Scientific Definition
Higher-level properties depend on, but aren't reducible to, lower-level ones. Identical bases → identical higher properties.
Plain-English Definition
Higher-level properties depend on, but aren't reducible to, lower-level ones. Identical bases → identical higher properties.
Feynman Explanation
Two identical brain states can't produce different minds. Two identical org structures can't produce different cultures.
Core Principle
Higher-level properties depend on, but aren't reducible to, lower-level ones. Identical bases → identical higher properties.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Higher-level properties depend on, but aren't reducible to, lower-level ones. Identical bases → identical higher properties.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Why duplicating a competitor's strategy without duplicating their underlying conditions tends to fail.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Two identical brain states can't produce different minds. Two identical org structures can't produce different cultures.
Examples
- Donald Davidson's framing in philosophy of mind; widely used in The Philosopher's Toolkit.
- Why duplicating a competitor's strategy without duplicating their underlying conditions tends to fail.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Identify the base conditions, not just the surface features, before copying.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Identify the base conditions, not just the surface features, before copying.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.