way of thinking, it made moving from one field to another much easier. It also gave me more insight into the role of art, poetry and, sports in society. These are what help to transmit the basic patterns into our thought processes.

Learning to think in terms of the primes instead of the "given", the universe of matter and energy, as I described in the book does not make a person "smarter". Rather, it tunes the thinking into the common pattern foundation of all possible fields of study and thus makes the thinking more fluid and nimble in moving from one field to another.

This really affected my thought processes. It did not make me "smarter", rather it made my thinking very fluid. Now that I thoroughly understood the underlying patterns common to everything, I could quickly and effortlessly jump from one field of thought to another.

What about the maze of computer languages nowadays? These are the systems of code used in programming to communicate with the computer. There is a plethora of such languages for every conceivable purpose. Most people have at least heard names like COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, BASIC and, JAVA.

Some of the names of computer languages are not very imaginative. In 1972, C was introduced. It has since been followed by C+ and C++. These languages are very widely used, for wrinting the Windows operating system, for example. But I have always thought it sounded like a new and improved orange juice with ever-increasing amounts of vitamin C.

My question is if we now understand the underlying patterns that are common to everything in existence, why do we need so many computer languages for so many different purposes? These computer languages were not written with the underlying patterns in mind, which is why we have ended up with so many of them.

Why can't we have just one computer language based on the patterns which underlie all of reality? The language we will call PRIME would list all of the underlying patterns.

This would act as a template for the computer user to create an application for any conceivable use. The user would have to declare every domain, the levels of each one and the rules of comparison/compensation between the domains based on their levels. In other words, the pre-existing relationships between the domains and the nature and rules of their interactions.

The second and third tier patterns could be declared, if necessary. Domains could be of an unlimited number of different types and categories, based on their levels.

This would make the idea of programmers like that of the scribes of ancient times. Any computer user could create their own applications for any conceivable purpose in this new and simplified computer world. Applications could be made simple or ever more complex. Anyone could create an application by figuring out and then declaring all relevant patterns and primes, much like the old BASIC requiring declaration of all variables.

Familiar Patterns And Underlying Connections

I am trying to convey how human beings think at the deepest level in terms of the patterns that underlie everything in existence. When people come up with new ideas or new technology, it is inevitably just new ways of arranging and manifesting the patterns that we are already familiar with. Thus, no matter how "smart" we are, we are limited by our "pattern vocabulary".

Most of the time, we express ideas in everyday "matter and energy" terms, as I will describe it. But patterns are inevitably a part of our expression also, albeit on a deeper level. We use parables and analogies such as "beating a dead horse", "selling a refrigerator to an Eskimo" or "too many chiefs and not enough Indians".

Such expressions and colloquialisms are not intended to be taken literally in matter and energy terms but to convey an idea that follows the same pattern. Jesus used many such parables to enable His disciples to understand things that they could not see by using examples that they were familiar with.

In the development of civilization, as well as technology such as the car, computer and, airplane, we simply rearrange the same patterns that we are familiar with. Some examples are direct, matter and energy developments such as the use of the action-reaction principle from bows and arrows all the way to rockets. Or from a rolling log to the development of the wheel.

But other examples of the development of civilization are more subtle, involving thinking on a deeper level. This is the realm of patterns.

A fundamental example is the planting of seeds to grow crops and orchards. Human beings have been practicing agriculture for about ten thousand years. Any kind of investing follows exactly the same pattern, planting a seed to make a worthwhile return in time.

It may seem that there is a world of difference between a stock exchange and a farmer's field but the two operate by exactly the same pattern, one that humans learned thousands of years ago by planting seeds. We can be sure that if there had been no farms, there would be no stock exchanges.

Humans have been using the power of the wind to move rafts and boats for thousands of years by means of sails. It developed into the art of catching the wind going in the right direction and using it to get to a worthwhile destination. This, like agriculture, became a very familiar pattern to humans.

