Added user feedback to bicorder spec

.gitignore

@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 tmp
 analysis/venv
+.aider*

analysis/README.md

@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ The result was a CSV-formatted list of protocols (`protocols_edited.csv`, n=411)
 
 ### Initial diagnostic
 
+This diagnostic used the file now at `bicorder_analyzed.json`, though the scripts are set up to analyze `../bicorder.json`. That file has since been updated based on this analysis.
+
 For each row in the dataset, and on each gradient, a series of scripts prompts the LLM to apply each gradient to the protocol. The outputs are then added to a CSV output file.
 
 The result was a CSV-formatted list of protocols (`diagnostic_output.csv`, n=411).

analysis/bicorder_analyzed.json

@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+{
+  "name": "Protocol Bicorder",
+  "schema": "bicorder.schema.json",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "description": "A diagnostic tool for the study of protocols",
+  "author": "Nathan Schneider",
+  "date_modified": "YYYY-MM-DD",
+
+  "metadata": {
+      "protocol": null,
+      "analyst": null,
+      "standpoint": null,
+      "timestamp": null
+  },
+
+  "diagnostic": [
+    {
+      "set_name": "Design",
+      "set_description": "How the protocol is created and remembered",
+      "gradients": [
+        {
+          "term_left": "explicit",
+          "term_left_description": "The design is stated explicitly somewhere that is accessible to participants",
+          "term_right": "implicit",
+          "term_right_description": "The design is not stated explicitly but is learned by participants in another way",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "precise",
+          "term_left_description": "The design is specified with a high level of precision that eliminates ambiguity in implementation",
+          "term_right": "interpretive",
+          "term_right_description": "The design is ambiguous, allowing participants a wide range of interpretation",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "elite",
+          "term_left_description": "Design occurs through processes that involve powerful institutions and widespread recognition as normative",
+          "term_right": "vernacular",
+          "term_right_description": "Design occurs through evolving, peer-to-peer community interactions in order to suit participant-defined goals",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "documenting",
+          "term_left_description": "The primary purpose is to document or validate activity that is occurring",
+          "term_right": "enabling",
+          "term_right_description": "The primary purpose is to enable activity that might not happen otherwise",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "static",
+          "term_left_description": "Designed to be as fixed and unchanging as possible",
+          "term_right": "malleable",
+          "term_right_description": "Designed to be changed by participants according to evolving needs",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "technical",
+          "term_left_description": "Primarily concerned with interactions among technologies",
+          "term_right": "social",
+          "term_right_description": "Primarily concerned with interactions among people or groups",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "universal",
+          "term_left_description": "Addressed to a global audience",
+          "term_right": "particular",
+          "term_right_description": "Addressed to a specific community",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "durable",
+          "term_left_description": "Designed to be persistently available",
+          "term_right": "ephemeral",
+          "term_right_description": "Designed to vanish when no longer needed",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "set_name": "Entanglement",
+      "set_description": "How the protocol relates with participant agents",
+      "gradients": [
+        {
+          "term_left": "macro",
+          "term_left_description": "Operates at large scales involving many participants or broad scope",
+          "term_right": "micro",
+          "term_right_description": "Operates at small scales with few participants or narrow scope",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "sovereign",
+          "term_left_description": "A distinctive operating logic, not subject to any other entity",
+          "term_right": "subsidiary",
+          "term_right_description": "An operating logic under the control of a particular entity",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "self-enforcing",
+          "term_left_description": "Rules are automatically enforced through its own mechanisms",
+          "term_right": "enforced",
+          "term_right_description": "Rules require external enforcement by authorities or institutions",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "abstract",
