The physics, live

All 24 equations, interactive

Don't read about the physics — run it. Every equation from the book, with the book's own traffic-light benchmarks. None of these numbers care about your intentions. That's what makes them honest.

Act I — The Physics

Extinction Rate

R_ext · Ch 1

How fast generic work goes extinct. Above 5 you're landfill the moment tooling catches up.

Generic lines (a model regenerates in seconds)60

Authentic lines (carry human judgment)40

AI velocity (treat as gravity)2

Result3.00

Drifting generic. Raise the denominator — find the weird.

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Authenticity Half-Life

A_hl · Ch 1

How long your work resists being replicated by a machine. Higher is safer.

Taste6

Context6

Craft6

Replicability5

Result3.60

Half-life in months to years. A fingerprint the machine can't print.

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Theater Ratio

R_t · Ch 2

(Press releases + demo days) ÷ production deploys. Count deploys, not announcements.

Press releases / qtr6

Demo days / qtr4

Production deploys / qtr10

Result1.00

They ship. The announcements have work behind them.

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Vendor Gravity Force

F_g · Ch 2

Sunk cost × political capital ÷ migration effort². You can't fight the well; orbit it.

Sunk cost (1–10)7

Political capital invested (1–10)6

Migration effort (1–10)4

Result2.63

Movable. A replacement pitch can survive here.

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Entropy Tax

E_tax · Ch 2

Maintenance × e^(λt). The status quo is never free — read the curve, not a point.

Maintenance today ($K/yr)400

Decay constant λ0.2

Years out3

Result$729K/yr

Curve is bending (1.8×). Run the Financial Autopsy.

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Legacy Friction Coefficient

μ_leg · Ch 2

Years since last update ÷ pages of documentation. Obscure + terrifying = nobody will touch it.

Years since last real update8

Pages of documentation40

Result0.20

Mid friction. The docs are thinning while the years pile up.

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Technical Debt Compound Rate

D_comp · Ch 2

Bugs found ÷ bugs fixed. Above 1.0 the team is underwater.

Bugs found / wk40

Bugs fixed / wk30

Result1.33

Underwater. Don't pitch the blueprint to a drowning person. Be the bucket.

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Consensus Paralysis Factor

F_cp · Ch 2

Communication paths in a decision group — n(n−1)/2. Why big rooms can't decide.

People in the room9

Result36paths

Paralyzed. Committees are graveyards — shrink the deciding group or nothing ships.

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Curator Value Function

V_curator · Ch 3

(Signal selected ÷ noise available) × context depth. Sell the taste layer, not the generator.

Signal you select10

Noise available (×1000)500

Context depth (0–10)6

Result0.12

Real curation. As noise → ∞ this value explodes — if the context stays real.

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Authenticity Token

T_authentic · Ch 3

Human trust × 1/AI-substitutability. Prove you have context AI can't fake — that's the whole moat.

Human trust (0–10)6

AI substitutability (0.1–10)3

Result2.00

Holding, barely. Lower your substitutability before the next model release.

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Act II — The Protocol

Risk Tax

RT · Ch 4

(P_fail × cost of disaster) + (panic × career cost). The number running in their amygdala.

P(failure) they perceive0.3

Cost of disaster ($K)500

Panic factor (0–1)0.4

Career cost ($K)800

Result470

You're not selling features — you're lowering this number. Swap the fear-words.

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Decision Fatigue

DF · Ch 4

Decisions made ÷ glucose remaining. Why the 4pm 'no' is automatic.

Decisions made today40

Glucose remaining (0–10)4

Result10.00

Post-lunch. The default answer is drifting to 'no'.

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Dorian Gray Index

D_gray · Ch 5

(Dark-pattern revenue ÷ trust eroded) × time. Trust erodes exponentially, not linearly.

Revenue from dark patterns ($M/yr)20

Trust eroded (1–10)4

Quarters running6

Result30.00

The rot is spreading in the attic. Put this next to the growth dashboard.

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Soul Score

S_soul · Ch 5

Σ(human impact × honest intent). Intent is binary: +1 genuine, −1 exploitative. The Mirror Test, quantified.

Impact of honest features (Σ)20

Impact of exploitative features (Σ)10

Result10.00

Net positive. What you're smuggling is medicine.

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Reversibility Ratio

R_r · Ch 6

Blast radius ÷ rollback speed. Build the Kill Switch before the feature.

Blast radius (impact if it breaks)20

Rollback speed (higher = faster)40

Result0.50

Ship it. Hand the CIO the kill switch and say 'press it.'

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Wedge Velocity

V_w · Ch 7

(Acute pain × trust increment) ÷ adoption friction. If adoption needs procurement, your wedge is blunt.

Acute pain (0–10)8

Trust increment (0–10)5

Adoption friction (1–10)1

Result40.00

It moves, slowly. Find sharper pain or cut friction.

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Good Trouble Coefficient

GT · Ch 8

(Impact × values-alignment) ÷ (career risk + bureaucratic friction). Structural, not sentimental.

Impact of the change (0–10)7

Values alignment (0–10)8

Career risk (0–10)3

Bureaucratic friction (0–10)4

Result8.00

Go. This is the quiet kind of trouble that outlives the building.

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Insurgent Index

I_insurgent · Ch 8

Problems solved quietly ÷ credit claimed publicly. Give the credit away — your manager becomes your shield.

Problems solved quietly12

Credit claimed publicly4

Result3.00

Balanced — but the spotlight is a targeting laser.

