1. Foundational Concepts: What is Valence?
Valence is the fundamental quality of an experience being pleasant or unpleasant, desirable or aversive. It's the core axis around which we organize meaning. However, it's not a single concept. We must distinguish between Affective Valence, which is the immediate, embodied feeling of pleasure or pain, and Semantic Valence, which is the stored knowledge about something's value, independent of a current emotional response. This distinction is key to understanding self-regulation and our complex relationship with time.
2. The XQE Framework: Composer & Composition
According to the Xenial Quantum Economy (XQE) framework, reality is a duality. Click on the nodes below to explore the two realms.
Realm of the Composer
Platonic Space (The Unmanifest)
Ingression
Realm of the Composition
Classical Spacetime (The Manifest)
3. The Spectrum of Temporal Valence
Temporal Valence isn't just high or low; it's a dynamic spectrum. It measures the quality and intensity of our engagement with time. Adjust the sliders to understand its core dimensions and see how your experienced reality might shift.
The degree of internal alignment. At low coherence, you experience dissonance and conflict (Chronos). At high coherence, you experience flow and clarity (Kairos).
The flexibility of the boundary between you (Composer) and reality (Composition). Low permeability means reality feels fixed. High permeability means reality feels malleable and participatory.
The energy and resolution of your focus. Low amplitude means attention is scattered and reactive. High amplitude means attention is a potent, creative force.
4. The Malleable Clock: An Experiment
Does time fly when you're having fun? Our emotional state can literally stretch and compress our perception of time. Try this short experiment.
Choose a stimulus and we will run a 10-second timer. Afterwards, you'll estimate how long it felt.
5. The Self Across Time: Past, Present, Future
Our relationship with our own past and future is not objective. We are constantly rewriting our personal history and idealizing our future. This is driven by powerful psychological biases.
Rosy Retrospection & Fading Affect
We tend to recall past events more positively than we experienced them (Rosy Retrospection). This is partly because the emotional sting of negative memories fades faster than the warmth of positive ones (Fading Affect Bias). We psychologically distance ourselves from our past imperfections, often viewing our "past self" as another person to maintain a positive view of our current self.
Quick Reflection:
Think of a mildly annoying event from over five years ago. Now think of one from last week. Does the older memory still carry the same emotional weight? For most, its negative valence has faded significantly.
Optimism Bias & Construal Level
We consistently overestimate the likelihood of positive events happening to us and underestimate the negative (Optimism Bias). This is tied to Construal Level Theory: we think about the distant future in abstract, idealized terms (focusing on 'why'), while we see the near future in concrete, messy detail (focusing on 'how'). This makes the distant future seem inherently more positive and desirable.
Try It:
Think about "going on vacation next year." Your mind likely focuses on desirable outcomes: relaxation, adventure. Now think about "going on vacation next week." Your mind shifts to concrete feasibilities: packing, booking flights, traffic. The valence changes with temporal distance.