‘~’

This is the squiggle symbol. We use it in our syntax, or ‘way of writing’ complementary pairs. For example, supposing that yin~yang, body~mind, cooperation~competition, friend~enemy, individual~collective, are complementary pairs.

In each case, two inextricable, dynamical complementary aspects are written with the squiggle between them, indicating their inextricable, dynamical complementarity.  While this is a unique application of what we often call ‘the squiggle sign’, it is not the first time that it has been used to communicate complementarity, as is revealed by studying other uses and meanings of this symbol.

The squiggle is a text character that you can find on most computer keyboards. It looks like this: “~”. Squiggly, isn’t it? You may be aware that this text character is also called a tilde.

It hovers over the letter “n” in the Spanish language, making it the letter “ñ”, or ‘en-yay’, as in the spanish word mañana But we aren’t using the squiggle like a tilde. We use it for something completely different, and prefer to just call it what it looks like-a squiggle. We initially adopted the squiggle as a convenient way to indicate the complementary nature of things in their written form, when two or more things we are writing about are inextricable, complementary and dynamic, like yin~yang and body~mind. But the meaning of the squiggle has evolved dramatically. This evolution has come as a result of deeper reflections upon what it might represent as a phenomenon rather than just a placeholder for one.

The symbol of the complementary nature relating contrarieties, opposites and their kin is the tilde or squiggle (~).

If you see things like yin and yang, organism and environment, nature and nurture, mind and body, friend and enemy, living and dying, creation and annihilation as mutually related and inextricably connected, you are acting upon your squiggle sense. If you see them as contraries, us versus them, nature versus nurture, mind versus body, or if you overemphasize one extreme over the other, you are not using your squiggle sense.

Note the squiggle is not a bridge: it doesn’t stand for glue holding complementary aspects both together or mediating between them. It is a way to write and think about complementary aspects in a way that emphasizes their relational and dynamic character.

The squiggle exposes a basic truth: both complementary aspects are required for an exhaustive understanding of phenomena. (the science of knowledge)

AN OLD SYMBOL WITH MANY MEANINGS:

The squiggle symbol has been around a long time, and has many different meanings, though these meanings seem to bear some relationship with one another. We found the following at http://symbols.com, (a very useful website if you are interested in exploring any symbol you are interested in):

1. Ideographically, is a sign for one complete oscillation or one whole wave. represents all types of waves in Western ideography.

2. In musical notation stands for grupetto, i.e. that one should play a group of four notes, the note above, the note itself, the note below, and the note itself. In eighteenth-century chemistry meant solvere, to dissolve, and solutio, or solution.

3. In propositional logic,  P means that the opposite of P is true.

4. In electrical contexts stands for alternating current.

5. In dictionaries stands for words that have been referred to earlier or indicates that a term or expression is interchangeable with another.

6. In mathematics can stand for varies as, is similar to, or is a complement of.

7. In Spanish and Portuguese writing used over certain letters indicates a certain pronunciation and is called tilde.

8. In meteorology has been, or is used to indicate ice or a coating of ice.

9. The sign often appears in unexpected places, for example in , one of the many Jesus monograms of the type beginning to be used in the seventh century. note: Symbols.com also adds this relevant commentary: As is the sign representing a complete oscillation, it might be that in refers to Christ’s defeat and victory, death and resurrection.

Notice meaning number 6: In mathematics, can stand for varies as, is similar to, or is a complement of. So our use of the squiggle to communicate complementarity isn’t new, it is certainly novel. Actually the deeper meaning of squiggle in our context will cover most of the above definitions, and these connections will lead to many posts and pages of The Squiggle Sense blog. But before we continue into these interesting and relevant nuances, there are a few other issues to discuss.

THE SQUIGGLE LANGUAGE:

So in words, we will call this symbol : the squiggle, the squiggle sign, the squiggle of the complementary nature, the squiggle of complementary pairs, (~), or ‘~’.

When speaking complementary pairs and wanting to be explicit, we might say, “body squiggle mind” or “cooperation squiggle competition.” As funny as this sounds, this practice helps to keep one’s squiggle sense sharp and attuned. Think of the fact that the ancient asian concept bodymind (all is one) and Descartes body/mind dualism sound the same when you speak the words, even though the two have radically different meanings. But why do this? Because the meaning of squiggle goes far beyond mere words and symbols.

So Much More than a Symbol

The squiggle (like the quark) a funny sounding name which indicates any of a general set of associated phenomena that manifest to  observers as  matched pairs of coexistent dynamic complementary aspects. Importantly, the word squiggle and the squiggle symbol (the tilde, (~) symbolize their associated metastable coordination dynamics of these complementary aspects, and indicate that the pair can be more deeply studied and eventually comprehended via coordination dynamics

PUTTING THE ‘TILDE’ TO BED:

Before we continue on with our discussion of squiggle, we would like to address one small issue of usage. In our book The Complementary Nature and in our various papers on the subject, we often say, “…the squiggle, or tilde… As you can readily see from the list of meanings above, tilde has a very specific meaning for the sound of the letter ñ, or nyay. While one could imagine that it is used because nyay is a ’squiggly’ sound, it bears the least similarity to the other meanings of the  . Given that the word tilde has such a well known and specific meaning in latin language, we feel that it’s use in our context detracts from the message we intend. Likewise, our use of tilde confuses and detracts from its specific meaning. Therefore in respect to our message and the intended meaning of the squiggle sign as symbol the complementary nature, we will discontinue using the word ’tilde’ from here forward.