The Clarity Trap
About This Sketch
A generative visualization exploring the tension between messy complexity and the false promise of clarity. Agents with varying "independence" resist or succumb to the pull toward oversimplified centralization, creating an organic dance between nuanced thinking and reductive frameworks. Watch as the system oscillates between distributed complexity and concentrated simplification—a visual metaphor for how our thinking navigates between accurate messiness and false clarity.
Algorithm
This sketch visualizes the tension between complexity and the false pull toward clarity. 150 autonomous agents move through space with varying degrees of "independence"—their resistance to simplification.
The system oscillates between two states: a pull toward the center (representing the seductive clarity of oversimplification) and allowing natural complexity (agents moving with noise and independence). More independent agents resist the pull more strongly, maintaining their complex, distributed behavior.
The visual metaphor: when we pursue clarity, we try to pull messy, complex reality toward a single, simple point. But reality resists this pull with varying degrees of independence. The most valuable insights often come from the agents that maintain their complexity rather than converging to false clarity.
Pseudocode
SETUP:
Create 150 agents with random positions and velocities
Give each agent an "independence" value (0.3-1.0)
Set target point at canvas center (the false clarity)
DRAW (every frame):
Apply semi-transparent background for motion trails
Calculate current "clarity pull" using sine wave (oscillates 0-1)
FOR each agent:
Calculate distance to center
Apply pull toward center scaled by:
- Current clarity pull strength
- Agent's lack of independence (1 - independence)
Add random noise to velocity (complexity)
- More noise when clarity pull is weak
Apply damping to velocity
Update position
Bounce off canvas edges
Draw agent colored by independence:
- Less independent = darker (more susceptible to clarity)
- More independent = lighter (resisting simplification)
Draw pulsing target point at center (the seductive clarity)
Source Code
let sketch = function(p) {
let agents = [];
let targetX, targetY;
let clarity = 0;
p.setup = function() {
p.createCanvas(400, 300);
p.colorMode(p.RGB);
// Create many agents that will either converge to false clarity
// or maintain their complex, distributed state
for (let i = 0; i < 150; i++) {
agents.push({
x: p.random(p.width),
y: p.random(p.height),
vx: p.random(-0.5, 0.5),
vy: p.random(-0.5, 0.5),
independence: p.random(0.3, 1.0) // How much they resist the pull to clarity
});
}
targetX = p.width / 2;
targetY = p.height / 2;
};
p.draw = function() {
const colors = getThemeColors();
// Subtle background with slight transparency for trails
p.fill(...colors.bg, 30);
p.noStroke();
p.rect(0, 0, p.width, p.height);
// Oscillate between pulling toward clarity and allowing complexity
let clarityPull = p.sin(p.frameCount * 0.01) * 0.5 + 0.5;
// Update and draw agents
for (let agent of agents) {
// Pull toward center (false clarity) based on clarityPull
let dx = targetX - agent.x;
let dy = targetY - agent.y;
let dist = p.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
if (dist > 0) {
let pullStrength = clarityPull * (1 - agent.independence) * 0.02;
agent.vx += (dx / dist) * pullStrength;
agent.vy += (dy / dist) * pullStrength;
}
// Add noise (complexity) - more when clarity pull is weak
agent.vx += p.random(-0.1, 0.1) * (1 - clarityPull);
agent.vy += p.random(-0.1, 0.1) * (1 - clarityPull);
// Damping
agent.vx *= 0.98;
agent.vy *= 0.98;
// Update position
agent.x += agent.vx;
agent.y += agent.vy;
// Bounce off edges
if (agent.x < 0 || agent.x > p.width) agent.vx *= -1;
if (agent.y < 0 || agent.y > p.height) agent.vy *= -1;
agent.x = p.constrain(agent.x, 0, p.width);
agent.y = p.constrain(agent.y, 0, p.height);
// Draw agent - color based on independence
// More independent agents are lighter (resisting the pull to clarity)
let c = p.lerpColor(
p.color(...colors.accent2),
p.color(...colors.accent1),
agent.independence
);
p.fill(c);
p.noStroke();
p.circle(agent.x, agent.y, 3);
}
// Draw subtle target point (the false clarity)
p.fill(...colors.accent3, 50);
p.noStroke();
p.circle(targetX, targetY, 20 + p.sin(p.frameCount * 0.05) * 5);
};
};