Layer-1 composites (C1–C13)
Composites are the “field guide” layer: patterns you can spot quickly and then ground back into primitives.
C1 — Gradient Generates Flow
Depends
P1 P5 P6 P7Direct
Differences across boundaries create gradients; gradients drive flows; flows generate patterns.
Use
Diagnose polarization, leakage, arbitrage, recurring conflicts.
C2 — Ledgered Reciprocity
Depends
P1 P5 P6 P7 P10Direct
Sustained exchange requires mutually reconcilable accounting.
Use
Contracts, partnerships, APIs, compensation, stakeholder dynamics.
C3 — Compression Distortion
Depends
P4 P5 P6 P7 P10Direct
All representations compress reality; optimizing the compression reshapes the system.
Use
Dashboards, AI evals, KPIs, reporting regimes.
C4 — Granularity Collapse
Depends
P10 P4 P7 P9Direct
Under stress, evaluative granularity collapses into coarse binaries.
Use
Crisis governance, polarization, litigation framing, media simplification.
C5 — Boundary-Accounting Misalignment
Depends
P1 P5 P9 P10Direct
Effects crossing boundaries without aligned accounting create structural imbalance.
Aliases
Externalized Harm • Cost Shifting • Value Leakage • Risk Export • Hidden Debt
Use
Supply chains, platform governance, finance externalities, policy impact analysis.
C6 — Consent Gradient
Depends
P2 P3 P4 P8 P9 P10Direct
Consent varies with capacity, legibility, reversibility, and power balance.
Use
Healthcare, employment, AI interfaces, contracting.
C7 — Comparator Substitution Under Hierarchy
Depends
P2 P7 P9 P10Direct
In hierarchical systems, the operative comparator shifts from “right” to “compliant.”
Use
Corporate governance, bureaucracies, high-coercion environments.
C8 — Causal Attribution Failure
Depends
P1 P6 P7 P10Direct
In recursive systems, outcomes are often misattributed to individuals rather than structural loops.
Use
Postmortems, crisis review, blame dynamics, regulatory inquiries.
C9 — Dynamic Stability vs Snapshot Balance
Depends
P6 P7 P8 P10Direct
Stability is dynamic correction over time, not static symmetry at a moment.
Use
Negotiation, staffing models, policy, risk management.
C10 — Level Mismatch (Suboptimization)
Depends
P1 P5 P6 P7 P10Direct
Optimizing a subsystem comparator can degrade system-level outcomes when boundaries and feedback are mis-modeled.
Aliases
Suboptimization • KPI Misalignment • Local vs Global Failure
Use
Siloed organizations, benchmark vs deployment, quarterly vs long-term value.
C11 — Illegitimate Constitutional Comparator
Depends
P4 P7 P9 P10Direct
An operational comparator becomes de facto constitutional without legitimate governance or explicit ratification.
Aliases
Sacralized Metric • Metric Capture • Untouchable KPI
Use
Institutional critique, KPI regimes, compliance theater, growth-at-all-costs.
C12 — Threshold Cascade (Phase Transition)
Depends
P6 P10 P1 P8Direct
Near thresholds, small changes can trigger discontinuous state shifts that propagate through coupled systems.
Aliases
Cascade Failure • Tipping Point • Phase Shift • Nonlinear Escalation
Use
Power grids, network outages, liquidity spirals, contagion, social tipping dynamics.
C13 — Coercive Transparency (Boundary Collapse)
Depends
P1 P2 P3 P4 P9 P10Direct
Transparency without scoped consent collapses boundaries and shifts agency toward the observer.
Mirror
What is made fully visible becomes governable by whoever can see, store, score, or act on it.
Shadow
Total legibility destroys protected interiority, producing compliance, performance, and loss of individuality.
Aliases
Coercive Legibility • Boundary Collapse • Surveillance Transparency • Exposure Capture • Legibility Overreach
Use
Privacy, surveillance, workplace monitoring, AI observability, child/guardian systems, institutional transparency demands.
Tip: When you hear “suddenly,” “unexpectedly,” or “it spiraled,” check C12. When you hear “we need full transparency,” check C13.