Any businessman uses exactly the same pattern, hitching onto some need or trend to make money. Any business enterprise is the same, in terms of patterns, as an ancient raft sailing in the breeze. This is where human beings really learned business.

One of the most familiar patterns to human beings is, of course, gender, that of males and females. There is about an equal number of the two and they pair up. This pattern has obviously been with human beings since there were human beings.

When civilization got started, human beings started using money to make the exchange of goods easier. In this development, they used the familiar pattern. The supply of money in a society is theoretically equal in value to all of the goods and services produced by that society. The money is equal in value to and matches up with the goods. We could even say that goods are male and money is female.

Early human beings learned to obtain meat to supplement their diets by hunting and fishing. Those two occupations became deeply ingrained in the life and thought processes of people everywhere. It is the ancient patterns of hunting and fishing that humans recycled in markets. A business enterprise "fishes" for buyers by advertising or otherwise attracting attention. While customers "hunt" for the best bargain in the market.

Think of all the useful ideas and technology that human beings have not developed because our pattern vocabulary is so limited.

Have you ever wondered about the underlying connections between things that go unnoticed? I find this to be a good example of thinking in patterns.

For example, what about cell phones? Do you remember those communication devices that they used on Star Trek. The crew would simply flip the device open while on some planet and could easily communicate with the Enterprise. This was seen over and over during the Sixties and Seventies. In the mid-Eighties, real cell phones appeared on the market. I wonder if we would have the cell phones we have today without Star Trek.

What about those monster movies of the Sixties that were produced in Japan? Monster after monster would emerge from the ocean to devastate Tokyo. Sometimes monsters, such as Ultraman, could be good but usually they unleashed horrific destruction. Could it be that the tsunamis to which the country is vulnerable, as well as the bombing of Japan in the Second World War, including the atomic bombs, created the necessary mindset for the production of these movies a generation later?

Another Sixties serial was "Gilligan's Island" with seven people stranded on a tropical island. Is it possible that there was a hidden connection with the country being stranded in a military quagmire in a tropical land at the same time?

Has anyone ever noticed the amazing underlying connections between the United States and the Bible? The Constitution reads a lot like the Book of Deuteronomy. The Israelites conquering their promised land in the Book of Joshua bears a strong resemblence to the American conquest of the west. The parcelling of land to each of the Israelite tribes is mirrored into the division of the U.S. into states.

David's building of a new capital in centrally-located Jerusalem is mirrored in the building of Washington D.C. The split into Israel and Judah seems to be a forerunner of the U.S. Civil War. America's litigious culture may be rooted in the intricate legalism of the Book of Romans. Even the extensive lists of credits at the end of Hollywood movies appears to be rooted in the last chapter of the Book of Romans in which Paul gives a long list of people to send greetings to.

What about the strong relationship between industrialism and secularism? When people work on farms and deal with plants, they spend the day looking at what God has created. But when they work in factories and workshops around machines, they see only what man has created. This opens the door to secularism. The secularism of the Eighteenth and especially the Nineteenth Centuries in Europe did not gain widespread acceptance until vast numbers of people were working in factories instead of on farms.

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain and Northern Europe, that is also where modern secularism took root. This secularism revolved around Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. This theory promoted a process that is very industrial in it's nature to explain the existence of life. I see a very close relationship between industrialism and evolution. Is it only a coincidence that America's Bible Belt is in that part of the country that is traditionally the most agricultural?

We have all heard of how life imitates art and vice versa. But what about music and war? Has anyone ever noticed the close relationship in how people make music and war?

Centuries ago, lines of singers would form a chorus in the same way that lines of soldiers would shoot arrows or march into battle. In the same way, an orchestra was a reflection of sailors on a ship, each with a different task to perform. As industry developed, metal warships could be quickly built and proportionally many more men served as sailors as in times past, this is reflected in the "big band era" of music.