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Legacy Liability

L_legacy · Ch 9

P × (1+r)^t. The cheapest option always looks expensive today. Show them what doing nothing costs.

Legacy cost today ($M/yr)2.5

Decay constant r0.17

Years out5

Result$5.48M/yr

Doubles in 4.4 years. That's $15,017/day of inaction — the fire under the chair.

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Self-Funding Coefficient

S_fc · Ch 9

(Human cost − AI cost) ÷ pilot cost. Above 10 the CFO is negligent not to buy.

Human cost of task ($K/yr)600

AI cost of task ($K/yr)120

Pilot cost ($K)60

Result8.00

Pays for itself. Pitch the CFO.

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Act III — The Invasion

Zombie Scorecard

Score · Ch 10

(Pain Owner ×5) + (Timeline ×3) + (Budget ×5), each 0–5. Is this deal alive, or are you selling to a corpse?

Pain Owner — a named human bleeds (0–5)3

Timeline — real by-when, real consequence (0–5)2

Budget Code — contact near the money (0–5)3

Result36/65

One vital sign missing. Find it before you spend another hour.

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Vaporware Index

I_v · Ch 10

Adjectives in the pitch ÷ live demo minutes. Works both ways — score yourself.

Adjectives in the pitch25

Live demo minutes10

Result2.50

Software, not slides. Proceed.

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Audit Defense Score

D_audit · Ch 11

(Certifications × scope) ÷ auditor fear. Make saying NO riskier than saying YES.

Cert weight (FedRAMP 10 · SOC2-II 7 · ISO 6 · pen test 3)10

Scope coverage (1–10)6

Auditor fear (1–10)3

Result20.00

Survivable — inherit compliance from your cloud and lower the fear to zero.

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Trust/Risk Ratio

T_r · Ch 12

(Traffic volume × uptime) ÷ incident severity. Run silent until the math is undeniable, then push the alert.

Traffic volume (K req/day)200

Uptime (days)120

Incident severity (Σ)5

Result4,800

Keep running silent. The math isn't undeniable yet.

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The formula sheet

#1 · Ch 1

Extinction Rate

R_{ext} = \frac{Lines_{generic}}{Lines_{authentic}} \times AI_{velocity}

#2 · Ch 1

Authenticity Half-Life

A_{hl} = \frac{Taste + Context + Craft}{Replicability}

#3 · Ch 2

Theater Ratio

R_t = \frac{Press\_Releases + Demo\_Days}{Production\_Deployments}

#4 · Ch 2

Vendor Gravity Force

F_g = \frac{Sunk\_Cost \times Political\_Capital}{Migration\_Effort^2}

#5 · Ch 2

Entropy Tax

E_{tax} = Maintenance \times e^{\lambda t}

#6 · Ch 2

Legacy Friction Coefficient

\mu_{leg} = \frac{Years\_Since\_Last\_Update}{Pages\_of\_Documentation}

#7 · Ch 2

Technical Debt Compound Rate

D_{comp} = \frac{Bugs\_Found}{Bugs\_Fixed}

#8 · Ch 2

Consensus Paralysis Factor

F_{cp} = \frac{n(n-1)}{2}

#9 · Ch 3

Curator Value Function

V_{curator} = \frac{Signal_{selected}}{Noise_{available}} \times Context_{depth}

#10 · Ch 3

Authenticity Token

T_{authentic} = Trust_{human} \times \frac{1}{Substitutability_{AI}}

#11 · Ch 4

Risk Tax

RT = (P_f \times C_d) + (T_{panic} \times C_{career})

#12 · Ch 4

Decision Fatigue

DF = \frac{Decisions_{made}}{Glucose_{remaining}}

#13 · Ch 5

Dorian Gray Index

D_{gray} = \frac{Revenue_{dark\text{-}pattern}}{Trust_{eroded}} \times Time

#14 · Ch 5

Soul Score

S_{soul} = \sum_{features}(Impact_{human} \times Intent_{honest})

#15 · Ch 6

Reversibility Ratio

R_r = \frac{Impact_{blast}}{Speed_{rollback}}

#16 · Ch 7

Wedge Velocity

V_w = \frac{Pain_{acute} \times Trust_{increment}}{Friction_{adopt}}

#17 · Ch 8

Good Trouble Coefficient

GT = \frac{Impact_{change} \times Alignment_{values}}{Risk_{career} + Friction_{bureaucracy}}

#18 · Ch 8

Insurgent Index

I_{insurgent} = \frac{Problems\_Solved_{quietly}}{Credit\_Claimed_{publicly}}

#19 · Ch 9

Legacy Liability

L_{legacy} = P \times (1 + r)^t

#20 · Ch 9

Self-Funding Coefficient

S_{fc} = \frac{Cost_{human} - Cost_{AI}}{Cost_{pilot}}

#21 · Ch 10

Zombie Scorecard

Score = (Pain\_Owner \times 5) + (Timeline \times 3) + (Budget\_Code \times 5)

#22 · Ch 10

Vaporware Index

I_v = \frac{Adjectives_{pitch}}{Live\_Demo\_Minutes}

#23 · Ch 11

Audit Defense Score

D_{audit} = \frac{Certifications \times Scope}{Auditor\_Fear}

#24 · Ch 12

Trust/Risk Ratio

T_r = \frac{Volume_{traffic} \times Time_{uptime}}{Severity_{incidents}}