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; it gives us one simple rule:

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!

The Magic Formula

GTC measures whether a system will survive using a "cohesion score":

If this number is positive, the system survives. If it's negative, the system collapses.

3. How Systems Form and Stay Together

Birth of a System

Systems don't just appear - they emerge when components start working together:

1. Random components meet: Like kids at recess
2. They align their actions: Start playing the same game
3. Some become boundary components: The kids who negotiate with other groups
4. 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:

1. Store energy from successful interactions
2. Spend energy on:
   • Keeping components aligned
   • Maintaining the boundary
   • Predicting the future (for smart systems)
3. Get more energy through interactions
4. 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

1. Mutual (Win-Win)
   • Both systems benefit
   • Like bees and flowers
   • Energy costs go DOWN for both
2. Ablative (Win-Lose)
   • One system damages the other
   • Like a virus attacking a cell
   • One's energy costs go UP
3. 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:

1. Sensory Loop: "What's my current status?"
2. Prediction Loop: "What might happen next?"
3. Simulation Loop: "Which future should I choose?"

7. Real-World Examples

Example 1: Grass vs. Asphalt

Example 2: Your Friend Group

Example 3: A Tech Startup

8. The Math Behind It All

The Core Equation

Don't worry, we'll keep it simple! The cohesion of any system is:

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:

1. Calculate its current cohesion (γ)
2. Simulate possible futures
3. Choose actions that maximize future cohesion
4. 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:

1. Use energy to maintain boundaries
2. Adapt or die
3. Smart systems predict and plan
4. But being too smart can be costly

Try It Yourself!