Layer-1 composites (C1–C12)
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.
Tip: When you hear “suddenly,” “unexpectedly,” or “it spiraled,” check C12. When you hear “we hit our numbers but…,” check C10 and C5.