Common questions about Coherence Dynamics Theory and its applications
CDT is a universal theoretical framework explaining how adaptive systems maintain directional stability despite continuous drift. It describes the dynamics by which systems detect deviation, activate correction mechanisms, and restore coherence. CDT applies across biological, cognitive, collective, ecological, technological, psychological, relational, and economic systems—anywhere adaptive systems face the challenge of maintaining direction under variability.
Cybernetics focuses on maintaining values around fixed setpoints (like temperature regulation). CDT focuses on maintaining directional patterns—not static equilibria but dynamic trajectories. CDT also introduces the Coherence Propagation Principle (CPP): coherence requires that correction spreads faster than deviation through coupled systems. This propagation competition framework doesn't appear in classical control theory.
Drift is entropy-like directional deviation—the natural tendency of adaptive systems to deviate from coherent direction under variable conditions. Drift is not failure. It's an inherent property of systems operating in uncertain environments. CDT predicts drift is inevitable and continuous; coherence emerges not by eliminating drift but by repeatedly detecting and correcting it.
Realignment loops are the structured correction processes that restore directional coherence. Every realignment loop has four stages: Detection (identify deviation), Regulation (activate correction), Return (restore direction), and Reintegration (re-embed into system operation). These loops operate across scales—from cellular metabolism to organizational culture to economic institutions.
CPP states: Coherence requires that coherence propagation outpaces drift propagation. When correction spreads faster through a system's coupling network than deviation does, the system maintains coherence. When drift spreads faster, the system fragments. This explains why some systems are resilient (strong coherence resonance) while others collapse despite having correction mechanisms (drift spreads too fast).
This is where DRTP (Directional Regime Transition Principle) applies. If realignment repeatedly fails despite effort, the problem is often the regime itself, not execution. Persistent drift signals regime unsustainability. DRTP says: when a directional regime becomes untenable, components must either realign to a new regime or become decoupled. Chronic drift is diagnostic information, not moral failure.
Both involve orthogonal (perpendicular) directional changes, but they differ fundamentally:
AOL: The new direction originates from within the same coherence attractor basin. Identity, capabilities, and meaning structures remain intact. Performance dips temporarily but coherence can be restored.
SDE: The new direction originates outside the coherence attractor basin. Identity ruptures, resonance pathways sever, and drift propagation dominates. This is coherence collapse, not adaptive transition.
The key: basin membership determines whether change preserves or destroys coherence, not the angle of the vector.
Yes. Psychological systems exhibit CDT dynamics: ego depletion represents drift in self-regulatory capacity, habit formation creates automated coherence maintenance, and self-verification demonstrates identity coherence mechanisms. When you repeatedly fail to maintain a behavioral regime despite effort, DRTP suggests the regime itself may be unsustainable—not that you lack willpower. CDT provides a non-judgmental framework for understanding behavioral coherence and collapse.
Gottman's research shows relationships require a 5:1 positive-to-negative interaction ratio—this reflects CPP's asymmetry: negative interactions propagate drift more powerfully than positive interactions propagate coherence. Demand-withdraw patterns represent realignment failure (one partner detects drift and attempts correction; the other blocks it). When relational realignment chronically fails, DRTP applies: the relational regime itself may need to transition, not just better communication tactics.
Minsky's financial instability hypothesis aligns with CDT: prolonged coherence breeds drift vulnerability. Stability → confidence → risk-taking → fragility (hedge → speculative → Ponzi finance). Detection systems calibrated to recent stability failed to identify accumulating drift. When the Minsky Moment hit, drift propagated through tightly coupled financial networks faster than coherence mechanisms (Fed interventions, bailouts) could restore stability. Post-crisis reforms addressed execution, not the regime-level dynamics that make crises structurally probable.
Descriptive. CDT describes how coherence and drift dynamics work; it doesn't prescribe what direction systems "should" pursue. CDT can analyze a dictatorship's coherence mechanisms just as readily as a democracy's. The theory is domain-agnostic and value-neutral at the structural level. However, understanding CDT can inform better design of systems you want to maintain coherence.
Resilience theory (Holling, 1973) focuses on functional persistence—can the system maintain its function after disturbance? CDT focuses on directional continuity—can the system maintain its directional pattern? A resilient ecosystem might recover function in a different configuration; a coherent system restores its directional trajectory. CDT complements resilience theory by adding the propagation competition framework (CPP) and directional regime transition principles (DRTP/ORTP).
The complete CDT whitepaper (~30 pages) includes formal definitions, cross-domain case studies, regime transition heuristics, and multi-attractor coherence frameworks. Download the whitepaper (PDF) or read the full overview.
CDT is the theoretical foundation; Adaptable Discipline is the applied framework. CDT describes universal coherence dynamics across all adaptive systems. Adaptable Discipline applies CDT principles specifically to personal self-governance for neurodivergent minds and executive dysfunction. Concepts like "drift," "realignment loops," "comeback speed," and "principle-aligned coherence" in Adaptable Discipline derive directly from CDT constructs.