+          "term_left_description": "Participants learn the protocol by studying it intellectually",
+          "term_right": "embodied",
+          "term_right_description": "Participants learn the protocol by physically practicing it",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "obligatory",
+          "term_left_description": "Participation is compulsory for a certain class of agents",
+          "term_right": "voluntary",
+          "term_right_description": "Participation in the protocol is optional and not coerced",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "flocking",
+          "term_left_description": "Coordination occurs through centralized direction or direct mimicry",
+          "term_right": "swarming",
+          "term_right_description": "Coordination occurs through distributed interactions without central direction",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "defensible",
+          "term_left_description": "Strong boundaries and protections against external influence",
+          "term_right": "exposed",
+          "term_right_description": "Weak boundaries and vulnerable to external influence",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "exclusive",
+          "term_left_description": "Excludes the use of other protocols that might be available to adopt",
+          "term_right": "non-exclusive",
+          "term_right_description": "Does not exclude the use of any other protocols",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "set_name": "Experience",
+      "set_description": "How the protocol is perceived in the context of its implementation",
+      "gradients": [
+        {
+          "term_left": "sufficient",
+          "term_left_description": "Adequately meets the needs and goals of participants",
+          "term_right": "insufficient",
+          "term_right_description": "Does not, on its own, adequately meet the needs and goals of participants",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "crystallized",
+          "term_left_description": "Content and meaning are settled and widely agreed upon",
+          "term_right": "contested",
+          "term_right_description": "Content and meaning are disputed or under debate",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "trust-evading",
+          "term_left_description": "Minimizes the need for trust among participants",
+          "term_right": "trust-inducing",
+          "term_right_description": "Relies on or cultivates trust among participants",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "predictable",
+          "term_left_description": "Produces expected and consistent outcomes",
+          "term_right": "emergent",
+          "term_right_description": "Produces unexpected or novel outcomes",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "exclusion",
+          "term_left_description": "The protocol creates barriers or excludes certain participants",
+          "term_right": "inclusion",
+          "term_right_description": "The protocol reduces barriers and includes diverse participants",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "Kafka",
+          "term_left_description": "Fosters experiences of absurd complexity, alienation, and powerlessness",
+          "term_right": "Whitehead",
+          "term_right_description": "Enables participants to carry out desired activities with less work or thought",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        },
+        {
+          "term_left": "dead",
+          "term_left_description": "Not actively utilized by relevant participants",
+          "term_right": "alive",
+          "term_right_description": "Actively utilized by relevant participants",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ],
+
+  "analysis": [
+      {
+          "term_left": "hardness",
+          "term_left_description": "The protocol tends toward properties characterized by hardness",
+          "term_right": "softness",
+          "term_right_description": "The protocol tends toward properties characterized by softness",
+          "instructions": "Take all the 'value' fields in the gradients above and determine a mean. Round it to the nearest integer. That is the 'value' here.",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+      },
+      {
+          "term_left": "polarized",
+          "term_left_description": "The analyst tended toward more extreme high or low readings",
+          "term_right": "centrist",
+          "term_right_description": "The analyst tended toward readings at the middle of the gradients",
+          "instructions": "Take all the 'value' fields in the gradients above. Assess their degree of polarization. For instance, if all the values are either 1 or 9, the output would be 1, and if all of them are 5, the output would be 9.",
+          "value": null,
+          "citation": null
+      }
+  ]
+}

