Relational Ontology of Evolving Potential: 4 Sedimentation and Stabilisation in Potential Fields

In the previous post, we traced actualisation and density dynamics across multiple domains. We saw how vertical and lateral clines, combined with repeated engagement, shape the distribution of density. Now we examine the temporal accumulation of density, producing sedimentation and stabilisation — the general analogue of tradition.

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1. Sedimentation Defined

Sedimentation occurs when frequently actualised regions of potential accumulate probability over time. These thickened regions become:

• More likely to be selected in future actualisations

• Relatively stable across agents and contexts

• Resistant to rapid fluctuation

In short, sedimentation is the historical imprint of repeated actualisation, forming a structured probability landscape in the system.

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2. Stabilisation Across Domains

Examples of sedimentation and stabilisation include:

• Technology: widely adopted design patterns become de facto standards

• Social norms: repeated behaviors crystallise into conventional practice

• Cultural forms: recurrent artistic motifs persist across generations

In all cases, stabilised density represents cumulative history, providing continuity while still permitting exploration in low-density regions.

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3. Visualising Temporal Density

Structured potential over time

Time 1: █ █ █              ← initial actualisation
Time 2: █ █ █ █        ← thickening of frequently used regions
Time 3: █ █ █ █ █   ← stabilised / sedimented regions

Low-density regions remain thin → innovation potential persists

• Thickened regions = sedimented, stabilised potential

• Thin regions = underexplored, emergent novelty

• Repeated engagement produces recursive, patterned probability landscapes

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4. Relational Insights

1. History is encoded in density: the system carries the record of past actualisations

2. Stability is emergent, not imposed: no external rules are required to produce structure

3. Innovation coexists with stability: low-density regions remain generative, ensuring ongoing evolution

Sedimentation, in this ontology, is therefore the accumulation of structured potential across time, giving the system both continuity and flexibility.

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5. Preparing the Next Post

In the next post, we will explore innovation as stabilised thinning in general potential fields. This completes the temporal and structural picture: low-density regions provide the engine of novelty, ensuring that structured potential remains dynamic even in historically stabilised systems.