In the Second World War, a new pattern emerged. Many men served in either tanks or bomber planes, each of which had a crew of from three to six, each with a different task to perform. When the war ended and their children grew up, many of them formed rock and roll bands using exactly the same pattern as their fathers in their wartime service.

Reverse Archeology

An interesting mental exercise is what I call "reverse archeology". Suppose that people far in the future, or better yet, imaginary intelligent creatures from another planet, should find some objects, devices or, systems that we use today. What could they piece together about us? This is one of the finest illustrations that I can think of concerning thinking in patterns.

To demonstrate the technique of reverse archeology, let's imagine that beings from space make an exploratory landing on earth and then take off again. All that they find that might be an indication of intelligent life on earth is an unoccupied parked car. They take the car on board their spaceship and head back home. There, some of the brightest minds on that planet spend a long time analyzing the artifacts to try to determine what kind of beings created them.

By examining the seat and seatbelt, they would get a good idea of human body mass. The steering wheel and the switches and dials on the dashboard would tell them that we have movable hands. The gas and brake pedals would indicate that we also have feet. The car windows and mirrors would indicate that our most important sense is vision. The radio and horn in the car would reveal that hearing is also an important sense.

An analysis of the gasoline in the car's tank would give an idea of the gravity on earth and the energy involved in moving the car and also that we depend on oxygen in earth's atmosphere for combustion. The fact that there are four seats in the car may provide a clue to the size of the average earth family and that we are social and family-oriented. The fact that we make cars to move us would indicate that we tend to live and work in different places. The locks on the car would reveal that humans are not all good and that crime is a concern to us.

The aliens may determine that the car had been mass-produced and thus we must have workshops or factories and since we build cars, we almost certainly build other machines too. Since the shape of a car is designed to pass through air efficiently, they would probably determine that we build airplanes as well as cars. These conclusions are the most obvious.

But the aliens could apply insight to reveal more about humans. Since cars have an outer body supported by a frame, they may see that we adopted this plan for our cars because our own bodies have an inner skeleton and an outer skin. The car has a strong passenger cage to protect it's occupants and so we may have skulls to protect our sensitive brains from harm.

Since the grill of the car is above the wheels and the windshield is above the grill, they may decide that our mouths for breathing is above our feet and our eyes are above our mouths. Because the car has two headlights, it may seem as if we probably have two eyes. Likewise, it may be obvious that we modeled the car's radio speakers after our vocal cords.

Because the car moves us, it will be obvious that we are mobile creatures. They will see that we put tires on the car and may think it probable that we also put shoes on our feet. It will be obvious that humans cannot walk anywhere near as fast as a car can move or it would make no sense to build cars.

The car wheels turn to steer the car and it will be clear that we designed it so because our feet turn at our ankles. Likewise, the car's drive shaft and axles come from our thighs and calves. It's U-joint is modeled after our knees. The operation of the pistons in the car engine will show the insightful creatures the way that human beings walk.

The way the car burns fuel with air for energy will give them a clue as to how we burn food for energy while we breath in oxygen. The gas tank is a model of the stomach and the cylinders of the intestines. They may determine by the energy stored in gasoline that humans can store energy as fat.

As the aliens continue studying the car, the internal structure of human beings may become obvious to them. The logical place to get ideas for the design of a car is from our own bodies, at least subconsciously.

The car uses oil so we probably use blood. There are several pumps in the car so we must have hearts. The car has air, oil and, fuel filters so we probably have kidneys and a liver.

The car has a firewall that may be a model of the diaphragm between our stomach and lungs, which must collect air using the same kind of negative and positive pressures used in the car's cylinders. The car has exhaust so we exhale and have a waste-removal system. The car has a radiator to cool it so, we most likely have a body cooling system too, using sweat.

The aliens may determine that not only our internal body operation but also our whole society operates in the same way as the car. This is why we designed the car as it is, because the patterns are already so familiar to us.

