http://humanifesto.org/yehoshanah/2004/seven_degree_buddy_tree.htm

Title: Seven Degree (7°) Buddy Tree



This article introduces the idea of...
A Buddy Tree held together by opportunity and response.
A dynamic web of trees with seven degrees of circulation.



You have probably heard of the six degrees of separation,
where by, it is supposed that all people know each other.

Starting with you (person 0) who knows a person (1),
who knows a new person (2, someone you did not know),
who in turn knows a person (3, not known by 0 or 1)
and person 3, in turn, knows another person (4,
not known by the persons 0, 1 or 2), and person 4,
in turn, knows a person (5, not known by 0, 1, 2 or 3).

Since each person knows many people, who often know each other,
when person 5 looks for a new person to connect; there are none!
When we look for a 6th degree of separation; we fail to find one.

With each new person linked to the chain of known people,
the chain becomes more like a web with inter-connected threads.
Each new link extends one web to another, growing and weaving.

Supposedly, through such a web of six degrees we know everyone.



Building on this idea of a web like connectivity,
I wish to introduce levels of preference and opportunity.
In which each person remains the centre of their own web.


Consider a buddy organizer with three levels of preference.
Level 1 is your preferred buddies, then second and third levels.
Each buddy would choose whether or not to allow the association.

The idea is to organize your preferences as often as is required.
Reasons for each preference can be as varied as a person desires.
Adjust your preferences in response to the feedback you receive.

All of your buddies also have their own three levels of preference.
Adjust your preferences to link up with the buddies of your buddies.

The example, for familiarity, suggests a list of buddies or friends.
The general idea is co-opportunity, to seven degrees of circulation.

We can relate the multi-tiered buddy list to a tree like structure.
The ongoing adjustment to feedback can be likened to circulation.

Each tree has a root, you, and branches extending out to six levels.
Since you have 3 levels and your 3rd level has a further 3 levels;
your branches extend farthest at the sixth level away from the root.

One, many or all of your own friends may be friends of your friends.
Your 1st, 2nd and 3rd level friends may weave together many times.

We can describe the inter-connectivity of these trees as web like.
Since many of the tree branches will often overlap into each other.



Your "buddy tree" has a circulation system of dynamic preferences.
Your preferences grow into your tree and into every ones trees.
While each buddy updates their preferences in their own "buddy tree".

Circulation is a shift of any buddy relative to any level of any tree.
A buddy tree refers to buddies in terms of compatibility of preferences.
Every preference shift appears to circulate among many trees and roots.



A complex dynamic web would be difficult to picture in visual format.
Opportunity and response are assisted by circulation outcome indicators.

In order to indicate an outcome we assign each level a relative value.
We assign the farthest level from the root the value of a single unit.
For each level closer to the root we assign a progressively higher value.

We also divide up the value assigned to any given level equally among
all the buddies populating that particular level, or branch, of the tree.



The tree is then understood in terms of levels of preference matching.

The Seven Degree Buddy Tree lives in a web of preference circulation.
A dynamic web, a value-metric opportunity-response reference-system.



What can we do with it?

At first, I thought this system would help co-ordinate people
to share a ride to an event in which many people are attending.
Possibly everyday on the way to work and on the return ride home.

Then I began to realize it would facilitate any effort to converge
or diverge in relation to any agreement or question put to a test.

I realized it is an open system, open to new people and knowledge.
While a person begins to relate to known buddies with a history,
the introduction of new buddies via old buddies opens the system.

The open quality of the system is countered by the buddy history.
Weaving opportuntity with historical continuity, complexity nests.

The complexity of material in consideration is sensible and scalable.
Each person works with a preference list representing their own tree.

A Seven Degree Buddy Tree can assist an aim like swapping collectibles
or assist coordinating a very complex list as broad as local democracy.

As each person or agent defines their owns preferences they negotiate.
Since feedback allows dynamic approximation toward root level of trees.
While the other trees dynamically adjust to negotiate their preferences.

The system is not intended to serve as a purely symbolic system only.
Assuming you prefer and befriend in order to actualize your interests.

If you preference a time and a place and an activity in your tree.
Then prefer buddies that feedback preferences related with your own,
your tree will draw closer the buddies compatible with your interests.



A large web of buddy trees will not do much good without understanding.

Understanding the external world in which we live is a great challenge.
Understanding the process forming our internal realities may be greater.

I seek to participate in these domains and have success relating them.
I seek to know what, how and why I come to despise and to desire.
I seek to sense a coherent and congruent self, informing my intentions.

If we could communicate honestly about ourselves in relation to others;
then friendship would be basic to forming our wider social organization.



As the idea of seven degrees materialized in my mind and in words
I felt many others were simultaneously manifesting a similar theme.

Before I could complete and publish this article to humanifesto.org
Trevor Larson asked me to publish his, Would you like fries with that?

Gratefully, humanifesto.org acts as a forum to share our interests.

I seek a coherent and congruent relationship with our cultural spirit.
A shared cultural spirit assists us to be more available to each other.

May humanifesto.org evolve into an open web of 7° Buddy Trees.


yehoshanah

19-25/6/2004


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