finding

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finding:schechtman-and-colleagues-discovered-naturally-occurring-metallic-alloys-with-long-range-orientational-order-and-no-translational-symmetry-quasicrystals-confirming-penrose-s-tiling-patterns-in-nature

Schechtman and colleagues discovered naturally occurring metallic alloys with long-range orientational order and no translational symmetry — quasicrystals — confirming Penrose's tiling patterns in nature.

Empirical discovery cited as evidence that non-local geometric order appears in physical matter

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Claims (2)

claim

The principle of unfolding wholeness is a new principle, not automatically given by non-linear dynamics, catastrophe theory, or bifurcation theory, necessary to explain the appearance of living structure.
supports
Alexander's central assertion that existing frameworks are insufficient and a genuinely new principle is required
Assembly of quasicrystals requires examining the state of the pattern many atoms away, meaning global structure must guide local assembly — a clear case of non-local action.
supports
Penrose's claim, endorsed by Alexander, that quasicrystals demonstrate non-local causation in morphogenesis

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.

Bell's theorem: experiments by Aspect, Clauser, and Freedman show instantaneous correlations between distant quantum particles, violating local realism.finding0.745
A foundational empirical result undermining mechanistic separability, cited as evidence that the whole influences local events.
Echoes of similar proportions and angles appear throughout any natural system due to uniform underlying processes, giving a consistent character to different parts.claim0.744
The nearly identical detailed structure on all six arms of a single snow crystal is not explained by any present diffusion-aggregation model, implying non-local coordination.claim0.739
Alexander's use of snowflake arm symmetry as evidence that something beyond local mechanics is required in morphogenesis
The nearly identical detailed sub-symmetries and sub-sub-symmetries on all six arms of individual snow crystals are not explained by any present diffusion-aggregation model.finding0.738
Key finding establishing a gap in current morphogenetic explanation that Alexander's principle addresses
Glide-reflections appear to be less-favored symmetries in Islamic geometric patterns compared to other isometries.claim0.735
Contrast organizes natural systems from elementary particles to day/night cycles, and Spencer Brown's Laws of Form suggest it is fundamental to all structure.claim0.732
Approximate calculations with symmetries gave accurate experimental results for architectural wholeness (Book 1, appendix 6).finding0.731
Empirical validation of the theory of centers in architecture.
The deep symmetry between problem-solving in anatomical, physiological, transcriptional, and 3D spaces drives specific hypotheses.claim0.731
Evolution pivoted the same problem-solving strategies across different domains.