The engine's pistons operate on a four-stroke cycle; intake, compression, power, exhaust. Likewise, there would be four basic types of worker: those who make things, those who move things, those who fix things and, those who run things. By examining the operation of the car's flywheel, they may even determine that humans use money as a repository of value just as the flywheel is a repository of angular momentum in the engine.

Now let's suppose that in the trunk of the parked car was a computer system. Some of the most brilliant minds among the aliens spend a long time examining every detail of the computer just as they have the car in an effort to discern as much information as possible about the beings that created and used it.

Since the computer is enclosed in a protective case, they may conclude that humans come in protective bodies. They will get an idea of the size and scope of the average human by the keyboard and monitor screen of the computer. Seeing that the computer has a fan, they may take it as confirmation that we must breathe.

Since the primary functions of a computer are communication and management of information, they would conclude that exchanging data is very important to humans. The box that the computer is in would suggest that we live in a throw-away society that produces a lot of trash.

Noting that computers have both long-term (hard drive) and short-term memory (RAM), they may conclude that the minds of human beings operate in a similar way. By the programming, they will see that a computer can be a very wide variety of things according to what is programmed into it and discern that humans must be the same way with a broad division of labor. Also by the way the computer is programmed they will get insight into our reasoning and that we are accustomed to logical thinking and the scientific method.

The basic structure of the computer may give the aliens an idea of the houses that people live in. The computer's outer case will seem to be a model of a dwelling place. The computer's ports may seem congruent to the doors in houses. The BIOS would seem to be a reflection of the basement or utility room of the house. Indeed, the maintenence required on the computer will seem akin to keeping house.

It may become clear to the aliens what our cities are like by examination of the computer. First DOS and then windows usage resembles the navigation of streets, such as the sequential drop-down menus in Windows. They may determine that our houses have addresses in our cities just as there are memory addresses programmed into the computer.

A SCSI chain of peripherals would give a further clue to the street addresses of humans. They may conclude that the internal workings of the computer is a model of the telephone network and traffic light system in the cities of humans.

The way the computer's hard drive is formatted must give a clue to the way humans parcel land in and around cities into real estate. The systemboard (or logicboard or motherboard) of a computer works in the same way as a mall or a lobby. If the aliens can see that the computer is designed to be set up as part of a network, they may decide that there must be a server computer and that may lead them to conclude that humans must have cafes, pubs, social clubs and, bars as meeting places.

If the aliens see that the computer is designed for periodic upgrades they may conclude that fashion in such things as clothing and cars is important to humans. it would seem logical that human history has gone through a number of progressive steps, or upgrades.

In a leap of insight, they may determine that the slots for computer cards resemble parking spaces that humans set aside for their cars. They may conclude that we got the idea for rows of pixels in the computer monitor from the fields of crops on farms. And because the computer is obviously set up to receive additional peripheral devices that we have mastered the art of grafting and breeding plants.

The interchangeability concept will be obvious, that one machine such as the computer, can be an almost infinite variety of things according to how it is programmed. They would almost certainly determine that we use mass-production techniques in factories and are adept at materials science and mining.

When the aliens see that humans must have an internet, it will seem obvious that we also must have had telephone, mail and, extensive travel as a preliminary step to the development of the internet. From the monitor on the computer, it will be fairly obvious that we have television and thus almost certainly movies and radio.

They will decide that humans not only have factories but also offices that administer the factories. The files, folder and, tabs in the softward will be obvious electronic versions of earlier filing cabinets. It will be fairly obvious that mechanical typewriters must have preceded computers. The computer's desktop, files and RAM will give a clue to how an executive's desk operates while running the factory.

Since we store data in bits and bytes (8 bits), it will be clear that we are very familiar with atoms and molecules. The installing and uninstalling that computers are designed for may suggest that humans are accomplished at surgery. The computer's keyboard may suggest to them that we may have musical instruments such as pianos.

It is possible that they may even wonder if we had phonograph records and that is where we got the idea for hard drives and their read/write heads. Since the aliens also have a car of ours, the similarity between using a computer and driving a car will be obvious.

