The Universal & Atomic Elements of Organization
A falsifiable scientific theory proposing that the same irreducible structures organize both thought and reality — from the quantum to the social scale.
O-Theory proposes that four irreducible structures — Distinctions, Systems, Relationships and Perspectives (DSRP) — form the universal grammar of organization. Rather than being merely useful ways of thinking, these structures are hypothesized to be the atomic elements from which every organized phenomenon emerges, whether in cognition, biology, physics, mathematics, society, or the cosmos.
| D | S | R | P |
| Distinctions | Systems | Relationships | Perspectives |
| Identity ↔ Other | Part ↔ Whole | Action ↔ Reaction | Point ↔ View |
| D := (i ↔ o) | S := (p ↔ w) | R := (a ↔ r) | P := (ṗ ↔ v) |
This is a living scientific evidence compendium: an open, continually evolving collection of independent empirical research, formal theory, mathematical proofs, cross-disciplinary analyses, applications, critiques, and proposed falsifications. Every entry is included because it supports, refines, challenges, or attempts to falsify the theory.
Scientific theories are strengthened not only by evidence that confirms their predictions, but also by surviving attempts to falsify them. This compendium brings both together: independent evidence from researchers who were not testing DSRP and proposed counterexamples evaluated against the formal theory.
One counterexample is enough to falsify O-Theory. Until then, the question remains: do the same four structures organize everything from quantum systems to human thought?
Independent convergence is one of the strongest forms of scientific evidence because researchers arrive at the same conclusion while investigating different questions for different reasons.
The number is not the point. Researchers in different fields, studying different questions with different methods, repeatedly arrived at the same structural predictions—almost always without testing DSRP or using its language.
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This compendium began as the peer-reviewed literature review “A Literature Review of the Universal and Atomic Elements of Complex Cognition,” published in the Journal of Systems Thinking with 109 studies. That paper is the peer-reviewed foundation. What you see here is its living, continuously updated version . New studies are checked before they are added, and the collection now holds and keeps growing. Open any card to see what the researchers found, why it bears on DSRP, and where the original review discusses it, the fuller account.
The collection is updated continuously, so the citation carries the date you consulted it rather than a study count — the count changes weekly, and putting it in the reference would make the same collection look like a different work to everyone who cites it. To cite a single claim or study, use its own address: every one has a permanent link.
This is the adversarial half of the compendium. Where the evidence track asks what converges on DSRP, this one asks what would end it: a single organized phenomenon whose structure needs a fifth pattern, a ninth element, or a fifth structural dynamic. It holds written up from candidates across territories, and resolutions — the general answers those cases settle against. Every case is published whether it held or failed, including the ones still open.
Cite this rather than the evidence collection when the point is what survived attack. The two are separate works with separate addresses: one asks what converges on the theory, the other asks what would end it, and a reference to the first does not support a claim about the second. Case and resolution numbers change when the record is revised, so cite a case by its own permanent link rather than by number.
This collection is meant to keep growing. Send us a study, paper, book or critique that bears on DSRP, whether it supports the theory or cuts against it, and we will read it and decide whether it belongs.
Lukich, M., 2026, Manuscripts Press — Philosophy
Patterns: Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, Perspectives
A trade book pairing Stoic philosophy with systems thinking for a general audience; its Chapter 2, "The Grammar of Complexity," builds directly on DSRP as the foundational structure of thought, citing the Cabreras' work throughout (with a back-cover endorsement from Derek Cabrera).
Lukich argues that systems thinking and Stoicism address many of the same fundamental problems from different traditions. DSRP provides a “grammar of thinking” for defining boundaries, organizing parts and wholes, tracing relationships, and shifting perspectives, while Stoicism helps translate that understanding into purposeful action. Together, he presents them as a practical approach for developing clarity, agency, resilience, and practical wisdom (phronesis) in complex situations.
Lukich explores how modern systems thinking and ancient Stoic philosophy can be combined as a practical framework for navigating complexity, making decisions, and acting under uncertainty. DSRP provides a central “grammar” for understanding systems, while Stoic concepts such as the dichotomy of control provide principles for deciding how to act within them.
After eighteen months of writing, the book is now available on Amazon. The book is about how we think and make decisions. It brings together systems thinking and Stoic philosophy into a practical framework for seeing problems clearly and choosing well.' 'Systems thinking gives us the structural vocabulary to understand the world — feedback loops, stocks and flows, leverage points, and emergence. Stoicism gives us the personal discipline to use that vocabulary well.' From the About page, the book is 'an exploration of the intersection between Systems Thinking and Stoicism, and how to utilize these skills to build a life of clarity and purpose.
These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.