ascii_bicorder.py

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import argparse
 import sys
 
 
-def center_text(text, width=80):
+def center_text(text, width):
     """Center text within a given width"""
     return text.center(width)
 
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ def format_gradient_bar(value):
     return "[" + "".join(bars) + "]"
 
 
-def format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, left_width=18, right_width=18):
+def format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, left_width, right_width, center_width):
     """
     Format a gradient line with proper spacing.
     Example: "       explicit < [|||||||||] > implicit      "
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, left_width=18, right_widt
     bar = format_gradient_bar(value)
     # Right-align the left term, add the bar, then left-align the right term
     line = f"{term_left.rjust(left_width)} < {bar} > {term_right.ljust(right_width)}"
-    return center_text(line)
+    return center_text(line, center_width)
 
 
 def format_metadata_field(field_value, field_name):
@@ -74,41 +74,65 @@ def generate_bicorder_text(json_data):
         max_left_width = max(max_left_width, len(term_left))
         max_right_width = max(max_right_width, len(term_right))
 
+    # Calculate the width needed for centering
+    # Gradient line format: "{left_term} < [|||||||||] > {right_term}"
+    # That's: max_left_width + 3 + 11 + 3 + max_right_width
+    gradient_line_width = max_left_width + max_right_width + 17
+
+    # Also check metadata and headers
+    metadata = json_data.get("metadata", {})
+    max_text_width = max(
+        len("Protocol"),
+        len("BICORDER"),
+        len(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("protocol"), "Protocol")),
+        len(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("analyst"), "Analyst")),
+        len(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("standpoint"), "Standpoint")),
+        len(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("timestamp"), "Timestamp")),
+        len("ANALYSIS")
+    )
+
+    # Check diagnostic set names
+    for diagnostic_set in json_data.get("diagnostic", []):
+        set_name = diagnostic_set.get("set_name", "").upper()
+        max_text_width = max(max_text_width, len(set_name))
+
+    # Use the maximum of gradient line width and text width
+    center_width = max(gradient_line_width, max_text_width)
+
     # Header
-    lines.append(center_text("Protocol"))
-    lines.append(center_text("BICORDER"))
+    lines.append(center_text("Protocol", center_width))
+    lines.append(center_text("BICORDER", center_width))
     lines.append("")
 
     # Metadata section
-    metadata = json_data.get("metadata", {})
-    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("protocol"), "Protocol")))
-    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("analyst"), "Analyst")))
-    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("standpoint"), "Standpoint")))
-    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("timestamp"), "Timestamp")))
+    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("protocol"), "Protocol"), center_width))
+    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("analyst"), "Analyst"), center_width))
+    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("standpoint"), "Standpoint"), center_width))
+    lines.append(center_text(format_metadata_field(metadata.get("timestamp"), "Timestamp"), center_width))
     lines.append("")
 
     # Diagnostic sections
     for diagnostic_set in json_data.get("diagnostic", []):
         set_name = diagnostic_set.get("set_name", "").upper()
-        lines.append(center_text(set_name))
+        lines.append(center_text(set_name, center_width))
 
         for gradient in diagnostic_set.get("gradients", []):
             term_left = gradient.get("term_left", "")
             term_right = gradient.get("term_right", "")
             value = gradient.get("value")
 
-            lines.append(format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, max_left_width, max_right_width))
+            lines.append(format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, max_left_width, max_right_width, center_width))
 
         lines.append("")
 
     # Analysis section
-    lines.append(center_text("ANALYSIS"))
+    lines.append(center_text("ANALYSIS", center_width))
     for analysis_item in json_data.get("analysis", []):
         term_left = analysis_item.get("term_left", "")
         term_right = analysis_item.get("term_right", "")
         value = analysis_item.get("value")
 
-        lines.append(format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, max_left_width, max_right_width))
+        lines.append(format_gradient_line(term_left, term_right, value, max_left_width, max_right_width, center_width))
 
     lines.append("")
 

bicorder.json

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 {
   "name": "Protocol Bicorder",
   "schema": "bicorder.schema.json",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "version": "1.1.0",
   "description": "A diagnostic tool for the study of protocols",
   "author": "Nathan Schneider",
-  "date_modified": "YYYY-MM-DD",
+  "date_modified": "2025-11-21",
 