There will be clues in the design of the computer to how society operates. If they determine that the computer has parts by different manufacturers, they may decide that we practice competitive economics, or capitalism. The central processing unit (CPU) of the computer will suggest that we live in ordered societies run by governments.

But the direct memory access (DMA) channels and the interrupt requests (IRQs) may suggest to them that our governments are not all-powerful, in fact that we practice democracy. The computer clock will suggest that we live parcelled lives and are very time-conscious and the BIOS may suggest that we live by laws and a written constitution.

The basis of these observations and conclusions is that any beings will logically resort to the patterns with which they are most familiar in whatever they do. The idea that any being designing a technology, or facing some such task, will instinctively resort to the patterns with which they are familiar. The resulting technology will manifest the same patterns, but in a different way.

Suppose that the aliens made another trip to earth. They still did not see a human being. But this time, they had landed near an airfield and brought back a small, private airplane (aeroplane in Britain) with them. What could the aliens add to their knowledge about humans gained from their analyses of the car and computer with the aircraft?

First of all, it would be very obvious once again that the humans that had built the plane were very adept at such things as mining and manufacturing and had a good knowledge of their environment. It would be clear that the plane was made in the same general form as the car, but was made to fly through the atmosphere. We would have to be a large-scale society to want to fly from one place to another and our world would be well-explored.

The wingspan of the plane relative to it's weight would give the aliens a clue to the density of our atmosphere and by figuring in gravity, the approximate size of the earth. They would conclude that we probably also use jet planes that would be more efficient that propellor planes that are limited to denser air at low altitudes. This would lead them to believe that we probably have explored space or are in the process of doing so.

For a deeper understanding of humans, the aliens would next consider the patterns manifested in the plane, just as they did with the car and the computer. A leap of insight may lead them to find that we must have had boats on a liquid such as water before the development of aircraft. The plane's wings, tail, rudder and, ailerons would be clear adaptations of a ship's sails, keel and, rudder.

We almost certainly would not have designed a propellor to pull the plane through the air without the experience of using a similar propellor to push a ship through water on our planet. The idea of sails would also tell the aliens that our planet has wind and thus must heat unevenly, meaning that our planet's surface has areas significantly different from each other, such as land and sea and that we have precipitation and weather.

The plane's engine is somewhat similar to that of the car but operates with the cylinders in a radial pattern. This may give them a clue that humans spent long centuries grinding grains that we grew under grinding wheels, making this radial motion a part of our "pattern vocabulary". Our skill in designing wings that the air flows over to lift the plane may indicate our familiarity with water power being used in our mills.

Knowing what they know thus far about humans and, knowing that we live on a planet with water, it would become obvious that human beings can swim in the water. A plane, with it's outstretched wings and tail does bear a resemblance to a human being swimming with the arms and feet. In a similar way, the plane kind of "swims" through the air.

The ailerons, or control surfaces, on the plane controlled by cables may give the aliens a clue that human bodies move by means of muscles moving bones. All of the indicator gauges in the plane's cockpit that receive data by wires would, in the same way, give the idea that we obtain information about our environment via senses and nerves.

The next logical conclusion would be that we have birds in our atmosphere that gave us the idea of flying in the first place and also fish in our water that showed us how fins and tails can guide a body through a fluid, whether it be water or air. Since they know there is wind on our planet, it would also be apparent that our first step toward flight was wind-operated devices such as kites.

This demonstrates that humans have a limited "pattern vocabulary" and whenever we devise new ideas, we inevitably revert to the patterns we are familiar with. Any "new" ideas that we come up with are invariably rearrangements of the existing patterns contained in this vocabulary.

The aliens still have not seen a human being and decide to make yet another trip to earth. Once again, they happen to land in a place where there are no people around. But they do find themselves near an unoccupied house that humans obviously have built.

Just as they did with the car, the computer and, the airplane (aeroplane), they take the house apart and carefully record every detail before returning to their home planet to analyze the data to see if it yields more information about those mysterious human beings on earth.

