Attribute Operators

On connecting the dots.

Systems can reach high levels of complexity through the interplay of diverse interactions. That does not mean the building blocks are simple. A reductionist impulse looks for rudimentary starting points, and often “finds” them by stripping a quality of everything that made it able to combine. In our perspective, the initial components have to be special enough to build complex configurations — so much so that thought and language cannot represent them honestly in isolation.

A hinge has two leaves. Describing only one of them does not give you a simpler hinge. It gives you a door that cannot move. Rather than working with isolated attributes, we use attribute pairs as the fundamental systemic unit.

• ATTRIBUTE PAIR: The fundamental systemic unit in EIC, used instead of isolated attributes. Inherently contains Side A, Side B, and the dynamic relationship between them.

Each pair is already three things at once: one side, the other side, and the relation that holds them. That relation is not an afterthought. Attribute pairs that are closely interrelated need to be regarded with equal importance. When they are held that way, the paired set is in a state of symmetry. If one of the attributes is prioritized, the pair is in a state of asymmetry. Symmetry is balanced interdependence; asymmetry is directional prioritization.

• SYMMETRY: Balanced, mutually-interdependent relationship between the sides of an attribute pair. Symbol: ≡ (“Identical to” symbol. Unicode: U+2261).

• ASYMMETRY: Directional prioritization within an attribute pair; broken symmetry. Symbol: ≢ (“Not identical to” symbol. Unicode: U+2262).

A scale in balance is symmetry: both pans matter, and the reading is the relation. A scale with a thumb on one pan is still a scale, but the relation has been tilted. The pair has not disappeared. It has been prioritized.

The remaining operators do not replace the pair. They let pairs combine, lean, and act on one another.

When we are dealing with relations between different attribute pairs, or with attributes of different paired sets, we call those relations concatenations.

• CONCATENATION: Interaction between different attribute pairs, or between attributes of different paired sets. Symbol: ^ (“Caret” symbol. Unicode: U+005E).

When we want to focus on one attribute of a paired set, or on one element of a compounded interaction, without dismissing the other side, we implement an accentuation.

• ACCENTUATION: Focus on one attribute of a paired set, or on one element of a compounded interaction, without dismissing the other side. Symbol: ← (“Leftwards arrow” symbol. Unicode: U+2190).

When we are dealing with a concrete effect of one attribute element or compound over another, we describe it as a modulation.

• MODULATION: The concrete effect of one attribute element or compound over another; alters internal dynamics rather than heightening or combining. Symbol: → (“Rightwards arrow” symbol. Unicode: U+2192).

The complete set is the following:

One more note on how the symbols combine: a letter’s position inside an expression is part of its meaning, not incidental to it. A prefix attached to a term occupies a different symbolic role than that same letter used as a standalone or core symbol elsewhere — position disambiguates them. Two prefixes sharing a letter, or two core symbols sharing a letter, would be a real collision; a prefix and a core symbol sharing one generally isn’t. We’ll still flag it explicitly whenever a given case is ambiguous enough that position alone doesn’t settle it.