Oh, and foundations definitely aren't resonance realms. The Matrix is the Matrix and the Resonance is the Resonance. They interact with each other, but they are definitely separate things. Resonance Realms are far too wily to be tamed and they shift constantly; you wouldn't be able to set up the control systems that exist within a foundation.
Sorry for the late reply. So would it be accurate to describe to someone the Foundation as a visual representation of the inner workings of a very powerful quantum processor? Based on the shifting of the Foundation that constantly occurs unless someone is present in some form, it sure sounds like quantum physics.
We've discussed the idea that SR tech probably already uses quantum computing (how else could you process megapulses of data?) so the Foundation is more like the by-product of linking hundreds of thousands (if not millions or billions) of quantum and sub-quantum devices into a single network.
The other big thing to keep in mind that is made a little foggy in the text (though i do enjoy how scary it is) is that technological systems are usually developed by numerous and seperate teams. While one team will have a solid idea of how it's own system operates and how any interlinked processes operate, they are completely unaware of other aspects. Development would go MUCH slower if every single person working on a project had to fully understand and be fluent in each aspect of the project. Thus, only the coordinating managers from the various corps (remember GOD is essentially just the Big 10, not a national/government entity) would have a broader understanding of what the new Matrix actually is. Even then, it's within each Megacorps best interest to keep certain aspects of operation to themselves.
This means that realistically there are very few people (maybe less than 2 dozen) who understand EVERY aspect of the new Matrix. (like how you can make a million different colas but the recipe for Coca-Cola is only known by two people at a time)
It's true that we don't fully understand how the new Matrix works, but it's more akin to a technological revolution than a mystical discovery. Before the Awakening, science was magic. We've just hit a technological discovery that went so much further than we expected that it seems magical again.
Then again, there is the distinct possibility that we've pushed tech into a realm which bridges the Matrix and the Resonance to some degree. If that's the case, it's an accidental discovery, like Penicillin. No one (that we know of) possess the ability to manipulate Resonance on that scale for that long.
You can do stuff like geomancy and affecting ley lines with magic but you have to remember that Magic is technically thousands upon thousands of years old. Even going simply by the 6th world timeline, Magic has been active 3 times longer than the Resonance and Technomancy is still in it's infancy.
In my own personal opinion(which i had as a theory in DT but had to cut for wordcount), the Resonance began when simsense was invented and people started recording and uploading their deepest thoughts, fears, hopes and desires into the Matrix.
The Matrix is literally a virtual reality that we created to give ourselves a level of control over "reality" that we can't achieve/maintain over the physical world. So much so that when simsense first came out, people thought it signaled the end of society since so many people were quickly addicted. (of course early simsense didn't have the same safety features or limiters that exist now. Not until they integrated Psychotrope's code in the 30s)
The thing is, we also built the Matrix to make our lives easier. We created all these devices that are supposed to learn what, how and when we want the things we design. When you tell something that interconnected to learn what you want and then literally give it all of your desires and fears, it has to have an effect right? Especially after decades of collecting data.
That also means that while mana is
returning to the world, Resonance is still growing into....something. There are no Dragons or Immortal elves that can tell us what Resonance will be because it's completely new to them too. The Resonance is apparently growing fast (technological growth is certainly exponential right now) so it may develop faster than Magic first did, but our understanding of it won't necessarily grow at the same rate just because the source is getting stronger.