claim

active

claim:overall-symmetry-in-a-system-by-itself-is-not-a-strong-source-of-life-or-wholeness-local-symmetries-create-coherence-while-overall-symmetry-is-often-naive-and-even-brutal

Overall symmetry in a system, by itself, is not a strong source of life or wholeness; local symmetries create coherence while overall symmetry is often naive and even brutal

Claim distinguishing the deadening effect of large-scale neoclassicist symmetry from the vitalizing effect of numerous overlapping local symmetries

Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count

Findings (2)

finding

Number of local symmetries correlates almost perfectly with perceived cognitive coherence across 35 strip patterns
supports
The key experimental finding: the number of subsymmetries (locally symmetrical connected segments) in a pattern predicts its perceived coherence; most coherent strips have 9 subsymmetries, least coherent have 5; the measure correlates almost perfectly with combined experimental rank order
Weighted symmetry measure (by segment length) correlates less well with coherence than unweighted local symmetry count
supports
Finding that giving extra points to longer symmetrical segments reduces correlation with experimentally measured coherence, showing large symmetries contribute little extra; what matters more is the number of smaller local symmetries

Related by similarity (8)

cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edge

Entities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.

Wholeness preservation means the system destroys symmetries and larger centers as little as possible while moving forward — a geometric, not teleological, principle.claim0.816
Alexander's careful clarification that unfolding wholeness is a structural-geometric claim, not an organismic or purposive one
Local symmetries act as a kind of glue which holds space together; the more glue there is, the more the space is one, solid, unified, coherent—and the symmetrical segments must overlap for the glue to be effectiveclaim0.811
Interpretation of the experimental finding: overlapping local symmetries are the hidden structural feature that creates perceived wholeness
When centers are being created, a high proportion of them are locally symmetrical; living process is, in part, a process of creating local symmetries.claim0.805
Local symmetries are pervasive in nature (sun, trees, crystals, bodies) and are associated with minimum energy and least-action principles.claim0.804
The wholeness is an autonomous and global structure, which is induced by the details of the configuration. It is a real physical and mathematical structure in space — but it is created indirectly, by symmetries and other relationships which are induced in the geometry.quote0.800
Load-bearing statement encapsulating the nature of wholeness as a real, induced structure.
The system acts to preserve as much of its structure as possible, removing as few symmetries as possible when symmetry breaking occurs.claim0.799
Physical principle interpreted as a form of structure-preserving transformation, explaining phenomena like buckling and dew drops.
The profound wholeness of living structure, almost every time it has been done most profoundly, has been done in a mystical‑religious context.claim0.799
A sweeping historical observation that grounds the claim that mystical context is a near‑universal condition for the highest living structure.
the relative harmony or 'life' of a given building may be understood directly from the internal cohesion of the structure... without reference to opinion, prejudice or philosophy, merely as a consequence of the wholeness which exists.quote0.797
Strong claim that life/beauty is an objective property of the wholeness structure.