Quite a bit of direct information about humans is easily found in the vacant house that they would have occupied. The stairs, door and, doorknobs, as well as the beds, give the aliens a very good idea of the scale of human beings. The windows reinforce what they know already, that our visual sense is our most important. The mirrors make it obvious that we care about our appearances.

But to really increase their understanding of us, the aliens look for the patterns we have designed and built into the house. Just as an artist or writer leaves a bit of himself in everything he creates, the aliens know that the design of the house contains a wealth of subtle information about us.

The patterns we must be most familiar with are, of course, those of our own bodies. The rafters in the roof, the joists in the floor and the studs in the walls cause the alien scientists to surmise that we must have ribs. The ridgeboard which forms the peak of the roof to which the rafters are attached make it obvious to them that our ribs are attached to a central sternum.

The concrete foundation of the home gives the aliens the idea that since our bones form the structural "foundation" of the body, they are probably composed of some concrete-like material. Upon analyzing the hinges in the doors of the home, they realize that our bones must move on hinges in a similar way. By the way the wooden structure of the home is joined to the concrete foundation by anchor bolts and the boards to each other by nails, the aliens realize that our muscles are probably joined to our bones by tendons that function in this way.

The way rooms are set up in the house so that a person moves from one room to another, the aliens conclude that our digestive process must operate in the same way, from the esophagus to the stomach to the two intestines. Upon analyzing the two plumbing systems in the house, the supply and the drainage, the aliens conclude that we have a similar way of taking in water and expelling it after use. The water heater that takes in cold water, heats it and then sends it out, makes the aliens think that we probably have a heart that pumps our blood in a similar way through arteries and blood vessels.

The electrical wiring in the home makes it clear to the aliens that we have a nervous system to control bodily functions and also that it is our arteries carrying blood that distributes energy to the different parts of the body. The operation of the furnace, heating air and then replacing it with air from the cold air return shows the aliens how our lungs must operate.

They may conclude that since we keep a room in which to store food, the kitchen, that our bodies must have a way to store food or it's energy as fat. The insulation in the walls of the home may signify that we have hair for insulation. The awnings on the windows and the movable curtains inside may even lead them to conclude that we have eyelids in order to close our eyes.

Realm Sets

I have occasionally referred to situations in my writing in which there are two matching realms, one a simple realm and the other a congruent complex realm. The two must be separate entities, one being able to exist without the other.

Today, I would like to formally define the seven realm sets which I have identified. Each set consists of a simple and a complex realm. This is intended to increase our awareness of the fundamental underlying patterns in everything. I find it very interesting how human activities so often come in matching sets. These realm sets exist only for human beings and have no real meaning in the universe of inanimate matter.

On my religion blog, http://www.markmeekreligion.blogspot.com/ , is the posting "Religion And Philosophy". This explains my view of religion as a simple realm and philosophy as the matching complex realm. A religious statement such as "There is a god" must be either true or false. There is no middle ground.

However in philosophy, it is possible to have two opposing statements which are both valid. We can decide that one philosophy is better or more suitable than another. But a philosophical statement does not really give us the possibility of affixing a true or false label to it. Religion means deciding whether a statement is true or false while philosophy consists of choosing the best one or blending two viewpoints together.

The second realm set is news and opinion. I have also mentioned this previously. News or information is a simple realm, opinion is the matching complex realm. News, like religion, is concrete. Either it is correct or it isn't.

But opinions are subjective. We can prefer one opinion over another, but it is more difficult to label an opinion as true or false. In terms of pattern, we could say that news goes in only one direction while opinion can go in any direction.

The third realm set is referred to on my progress blog, http://www.markmeekprogress.blogspot.com/ , in the posting "The Progression Of Knowledge". Mathematics is a simple realm and the matching complex realm is science.

