The Phantom Limb Test

Hypothesis: If we delete a high-resonance function, will its semantic "ghost" remain visible?

Experiment

Deleted function xa (React Fiber Reconciler) with 127 edges from the TodoMVC graph, then recomputed spectral signature.

Results

• Eigenvalue correlation: 1.000000 (perfect preservation)
• Ghost resonances persisted among xa's former partners
• Functions that coupled through xa now showed direct coupling

Interpretation

Information is distributed non-locally in phase space.

Deleting syntax doesn't delete semantics. The "shape of the absence" persists.

Connection to Terrence Deacon

This validates Deacon's concept of the absential—constraint-based causation where what's NOT there shapes what IS.

When we delete function xa:

• The syntax is gone (particle removed)
• The semantic "shape" persists (wave continues)
• The absence is causally active (other nodes resonate where xa "should" be)

Related: Absential Causation, Holographic Information, Non-Local Encoding