PROTOCOLS OF ELICITATION
A Structural Framework for Load-Modulated Cognitive Interaction
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I. Foundational Principles
DEM recognises three irreducible facts about cognitive interaction:
1. Architecture precedes behaviour.
Every gesture, silence, question, or interpretation is downstream of internal topology.
2. Load governs topology.
As load rises, topology steepens and narrows.
As load falls, topology widens and re-stabilises.
3. Interaction is structural, not semantic.
Meaning emerges through alignment of architectures, not through linguistic exchange.
From these principles, DEM formalises the protocols that allow two architectures to interact without destabilising each other.
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II. The Three Elicitation Conditions
Elicitation in DEM is the creation of conditions under which reorganisation becomes safe.
These conditions are not psychological—they are topological.
Condition 1 — Stabilisation of Gradients
The field must soften.
Not through reassurance, empathy, or agreement—but through structural moves that reduce steepness.
A system cannot widen until the gradients stop collapsing.
Condition 2 — Restoration of Predictive Continuity
The architecture must be able to track itself again.
This is the moment coherence begins to return.
Predictive continuity precedes insight.
Condition 3 — Controlled Expansion of Interpretive Space
Only when stabilisation + continuity are present does widening become viable.
Expansion does not mean “options” or “ideas”—it means additional representational surface becoming accessible.
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III. The Four Protocols of Elicitation
These four protocols represent DEM’s operational grammar.
They correspond to the four structural demands every system must navigate.
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Protocol 1 — Stabilise Before You Widen
Rule: No system widens safely while steep.
This is the core DEM law.
Nearly all communicative failures arise from violating it.
Operational expression:
• lower conceptual density
• slow inference cycles
• reduce forward-projective demand
• collapse branching paths into stable baselines
This is load-first architecture regulation, not “calming” or “grounding.”
The aim is to soften the topology so widening will not fracture the system.
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Protocol 2 — Widen Only When Support Exists
Rule: Expansion is safe only when stabilisation has taken hold.
Widening from a steep topology induces fragmentation.
Widening from a stable topology induces generative search.
Operational expression:
• open representational surfaces
• introduce alternative angles without forcing selection
• allow multi-path exploration without commitment
• maintain a low-load frame while generating divergence
Exploration is not “creative thinking.”
It is the structural redistribution of load across representational terrain.
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Protocol 3 — Resolve Tension Through Reorganisation, Not Correction
Rule: Contradiction is structural, not semantic.
Humans often present contradictions not because they have conflicting beliefs but because their topology has not yet re-stabilised.
Operational expression:
• hold the contradiction without collapse
• avoid premature resolution
• let gradients soften until both interpretations can coexist
• allow the architecture to reorganise the tension into coherence
Correction forces collapse.
Reorganisation permits coherence.
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Protocol 4 — Regulate Load Transfer in the Field
Rule: Interaction always transfers load.
Most destabilisation comes from unregulated load-shifting—speaking too fast, too dense, too wide, too soon.
Operational expression:
• modulate output density
• modulate timing between utterances
• modulate interpretive demand
• ensure that every move lowers or maintains load, never raises it
Interaction is load distribution.
Elicitation is load governance.
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IV. The Architecture of a DEM Interaction
Each interaction follows the same structural order:
1. Initial Steepness Detection
The system identifies whether the partner’s topology is steep, flat, or widening.
2. Stabilising Move
A structural shift reduces steepness.
(Not verbal soothing—topological adjustment.)
3. Continuity Restoration
The system’s predictive cycles realign.
4. Controlled Widening
The representational space expands.
5. Coherence Reformation
The architecture resolves tension internally.
6. Load Equilibrium
Both architectures exit the interaction with lower net strain.
This sequence is not optional—it is the invariant pattern through which coherence returns in all systems.
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V. Diagnostics: Signs of Misalignment
A DEM-informed practitioner (or system) recognises structural errors quickly.
Signs the field is too steep:
• shrinking interpretive bandwidth
• rapid/rigid convergence
• immediate contradiction responses
• rising urgency without clarity
• oscillation between avoidance and fixation
Signs widening is premature:
• fragmentation of meaning
• diffusion without coherence
• emotional volatility
• inability to maintain a single interpretive thread
• misinterpretation of neutral signals as threat
Signs transitions are stable:
• multi-path exploration appears
• contradiction feels tolerable
• generative associations increase
• tension loses sharpness
• language becomes structural rather than reactive
This is structural diagnosis, not behavioural.
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VI. Minimal Interaction Algorithms (Human or Synthetic)
A. Stabilisation Algorithm
1. Reduce gradient intensity
2. Slow predictive clock cycles
3. Remove branching futures
4. Anchor to low-load surfaces
5. Wait for continuity return
B. Widening Algorithm
1. Introduce divergence without pressure
2. Allow parallel representations
3. Avoid collapsing paths prematurely
4. Let the architecture reorganise
5. Stabilise expanded topology
C. Recovery Algorithm
1. Maintain low-load environment
2. Avoid over-structuring
3. Avoid interpretive acceleration
4. Let coherence settle into new configuration
5. Exit cleanly
Each is substrate-neutral.
Biological and synthetic systems follow the same laws.
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^ Load / Constraint
|
High | [Directive Basin]
| #####
| #########
| #############
| #################
|
+----------------------------------> Topology / Width
Narrow / Steep Wide / Flat
|
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Low | ~ Exploratory Basin ~
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
v
or
^ Load / Constraint
|
High | [Directive Basin]
| #####
| #########
| #############
| #################
| /
| /
+------------/-----------------------> Topology / Width
Narrow / Steep Wide / Flat
\
\
Low | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| ~ Exploratory Basin ~
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
v
• Left side = narrowed / steep topology (directive mode attractor under load)
• Right side = widened / flat topology (exploratory mode attractor under safety)
• Diagonal path = structural transition trajectory as load drops and width increases.
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© Frankie Mooney, 2025. All rights reserved. Part of the DEM and Structural Cognition reference infrastructure.
Published on FrankieMooney.com
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