When we completely understand something, it falls into the realm of mathematics because we can attach precise numbers to it. But when we only partially understand something and are still studying it, we are dealing with the realm of science. I described in that posting that if we completely understood everything, there would be math classes but no more science classes. Mathematics is a numerical description of what we know, science is the seeking of what we do not know.

The fourth realm set also includes science. But in this set, science is the simple realm and art is the matching complex realm. Any procedure which employs a precise, fixed methodology or algorithm is a science.

In contrast, a procedure with no precise way to go about it, with a reliance on human feeling, judgment or, expression, is an art. In our familiar pattern relating to these realm sets, science goes in one direction while art can go in many directions. Examples of art, as opposed to science, are writing, cooking, painting and, acting. It would not be the same if these activities were science and always done in exactly the same way.

History lies somewhere between art and science. It is often said that history is not an exact science, meaning that it is open to interpretation to some degree. But neither is it an art, if it was then anyone could create their own history.

The fifth realm set that I have identified concerns computer science. I consider that digital is a simple realm because it is so concrete, a bit represents either a 1 or a 0. This is definitely a simple realm.
Analog (analogue), in contrast, is a voltage that can vary over a range to represent the same values as the digital bits. Thus, I consider it as the matching complex realm.

Next, we come to quality and quantity. Quantity is a simple realm, while quality is the matching complex realm.

Finally, we come to the most all-encompassing realm set. The primary means of expressing information and ideas for human beings is words and numbers. The numbers, with their invariable precision, are the simple realm. Words, with their many shades of meaning, are the complex realm.

I did not include dimensions themselves in the realm sets, although one dimension can be considered as a simple realm and multiple dimensions as the matching complex realm. But this is a part of inanimate matter while the realm sets are attached to human activities.

Any seeking or goal involves the one and the many pattern which I defined on my patterns blog. But like dimensions, the realm sets are yet another example of the one and the many instead of the other way around. But these realm sets may be a pattern as fundamental to humans as the one and the many.

Categorizing patterns like this is so important because it provides different ways of looking at things and that makes it easier to notice things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. For example, science and art form one of the realm sets. You might hear someone say "It's an art, not an exact science". Thus, science is the simple realm and art the matching complex realm.

Science is also part of another realm set, matched with mathematics. But in this realm set, mathematics is the simple realm while science is the matching complex realm. The reason being is that mathematics is the realm of that which we completely understand, because we need a complete understanding of something in order to attach numbers to it, while science is the realm of that which we do not yet completely understand.
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Science is actually not a complex realm at all, at least going by the usual definition. A complex realm is a zone in which two opposing statements can both be true, and there are really no concrete statements of true and false. A scientific statement definitely must be either true or false and when science is paired with art in another realm set, science is the simple realm of the two.

Yet, science can be said to be a complex kind of simple realm and when paired with mathematics, which is really the underlying basis of science, mathematics is clearly the simple realm and science the complex realm.

A scientific statement must be either true or false, but science is different from mathematics in that it is still useful even if a scientific hypothesis is not completely true. Mathematics is more black and white in that if a mathematical statement contains any element that turns out to be false, it will render the entire statement false.

Science, being the realm of that which we do not completely understand, is more like a sliding scale with true at one end of the scale and false at the other end. Each successive scientific theory represents a step towards complete understanding of something (Hopefully, the final step.)

Any scientific theory that is presented seems to be the best explanation of some mystery, but it may turn out to contain only, say 70%, truth, while the theory that supplants it may contain 80% truth. When we finally arrive at 100% truth, the former mystery then becomes the realm of mathematics, rather than science.

Science is actually a simple realm, but it is a kind of transitional simple realm. Unlike mathematics, science combines words with numbers and in another of the realm sets, numbers are the simple realm while words are the matching complex realm.

Science is a "complex" simple realm not because two opposite statements can both be true, but because a scientific statement can be useful even if it is not completely true, as long as it contains more truth than the theory or statement which it supplanted or some element of truth which is as of yet unseen.