Ffellonics: A Geometric and Thermodynamic Visualisation of Fragmenting Reality

In their 2022 book Fragmenting Reality: An Essay on Passage, Causality and Time Travel, Samuele Iaquinto and Giuliano Torrengo defend Flow Fragmentalism — a sophisticated form of fragmentalism that treats reality as inherently fragmented into multiple, internally coherent but mutually incompatible “fragments.” Passage of time is real and robust, not illusory. Different fragments disagree about what is present, past, or future, yet all fragments have equal metaphysical status. The flow of time emerges from the dynamic links between these fragments, allowing a genuine “push from the past and pull from the future” while addressing challenges from causation, special relativity, and time travel.Ffellonics offers a striking geometric and thermodynamic visualisation of this fragmented, dynamic conception of reality.The Fragmented yet Ordered Emergence in FfellonicsFfellonics is a 12-Level relational emergence hierarchy generated by identical spheres attaching symmetrically to maximise contacts while minimising free energy. It begins with the first ontological touch (Level 1) and progresses cumulatively through Platonic milestones (tetrahedron at Level 3, octahedron at Level 4, icosahedron at Level 5) to the stable 12-fold coordination lattice (FCC/HCP) at Level 12.At each Level, the configuration is the lowest-free-energy, symmetry-maximizing state possible from the previous one. However, from the perspective of any single Level, the full hierarchy appears “fragmented”:

Earlier Levels are no longer fully “present” in the same way once higher Levels have emerged.
Each Level constitutes its own internally coherent relational structure, yet it is incompatible with the global symmetry and coordination of later Levels.
The natural, unnoticed pace drives the irreversible transition from one Level to the next, creating a clear sense of passage — the lower configuration “passes” into the higher one.

This mirrors Flow Fragmentalism: reality is not a single, globally coherent block, but a series of fragments (Levels) that are internally consistent while disagreeing about the overall state of affairs. The flow is primitive yet explained by the cumulative links between successive fragments.Thermodynamics as the Engine of Fragmented PassageIn Ffellonics, the driver of passage is the inseparable unity of local free-energy minimization and entropy production. Each attachment lowers free energy locally while exporting entropy, making the progression dissipative, self-reinforcing, and effectively irreversible.This provides a concrete visualisation of how robust passage can arise in a fragmented reality:

The “push from the past” corresponds to the cumulative grounding of each new Level in the attachments of previous Levels.
The “pull from the future” is reflected in the thermodynamic imperative that pulls the system toward the global minimum at Level 12 — the stable ground state of maximal relational harmony.
Causality emerges naturally as the ordered succession of attachments: each Level causally grounds the next through the single local rule, without requiring a global coherent timeline.

The finite depth of the hierarchy (exactly 12 Levels) combined with infinite lateral extension at Level 12 elegantly captures the tension between fragmentation and ultimate stability that Iaquinto and Torrengo explore in relation to time travel and relativity.Philosophical ResonanceFfellonics resonates strongly with the Whiteheadian undertones implicit in dynamic theories of time. Each attachment can be seen as an “actual occasion” of prehension and concrescence — a relational act that contributes to the concrescence of higher unities while leaving earlier configurations as completed but no longer fully “present” fragments.Where Flow Fragmentalism uses logical and metaphysical fragmentation to preserve objective passage, Ffellonics renders the same idea in pure geometry and thermodynamics: reality fragments into successive relational configurations, yet the intrinsic pace ensures a directed, irreversible flow toward maximal coordination and harmony.ConclusionFfellonics does not replace the sophisticated logical apparatus of Fragmenting Reality. Instead, it provides a vivid, intuitive geometric and thermodynamic visualisation of its core insight: reality is fragmented, passage is robust and real, and the dynamism of time arises from the relations between incompatible but successively grounded fragments.In Ffellonics, the 12-Level hierarchy visualises how a simple local rule can generate ordered, cumulative becoming — finite in hierarchical depth, infinite in harmonious extension — while preserving the fragmented yet flowing character of temporal reality.It offers a powerful bridge between abstract metaphysics of time and concrete relational emergence, showing that the fragmentation of reality need not lead to chaos, but can instead culminate in stable, maximal relational harmony.This geometric lens makes the elegant yet counter-intuitive picture painted by Iaquinto and Torrengo more tangible: time truly passes because reality itself emerges, level by level, through an intrinsic thermodynamic drive toward ever-greater ordered connection.

Ffellonics: A Geometric and Thermodynamic Visualisation of Fragmenting Reality

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