The essential principle behind reaction diffusion is harmonic resonance, a circular feedback phenomenon that manifests itself in a great variety of different forms in different physical systems, where it exhibits its natural tendency towards symmetry and periodicity in space and time.

The fact that nature makes use of harmonic resonance as the principle pattern formation mechanism in embryological morphogenesis suggests that harmonic resonance has some uniquely powerful properties as a representation of spatial patterns that could be exploited by constructing artificial pattern formation mechanisms that operate by the same essential principle.