STAGE IV

      A.  Concept:

         With the successful accomplishment of Stage III, the viewer has become subject to an enormous flood of information available from the site. Previously, such a flow of data would have been overwhelming, and those circumstances in Stages I through III in which the viewer found himself so inundated would have required the taking of a "Too Much Break." At this point, however, it becomes both possible and necessary to  1) establish a systemic structure to provide for the orderly, consistent management of the volumes of information that may be obtained, and  2) facilitate and guide the viewer's focusing of perceptions on ever finer and finer detail of the site. This is accomplished through the use of an information matrix which is illustrated below. Stage IV is a refinement and expansion of the previous structure to facilitate more complete and detailed decoding of the signal line.

      B.  Definitions:

         Most of the terms used in a Stage IV matrix have been defined previously. Those that have not are explained as follows:

         1. Emotional Impact: The perceived emotions or feelings of the people at the site or of the viewer. Sometimes the site itself possesses an element of emotional impact, which is imprinted with long or powerful associations with human emotional response.

         2. Tangibles: Objects or characteristics at the site which have solid, "touchable" impact on the perceptions of the viewer, i.e., tables, chairs, tanks, liquids, trees, buildings, intense smells, noises, colors, temperatures, machinery, etc.

         3. Intangibles: Qualities of the site that are perhaps abstract or not specifically defined by tangible aspects of the site, such as purposes, non-physical qualities, categorizations, etc.; i.e., "governmental," "foreign," "medical," "church," "administrative," "business," "data-processing," "museum," "library," etc.

         4. AOL/S: Virtually synonymous with the previously considered term "AOL Matching," AOL/Signal occurs when an AOL produced by the viewer's analytic mental machinery almost exactly matches the site, and the viewer can to some extent "look" through the AOL image to perceive the actual site. The advantage of AOL/S in Stage IV is that it allows the information to be used without calling a break. One can ask, "What is this trying to tell me about the site?" As an example, the viewer may perceive the Verazzano Narrows Bridge when in fact the site is actually the George Washington Bridge.

         5. Dimensionals: "Dimensionals" have an even broader meaning here than in Stage III. In Stage IV, more detailed and complex dimensionals can be expected and are now considered to be in structure and therefore more reliable. "Spired," "twisted," "edged," "partitioned," etc. are only a few examples.

      C.  Stage IV Matrix:

         To provide the necessary structure for coherent management of this information, matrix column headings are constructed across the top of the paper thusly:

These headings stand for the following:

1. S-2: Stage II information (sensory data).

2. D: Dimensionals.

3. AI: Aesthetic Impact.

4. EI: Emotional Impact.

5. T: Tangibles.

6. I: Intangibles.

7. AOL: Analytic Overlay.

8. AOL/S: AOL/Signal.

      D.  Session Format and Mechanics:

         As the viewer produces Stage IV responses (generally single words that describe the concepts received via the signal line) they are entered in the matrix under their appropriate categories. The matrix is filled in left to right, going from the more sense-based Stage IIs and dimensional towards the ever more refined information to the right, and top to bottom, following the natural flow of the signal line. Stage IV information, similar to that of Stage II, comes to the viewer in clusters. Some particular aspect of the site will manifest itself, and the sub-elements pertaining to that aspect will occur relatively rapidly to the viewer in the general right-to-left and top-to-bottom pattern just described. Some degree of vertical spacing can be expected between such clusters, an indication that each of these clusters represents a specific portion of the site.

         Entries in a properly filled-in matrix will tend to move slantwise down the page from the upper left to lower right with some amount of moving back and forth from column to column. Stage IIs and dimensionals retain their importance in site definition, while AOLs and AIs, once they have been recognized and objectified as such, so not require a major interruption in the flow of the signal line as was the case in previous stages. In fact, AOLs now frequently become closely associated with the site and may lead directly to "AOL matching," or AOL/Signal, as it is categorized in the matrix and described above. EI tends to manifest itself comparatively more slowly than information in other categories. If people are present, for example, EI pertaining to them may be effectively retrieved by placing the pen in the EI column of the matrix. Several moments of subsequent waiting may then be required for the signal to build and deliver its available information. Tangibles will frequently produce immediate sketches or ideograms, which lead to yet more intimate contact with the signal line.

         Some degree of control over the order of information retrieval from the signal line can be exercised by the viewer, determined by which column he chooses to set his pen to paper. This acts as a prompting mechanism to induce the signal line to provide information pertinent to the column selected. For example, if more intangibles relating to the site are desired, the pen may be placed in the "I" column to induce the extraction of intangible information from the signal line.

         The Stage IV process can be very rapid, and care must be taken to accurately decode and record the data as it comes. However, if as sometimes happens the signal flow should slow, it is recommended that resting the pen on paper in the "EI" column may enhance retrieval of "EI" information, which in turn may potentially stimulate further signal line activity and acquisition.

      E.  Format:

         Following is a sample Stage III format: