Reading Guide

Definition. Reading Guide is the shortest path through the system: a map that tells you what each layer does and what to read first.

This matters because the site is designed as a documentation structure, not a timeline. Without a guided path, readers often treat pages as isolated essays and miss the intended sequence.

This page gives a recommended first sequence, an alternative reading mode for returning readers, and a simple rule for deciding where a topic belongs.

Beginner sequence (recommended first read)

1. Foundations → Overview
2. Foundations → Space Is Felt Before It Is Seen
3. Foundations → Space as Psychological Infrastructure
4. Mechanisms → Overview
5. Mechanisms → Slow-Acting Background Regulation
6. Mechanisms → Visual Density and Cognitive Load
7. Conditions → Overview
8. Conditions → When Continuation Is No Longer Neutral

Two ways to read

Mode A — Learn the vocabulary (first visit).
Start in Foundations, then read Mechanisms, then Conditions. Treat this like definitions → dynamics → thresholds.

Mode B — Use it as reference (returning).
Start from the most relevant Overview page (Foundations/Mechanisms/Conditions) and follow internal links. You do not need to read linearly once the structure is familiar.

Where a page belongs

Use this rule:

• If the page defines terms or first principles, it belongs in Foundations.
• If it explains accumulation over time or perceptual mechanics, it belongs in Mechanisms.
• If it describes a threshold state—when “continuation becomes non-neutral”—it belongs in Conditions.