u/6xyz

I’m working on a project that models a set of interacting variables, 42 of them, as a coupled network. I’m trying to explore how changes propagate and whether meaningful emergent behavior can arise. I mostly want to see if it can feel realistic enough to display it at public events.

Each variable is represented as a node with a normalized state, and changes get directed through weighted pathways between nodes. Each connection can behave differently depending on the interaction, by using nonlinear response functions (linear, sigmoid, saturation, polynomial, etc.).

When one variable is changed, the effects 'ripple' through the network in a damped way, creating cascades that eventually settle into a new equilibrium.

The goal isn’t to predict real-world outcomes, I recognize the impossibility there, but rather it is to explore how interconnected systems behave when many variables influence each other simultaneously. I chose to use Society as the mirror because I thought it was the most intriguing.

Now, I’m trying to understand whether this type of structure is capable of producing meaningful or insightful emergent behavior, or if it risks being too arbitrary or overly dependent on chosen weights.

I’d really appreciate input on:

- Whether this kind of network structure is a reasonable way to explore complex systems

- Whether there are known frameworks or models I should study

- What pitfalls I should watch out for

There’s more detail (including math and implementation) in the repo if helpful:

https://github.com/thesoundofcolor/society-v1

(Check the whitepaper out for the overview, or just ask me anything and I'll try to respond swiftly)

I’m less concerned with being “correct” right now and more interested in understanding whether this approach is fundamentally sound or misleading.

Image of panel (rear) where I am using 5 sliders to test out hardware, instead of the total 42

Hey everyone, I’m looking for feedback on my current project: Society V1

I’ve been working on a physical control system, built around an STM32, that uses motorized sliders (the faders that are used on mixing boards) to represent interacting variables and their states.

Each slider acts as a node in a network; when one is moved, the system propagates the change across the others, transforming their states based on weighted relationships. The STM32 handles the control loop and handling state changes, while also driving the motors to reflect the updated system (I may use something else to increase compute later on, if needed).

For the motorized faders, I’m currently using Behringer MF100T sliders, but I’ve also been looking at the Alps Alpine RSA0N11M9A0J as a lower-cost alternative since they appear to be very similar. If anyone has experience with either, I’d love to hear your thoughts on reliability or control characteristics.

This is still a work in progress, and I’ve been questioning a lot of my design decisions as the system grows. I’d really appreciate any thoughts or concerns from people with more experience in embedded systems.

Specifically, I’d love input on:

- Managing multiple motorized faders efficiently

- Control loop stability and responsiveness

- Scaling this architecture to a larger number of channels

- Anything that looks like a bad idea before I go further

But I'm open to all feedback, advice, technical criticism, suggestions, or general impressions. Encouragement is welcome too, I won’t pretend it isn’t! 😄

EVERYTHING is in my repo but please ask me anything you want and I will try to do my best at responding swiftly.

This is my first real GitHub repo, so I’m also open to feedback on structure and organization.

Repo: https://github.com/thesoundofcolor/society-v1

Rear shot of the prototype [v2.2] that only uses 5 sliders instead of the full 42