Comments on: Democracy http://www.jackzen.com/2006/04/25/democracy/ ...........................just noticing Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:29:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: steveg http://www.jackzen.com/2006/04/25/democracy/#comment-651 Sat, 29 Apr 2006 19:01:46 +0000 http://www.jackzen.com/2006/04/25/democracy/#comment-651 Brian, that's a pretty piece of poesy and I never really thought about where economies of scale begin to breakdown in democratic structure. I sense that the failure is around the rigidness of structure, so if a flexible structure or an organic structure is in place, that may extend the life of the system. But then self-organization that allows break-off and new communities to form has that implicitely. Kinda like the mitosis of ameoba, springing off children to pursue different goals or even parallel existences. Brian, that’s a pretty piece of poesy and I never really thought about where economies of scale begin to breakdown in democratic structure. I sense that the failure is around the rigidness of structure, so if a flexible structure or an organic structure is in place, that may extend the life of the system.

But then self-organization that allows break-off and new communities to form has that implicitely. Kinda like the mitosis of ameoba, springing off children to pursue different goals or even parallel existences.

]]> by: Brian Hayes http://www.jackzen.com/2006/04/25/democracy/#comment-650 Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:42:08 +0000 http://www.jackzen.com/2006/04/25/democracy/#comment-650 Your work describing networks is also work discovering networks, wherein we make decisions, thus democracy. Certainly we will see progress as interaction is enhanced. Effect. Studies in group process seem to show that raw interaction is often all that change & benefit require. Didn't Plato warn that city states should be constrained to about 5,000 people? If larger, he thought the human eye could not visualize each adjacent citizen as an individual. Thus not 'seeing' his neighbor, he could not sensibly accomodate his neighbor. I've often thought democracy, any government, fails after a certain scale. It's somewhat absurd to ask a smidgeon of leadership to steer this boat. Finally, again admiring your ingenious and diligent effort, Network from matrix And matrix from node, to coin a modern ode, and best regards, Brian Your work describing networks is also work discovering networks, wherein we make decisions, thus democracy.

Certainly we will see progress as interaction is enhanced. Effect. Studies in group process seem to show that raw interaction is often all that change & benefit require.

Didn’t Plato warn that city states should be constrained to about 5,000 people? If larger, he thought the human eye could not visualize each adjacent citizen as an individual. Thus not ’seeing’ his neighbor, he could not sensibly accomodate his neighbor. I’ve often thought democracy, any government, fails after a certain scale. It’s somewhat absurd to ask a smidgeon of leadership to steer this boat.

Finally, again admiring your ingenious and diligent effort,

Network from matrix
And matrix from node,
to coin a modern ode,

and best regards,
Brian

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