Josh Plovanic's Writings and Thoughts

  Words-as-Fields Toward a Field Theory of Meaning, Mind, and Reality I. Opening Orientation: From Objects to Fields Human thought has long treated words as objects . Discrete. Finite. Contained. Defined. A word is written. A word is spoken. A word is looked up. Yet this object-model quietly fails us everywhere that meaning matters most. No one experiences a word as merely a symbol. We experience it as a force . A single word can: calm or enrage heal or wound orient or disorient liberate or imprison construct worlds or collapse them This is the first clue that words are not inert tokens. They behave less like particles—and far more like fields . II. What Is a Field? (Mathematical & Physical Grounding) In mathematics and physics, a field is not a thing. It is a structure of influence . A field: exists across space assigns values to locations exerts force without being localized is not reducible to a single point Examples: Gravitational fields ...

  Discomfort Literacy A Thorough Explanatory Paper You Can Teach, Practice, and Innovate With Abstract Discomfort literacy is the learned ability to recognize , interpret , and respond skillfully to discomfort—physical, emotional, cognitive, and social—without automatically avoiding it, numbing it, escalating it, or mislabeling it. Like reading literacy, it includes vocabulary (naming sensations precisely), comprehension (understanding what the signal means), and composition (choosing a deliberate response that improves outcomes). This paper gives you: A rigorous definition and why it matters A map of discomfort types and the most common misreads A complete skill model (micro-skills, diagnostics, levels) A training system you can practice daily A teaching curriculum (lesson plans, drills, scoring) A set of innovation frameworks so you can evolve it into your own doctrine 1) The Core Idea Discomfort literacy is built on one principle: Discomfort is data,...

  ANTIFRAGILITY TRAINING A Comprehensive Manual for Building Systems, Minds, Souls, and Lives That Grow Stronger Under Stress INTRODUCTION — WHAT ANTIFRAGILITY REALLY IS (AND WHAT IT IS NOT) Most people misunderstand strength. They think strength means: resisting damage avoiding failure maintaining stability staying safe That is fragility wearing armor . Others believe resilience is the pinnacle: endure stress recover after damage “bounce back” Resilience is better—but it still assumes damage is bad . Antifragility is different. Antifragile systems do not merely survive stress—they require it to improve. The Three Conditions Fragile – breaks under stress Robust/Resilient – resists or recovers from stress Antifragile – improves because of stress Antifragility is not toughness. Antifragility is evolution engineered on purpose . PART I — THE CORE LAWS OF ANTIFRAGILITY Law 1: Stress Is Information Stress reveals: weak points blind spots false...

I. FOUNDATIONAL TROUBLESHOOTING LAWS (Meta-Skills) These govern all effective problem-solving. Problem Definition Precision If you can’t define the problem cleanly, you’re fixing symptoms, not causes. Distinguishing Signal from Noise Separate what matters from what’s merely loud, emotional, or distracting. First Principles Decomposition Break the issue down until you hit irreducible truths. Root Cause Analysis (5-Whys Thinking) Ask “why?” until the real failure mechanism appears. Constraint Identification Determine what cannot be changed—this defines the battlefield. Assumption Auditing Explicitly list assumptions and test which ones are false. Problem Reframing Translate the problem into multiple frames (mechanical, emotional, ethical, strategic). Failure Mode Enumeration Ask: “How could this break?” before asking how to fix it. State vs Process Awareness Is this a broken condition or a broken process ? Map–Territory Differentiation Separ...