The Core Constructs
of CDT
The basic conceptual units of Coherence Dynamics Theory: drift, realignment loops, coherence, and resonance.
Overview
These four constructs form the minimum vocabulary of CDT.
CDT does not begin with an endless glossary. It begins with a small set of constructs that can travel across domains while preserving the same basic explanatory structure: deviation, correction, maintained direction, and distributed propagation.
1
Drift
A universal property of adaptive systems operating in noisy environments. Drift is structural directional deviation, not moral failure.
Read the drift page2
Realignment Loops
Structured correction processes with four stages: Detection → Regulation → Return → Reintegration. Each stage is necessary. Skipping any produces incomplete correction.
3
Coherence
Emergent directional continuity. A system preserves coherence when it can repeatedly restore alignment despite perturbation.
Read the coherence page4
Resonance
Distributed coherence maintenance. In coupled systems, correction must propagate through the network rather than remain local.
Construct Focus
Realignment Loops
Realignment loops matter because systems do not preserve coherence by intention alone. They preserve coherence through processes. In CDT, those processes follow a recognizable sequence: something registers deviation, something regulates it, direction is restored, and that restored direction becomes stable enough to re-enter live operation. If a system detects deviation but cannot regulate it, the loop breaks. If it regulates without restoring direction, the loop stalls. If it returns but fails to reintegrate, correction remains temporary.
Resonance
Resonance matters because many systems are coupled. A correction that remains isolated in one component does not necessarily preserve the coherence of the whole. CDT uses resonance to describe how coherence propagates across a system. Strong resonance lets correction travel. Weak resonance allows fragmentation, local incoherence, and regime drift even when one part of the system is trying to realign.
How They Relate
Conceptual flow
Drift creates directional deviation. Realignment loops are the correction process that responds to deviation. Coherence is the maintained directional continuity that successful correction makes possible. Resonance determines whether that coherence can propagate through a larger coupled system before drift does.
Why these constructs matter
Together, these constructs let CDT describe how systems lose direction, how they recover it, and why some coherent patterns travel while others fragment.
What they replace
They replace moralizing or purely motivational explanations with structural language: systems drift, loops correct, coherence holds or fails, and resonance determines spread.