The General Theory of Cohesion: A High School Guide
1. What is the General Theory of Cohesion?
Imagine you're trying to understand what makes things stick together and survive. Not just physical things like atoms in a molecule, but also:
- Your friend group
- A sports team
- A country
- A forest ecosystem
- Even your favorite app or game
The General Theory of Cohesion (GTC) is like a universal instruction manual for understanding how ANY system stays together or falls apart. Created by Andrew Kemendo in 2025, it gives us one simple rule:
Every system survives by maintaining its boundary using energy.
Think of it like this: Everything that exists as a "thing" has to constantly work to stay that thing. Otherwise, it dissolves back into its surroundings.
2. The Basic Building Blocks
Components: The LEGO Pieces
Every system is made of smaller parts called components. These are like LEGO pieces that work together. Each component has:
- Action Vector: The direction it's pushing or pulling (like a force arrow in physics)
- Energy Stored: Its battery level
- Energy Used: How fast it drains its battery
- Alignment: How well it cooperates with other components
- Mediation Ability: How good it is at being a go-between
The Boundary: Your System's Skin
The boundary is what separates your system from everything else. But here's the cool part: the boundary isn't just a wall - it's made of components that specialize in dealing with the outside world!
Think of it like a soccer team:
- Some players (defenders) form the boundary
- Others (midfielders) connect defense to offense
- The core players (strikers) focus on internal goals
The Magic Formula
GTC measures whether a system will survive using a "cohesion score":
Cohesion = (Energy Coming In - Energy Costs) ÷ (Chaos and Uncertainty)
If this number is positive, the system survives. If it's negative, the system collapses.
Birth of a System
Systems don't just appear - they emerge when components start working together:
- Random components meet: Like kids at recess
- They align their actions: Start playing the same game
- Some become boundary components: The kids who negotiate with other groups
- A system is born: Now you have a playground squad!
The Energy Gradient
Not all parts of a system use the same energy:
- Core components: Low energy use, highly aligned (like the brain of an operation)
- Boundary components: High energy use, deal with chaos (like customer service reps)
This creates an energy slope from the efficient interior to the expensive boundary.
4. Energy: The Currency of Survival
The Energy Loop
Every system runs on an energy cycle:
- Store energy from successful interactions
- Spend energy on:
- Keeping components aligned
- Maintaining the boundary
- Predicting the future (for smart systems)
- Get more energy through interactions
- Repeat or die
Types of Energy Costs
- Baseline Cost: Like rent - you pay this just to exist
- Alignment Cost: Like team-building - keeping everyone on the same page
- Modeling Cost: Like planning - the price of being smart
5. When Systems Meet
The Three Types of Interactions
- Mutual (Win-Win) 🤝
- Both systems benefit
- Like bees and flowers
- Energy costs go DOWN for both
- Ablative (Win-Lose) ⚔️
- One system damages the other
- Like a virus attacking a cell
- One's energy costs go UP
- Ambivalent (Neutral) 😐
- Systems ignore each other
- Like two rocks in a field
- No energy change
The Interaction Function (Ψ)
GTC uses Ψ (pronounced "sigh") to measure how systems affect each other:
- Ψ > 0: Fighting (increases costs)
- Ψ < 0: Helping (decreases costs)
- Ψ ≈ 0: Ignoring (no change)
6. Smart vs. Simple Systems
Simple Systems
- React to what's happening NOW
- No planning ahead
- Like a rock or a basic chemical reaction
Smart Systems
- Build an internal model of themselves
- Simulate possible futures
- Choose the best path
- Like humans, AI, or evolved organisms
The Three Loops of Intelligence
Smart systems have three special abilities:
- Sensory Loop: "What's my current status?"
- Prediction Loop: "What might happen next?"
- Simulation Loop: "Which future should I choose?"
The Cost of Being Smart
Intelligence isn't free! The smarter a system tries to be, the more energy it uses. Sometimes being too smart can kill a system faster than being dumb!
7. Real-World Examples
Example 1: Grass vs. Asphalt
The Setup: A seed beneath a parking lot
Grass (Smart System):
- Can predict when conditions improve
- Adjusts growth direction
- Stores energy for the right moment
Asphalt (Simple System):
- Rigid boundary
- No adaptation
- No energy storage
The Result: Grass waits for the right conditions, then pushes through cracks. The asphalt can't adapt and breaks. Smart beats strong!
Example 2: Your Friend Group
Components: Each friend
Boundary: Inside jokes, shared activities, group chat
Energy: Time and attention
Threats: Drama, new interests, graduation
When the energy cost of maintaining friendships exceeds the fun you get back, the group dissolves.
Example 3: A Tech Startup
Phase 1: Everyone's aligned, burning through investor money
Phase 2: Product launches, customer energy flows in
Phase 3: Either sustainable (positive cohesion) or bust (negative cohesion)
8. The Math Behind It All
The Core Equation
Don't worry, we'll keep it simple! The cohesion of any system is:
γ = (Past Gains + Future Hopes - Current Costs) ÷ (Volatility)
Where:
- Past Gains: Energy from recent successes
- Future Hopes: Expected energy from planned actions
- Current Costs: Energy to maintain alignment and boundaries
- Volatility: How chaotic things are
Making Predictions
To predict if a system will survive:
- Calculate its current cohesion (γ)
- Simulate possible futures
- Choose actions that maximize future cohesion
- Repeat until the system dies or reaches stability
9. Why This Matters
For Technology
- Build self-managing computer systems
- Create adaptive AI that knows its limits
- Design resilient networks
For Society
- Understand why civilizations rise and fall
- Predict social movements
- Design better organizations
For You
- Understand your own energy limits
- Build better relationships
- Manage your time and resources
- Know when to persist and when to let go
The Big Picture
GTC shows us that everything in the universe follows the same pattern:
- Use energy to maintain boundaries
- Adapt or die
- Smart systems predict and plan
- But being too smart can be costly
Try It Yourself!
Quick Exercise: Analyze Your Study Group
- Identify components: Who's in the group?
- Find the boundary: What makes you a group?
- Track energy: What effort maintains the group?
- Measure alignment: Is everyone pulling together?
- Predict cohesion: Will the group last through finals?
Think About It
- Why do empires fall?
- How do friendships end?
- What makes some apps succeed while others fail?
- Why does life find a way?
The General Theory of Cohesion gives us one framework to answer all these questions!
Summary
The General Theory of Cohesion teaches us that:
- Everything is a system trying to maintain its boundary
- Systems use energy to stay organized
- Smart systems can predict and plan
- When energy runs out or chaos wins, systems collapse
- This pattern repeats at every scale of existence
By understanding these principles, we can better navigate our world, build more resilient systems, and maybe even understand ourselves a little better.
🚀 Level Up: Measure Your Own Cohesion!
Ready for a challenge? Now that you understand how systems work, you can actually measure your own personal cohesion using the Coherence Matrix - a tool that applies these same GTC principles to measure how well your life "system" is holding together.
The Coherence Matrix evaluates your life across 10 dimensions, from basic survival needs to leaving a legacy. It's like a personal cohesion calculator that shows:
- Where your energy is strong or depleted
- How much control you have over your boundaries
- Which parts of your life system need attention
Try it out: Visit the Coherence Matrix Calculator
Note: This is more advanced and best for older students who are comfortable thinking about abstract life concepts.