Coherence and the Continuity of Becoming: 2 The Gradient of Coherence — Dynamic Equilibria of Readiness

Coherence, like affordance, is not a static property.

It emerges as a gradient of relational alignment: a measure of how well inclination and ability resonate across the field.

Where gradients of offering orient becoming locally, gradients of coherence stabilise becoming globally.

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1. Coherence as Continuous Differentiation

Just as readiness differentiates into gradients of offering, coherence differentiates into gradients of stabilisation.

Some regions of the field maintain high resonance — strong alignment of inclinations and abilities — while others fluctuate more freely.

These differences are not failures of order; they are necessary asymmetries, allowing the field to balance stability and adaptability:

• high-coherence regions preserve established patterns,

• low-coherence regions enable exploration and novelty.

This dynamic equilibrium is the signature of living and semiotic systems: they cohere enough to sustain themselves, yet remain open enough to evolve.

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2. Reflexive Stabilisation Across Scales

Coherence operates recursively.

Local alignments propagate through gradients, influencing neighbouring regions and higher-order domains.

• Physical systems: feedback loops regulate energy distribution.

• Biological systems: homeostatic mechanisms balance competing processes.

• Semiotic systems: patterns of interpretation reinforce registers, genres, and symbolic norms.

At each scale, coherence is self-tuning: the field continuously adjusts itself to maintain readiness without collapsing into rigid determinacy.

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3. Topological Continuity

Coherence is a topological necessity, not a spatial one.

It is about connectedness of potential, not about physical proximity.

Events, processes, or meanings remain coherent not because they are close together, but because their inclinations and abilities resonate within the same relational topology.

Continuity is thus preserved through phase alignment: repeated tuning of local readiness with field-level resonance.

This ensures that affordances remain offerable, and that the field continues to sustain becoming over time.

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4. Coherence vs. Consistency

It is crucial to distinguish coherence from mere consistency.

• Consistency is epistemic: it concerns whether our descriptions, beliefs, or expectations align.

• Coherence is ontic: it concerns whether the field itself maintains the relational integrity necessary for ongoing offering.

A system can appear inconsistent from a human perspective, yet remain coherent in its own relational topology — gradients of readiness still align, and potential remains open.

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5. Toward the Dynamics of Continuity

Gradients of coherence are the mechanism by which the field preserves its capacity for relational becoming.

They allow differentiated domains — physical, biological, semiotic — to interact without dissipating their own readiness.

The next post will examine how coherence manifests as structured architectures, showing how the field’s own constraints enable sustained offering across scales.

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Next: Coherence as Structured Constraint: Maintaining Continuity in the Field of Becoming