Convergence: Pattern Merging in Expertise and a Speculative Account of Connection, Isolation, and Ending

I propose convergence as an account of association: initially separate ideas, experiences, orperspectives coming to relate and, in a specified setting, approaching a common destination. Thisis the weakest and most speculative hypothesis in my connected manuscripts. I distinguish ameaningful experience of connection from evidence that a relation is reciprocal, compatible,correct, or safe. Existing work on expertise, analogy, generalization, and insight motivates alimited psychological inquiry, but it does not establish an inevitable movement of all livestoward unity. I propose a group-puzzle study that separately preregisters interpersonalagreement, correctness, and movement toward an independently specified external destination. Aresult on one cannot be relabeled after the fact as success on another. The design comparesstructured integration with matched information exposure, collects private revisions, and allowspolarization, stable difference, and shared error to count against specified predictions. Broaderreflections on autonomy, isolation, non-existence, and Samsara remain philosophicalalternatives; the puzzle cannot validate them. Convergence does not act for a person, remove theneed for action, or justify surrendering boundaries. No new data are reported.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24066636
Primary Topic
Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
Type
preprint
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preprint

Convergence: Pattern Merging in Expertise and a Speculative Account of Connection, Isolation, and Ending

Cole David Withington
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
preprint

Convergence: Pattern Merging in Expertise and a Speculative Account of Connection, Isolation, and Ending

Cole David Withington
preprint en

Abstract

I propose convergence as an account of association: initially separate ideas, experiences, orperspectives coming to relate and, in a specified setting, approaching a common destination. Thisis the weakest and most speculative hypothesis in my connected manuscripts. I distinguish ameaningful experience of connection from evidence that a relation is reciprocal, compatible,correct, or safe. Existing work on expertise, analogy, generalization, and insight motivates alimited psychological inquiry, but it does not establish an inevitable movement of all livestoward unity. I propose a group-puzzle study that separately preregisters interpersonalagreement, correctness, and movement toward an independently specified external destination. Aresult on one cannot be relabeled after the fact as success on another. The design comparesstructured integration with matched information exposure, collects private revisions, and allowspolarization, stable difference, and shared error to count against specified predictions. Broaderreflections on autonomy, isolation, non-existence, and Samsara remain philosophicalalternatives; the puzzle cannot validate them. Convergence does not act for a person, remove theneed for action, or justify surrendering boundaries. No new data are reported.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Portland State University (US)
Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
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