# despair (state)

a self-model representing every parameter as having a window that is closed, whether or not the actual parameters are within their range. The difficulty is that the report is about the model, yet it is experienced as a report about the world.

- Computed level: L15 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: emergent-mental  ·  Arena: self-modeling

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [self-model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive), [model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-model.representation), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [feedback](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-feedback.communication), [close](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-close.spatial), [report](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-report.information), [experience](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-experience.cognitive), [self](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self.personal), [world](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-world.place), [whether](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-whether.conditional), [yet](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-yet.temporal)

**Through:** a self-model generates feedback that misaligns with world-state

**Novel properties:**
- universal closure perception
- model-world attribution error
- temporal disjuncture in reporting

## Examples
- A diabetic patient ignores insulin readings during a hypoglycemic episode, perceiving all bodily signals as hopeless despite normal glucose levels returning. *(medicine)*
- In 2008, Lehman Brothers traders reported market collapse as inevitable, even as some indicators briefly stabilized, accelerating sell-offs. *(economics)*
- After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, Fukushima reactor operators assumed cooling systems were fully failed, delaying responses despite partial functionality. *(engineering)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-despair.state*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-despair.state.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*