   "metadata": {
       "protocol": null,
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
           "term_right": "implicit",
           "term_right_description": "The design is not stated explicitly but is learned by participants in another way",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "precise",
@@ -32,15 +32,15 @@
           "term_right": "interpretive",
           "term_right_description": "The design is ambiguous, allowing participants a wide range of interpretation",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
-          "term_left": "elite",
+          "term_left": "institutional",
           "term_left_description": "Design occurs through processes that involve powerful institutions and widespread recognition as normative",
           "term_right": "vernacular",
           "term_right_description": "Design occurs through evolving, peer-to-peer community interactions in order to suit participant-defined goals",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "documenting",
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
           "term_right": "enabling",
           "term_right_description": "The primary purpose is to enable activity that might not happen otherwise",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "static",
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
           "term_right": "malleable",
           "term_right_description": "Designed to be changed by participants according to evolving needs",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "technical",
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@
           "term_right": "social",
           "term_right_description": "Primarily concerned with interactions among people or groups",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "universal",
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@
           "term_right": "particular",
           "term_right_description": "Addressed to a specific community",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "durable",
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
           "term_right": "ephemeral",
           "term_right_description": "Designed to vanish when no longer needed",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         }
       ]
     },
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
           "term_right": "micro",
           "term_right_description": "Operates at small scales with few participants or narrow scope",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "sovereign",
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@
           "term_right": "subsidiary",
           "term_right_description": "An operating logic under the control of a particular entity",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "self-enforcing",
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@
           "term_right": "enforced",
           "term_right_description": "Rules require external enforcement by authorities or institutions",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "abstract",
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
           "term_right": "embodied",
           "term_right_description": "Participants learn the protocol by physically practicing it",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "obligatory",
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@
           "term_right": "voluntary",
           "term_right_description": "Participation in the protocol is optional and not coerced",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "flocking",
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@
           "term_right": "swarming",
           "term_right_description": "Coordination occurs through distributed interactions without central direction",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "defensible",
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@
           "term_right": "exposed",
           "term_right_description": "Weak boundaries and vulnerable to external influence",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "exclusive",
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
           "term_right": "non-exclusive",
           "term_right_description": "Does not exclude the use of any other protocols",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         }
       ]
     },
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@
           "term_right": "insufficient",
           "term_right_description": "Does not, on its own, adequately meet the needs and goals of participants",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "crystallized",
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@
           "term_right": "contested",
           "term_right_description": "Content and meaning are disputed or under debate",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "trust-evading",
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@
           "term_right": "trust-inducing",
           "term_right_description": "Relies on or cultivates trust among participants",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "predictable",
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@
           "term_right": "emergent",
           "term_right_description": "Produces unexpected or novel outcomes",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "exclusion",
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@
           "term_right": "inclusion",
           "term_right_description": "The protocol reduces barriers and includes diverse participants",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "Kafka",
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@
           "term_right": "Whitehead",
           "term_right_description": "Enables participants to carry out desired activities with less work or thought",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         },
         {
           "term_left": "dead",
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@
           "term_right": "alive",
           "term_right_description": "Actively utilized by relevant participants",
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
         }
       ]
     }
@@ -225,8 +225,9 @@
           "term_right": "softness",
           "term_right_description": "The protocol tends toward properties characterized by softness",
           "instructions": "Take all the 'value' fields in the gradients above and determine a mean. Round it to the nearest integer. That is the 'value' here.",
+          "automated": true,
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
       },
       {
           "term_left": "polarized",
@@ -234,8 +235,19 @@
           "term_right": "centrist",
           "term_right_description": "The analyst tended toward readings at the middle of the gradients",
           "instructions": "Take all the 'value' fields in the gradients above. Assess their degree of polarization. For instance, if all the values are either 1 or 9, the output would be 1, and if all of them are 5, the output would be 9.",
+          "automated": true,
           "value": null,
-          "citation": null
+          "notes": null
+      },
+      {
+          "term_left": "not useful",
+          "term_left_description": "The bicorder was not useful or relevant for analyzing this protocol",
+          "term_right": "very useful",
+          "term_right_description": "The bicorder was very useful and relevant for analyzing this protocol",
+          "instructions": "Evaluate the usefulness of this bicorder as a tool for analyzing this protocol, considering whether the gradient terms seemed revealing or irrelevant.",
+          "automated": false,
+          "value": null,
+          "notes": null
       }
   ]
 }

bicorder.txt

@@ -20,10 +20,11 @@
          macro < [|||||||||] > micro         
      sovereign < [|||||||||] > subsidiary    
 self-enforcing < [|||||||||] > enforced      
-                       analyzed < [|||||||||] > embodied                        
+      abstract < [|||||||||] > embodied      
     obligatory < [|||||||||] > voluntary     
       flocking < [|||||||||] > swarming      
     defensible < [|||||||||] > exposed       
+     exclusive < [|||||||||] > non-exclusive 
 
                   EXPERIENCE                 
     sufficient < [|||||||||] > insufficient