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The Affect Gap

Ten takes on an agent-based model of grievance propagation, where the gap between trigger and response is its own variable.

«Между раздражителем и реакцией есть зазор. В этом зазоре — наша свобода и наша рост.» Most affect-propagation models collapse stimulus into response. This series treats the gap — the space for reappraisal — as a first-class agent property.

The shared model

Each agent i in a directed network carries:

Gi actual grievance vector (hidden ground truth) Fi felt grievance vector (used for action) δi = Fi − Gi distortion (suppression / projection) ξi reflective capacity (depletes / recovers) μi gap trait (baseline reflective bandwidth) chargei emotional state (decays)

Loop: trigger → involuntary spike → the gap opens (length scales with μ and ξ) → reappraisal roll (probability ∝ ξ): success pulls F toward G and dampens the grievance update; failure produces a raw reaction that modifies G and may propagate. Holding ‖δ‖ depletes ξ; idle agents recover. Grievances decay slowly. Repair acts can resolve edges.

Take 01

Two-Vector Network

Actual G versus felt F as paired views. The distortion δ becomes visible as the difference between the two graphs.

Distortion · Network
Take 02

The Gap (Continuous Time)

Zoom in on a single trigger. The interval between stimulus and response, made temporal and visible across high- and low-μ agents.

Reappraisal · Phenomenology
Take 03

Cascade Domino

Inject one trigger and watch grievance ripple. Cascade size as a function of mean and variance of the gap-trait distribution.

Propagation · Heavy Tails
Take 04

ξ Capacity Constellation

Agents as glowing orbs whose halo is their reflective capacity. Watch capacity deplete under load and burnout cascade through the network.

Capacity · Burnout
Take 05

Distortion Field

Population as a grid. Cell color is ‖δ‖. The field can sit at low grievance and high distortion until a small shock collapses it.

Phase Transition · Field
Take 06

In-Group / Out-Group

Two clusters with structurally asymmetric distortion: in-group suppression versus out-group projection. The polarization slider.

Asymmetry · Polarization
Take 07

Forgiveness Contagion

Same network, same triggers, two simulations: with and without repair propagation. Does forgiveness spread the way grievance does?

Repair · Comparison
Take 08

Phase Diagram

Sweep through (mean(μ), var(μ)). Each pixel is a small simulation. The boundary between self-extinguishing and self-sustaining conflict.

Parameter Sweep · Critical
Take 09

The Riot

Long latency followed by sudden recognition. Slow accumulation of ‖δ‖, then a small trigger collapses the distortion field at once.

Time-Lapse · Tipping
Take 10

Keystone Burnout

High-μ agents as keystone stabilizers. Track their ξ. Are they suppressing total grievance, or just paying its cost privately until they collapse?

Keystone · Sacrifice