Coupling Effect
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Coupling is the relation between two or more systems or variables in which each influences and constrains the other, so a change in one produces a change in the other. The links may be physical, informational, or feedback-based, and their strength decides behavior: strong coupling transmits disturbances quickly and directly, while weak coupling isolates them. The core claim is that the whole does not equal the sum of its parts, and that many failures have their root in couplings that look unrelated but are in fact tight.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Surface hidden links: draw the connections between modules and departments before changing anything at all. - Grade the coupling: tighten it where coordination is needed, decouple it where risk must be isolated. - Monitor the nodes: watch the coupling points as the early-warning system.
Anchor fast decisions
A disturbance entering one part travels along the links that join it to others, and the transmission path exists whether or not anyone has mapped it; under strong coupling the signal arrives fast and amplified, so a local fault cascades, while weak coupling absorbs or blocks the same signal, which is why isolation can be a deliberate design choice.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(physicsverified
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