Field Perturbation Dynamics — A Model of Structural Shock, Cascade Propagation, and System Recovery

Why are some shocks absorbed by a system, while others trigger structural collapse, paradigm shift, or cascading propagation? Why are large-scale systems often more resistant to disturbance, yet capable of releasing more violent secondary effects once their core structures are penetrated? This work proposes a dynamical model of structural perturbation, system recovery, and cascade propagation. The framework argues that perturbation is not ordinary noise, but a structural shock that exceeds a system’s normal processing threshold. Whether a perturbation produces long-term structural effects depends on compression strength, openness, stable differentiation capacity, and coupling relations among systems. The work further distinguishes absorptive perturbation, reconstructive perturbation, and core-splitting perturbation, and examines how shocks may trigger structural reorganization, path-dependent recovery, paradigm shift, system collapse, and cross-system cascade propagation. The model aims to provide a unified explanation for cognitive shock, paradigm revolution, crisis propagation, organizational restructuring, post-traumatic reorganization, complex system resilience, and cascading instability. This work belongs to the Field Chapters of On Self-Manifestation and focuses on perturbation, recovery, and propagation mechanisms in complex structured systems under non-stable conditions.