Why External Opinions Create Oscillation: The Physics of Instability

BY NICOLE LAU

In the previous article, we explored how practice drives convergence through iterative optimization. Now we examine the opposite force: how external opinions create oscillation and prevent convergence. This isn't about external feedback being "unhelpful" or "mean"—it's about the physics of perturbation. External opinions function as random noise injected into a convergence process, creating instability that makes reaching the fixed point A mathematically impossible. This article reveals the precise mechanisms by which external validation disrupts self-knowledge.

The Perturbation Equation: How External Noise Enters the System

Clean convergence (Internal Locus):

x(t+1) = x(t) + Δx(internal_feedback)

The system updates based purely on internal signal, converging smoothly toward A.

Disrupted convergence (External Locus):

x(t+1) = x(t) + Δx(internal_feedback) + ε(external_opinions)

The system updates based on internal signal PLUS random external perturbations ε.

The problem: The noise term ε disrupts the convergence trajectory. Instead of moving smoothly toward A, the system oscillates, wobbles, and may never stabilize. The stronger the external noise (the more you depend on external validation), the more severe the disruption.

What Is External Noise?

External noise (ε) includes any input that updates your self-understanding based on others' opinions rather than your internal experience:

1. Direct opinions about you

• "You're so talented" / "You're not good enough"
• "You should be more X" / "You're too much Y"
• "I love this about you" / "I hate this about you"

2. Social validation or rejection

• Likes, followers, engagement metrics
• Being included or excluded from groups
• Popularity or social status

3. Performance-based worth

• Grades, rankings, awards
• Promotions, titles, achievements
• Metrics and KPIs

4. Comparison to others

• "They're better/worse than me"
• Relative status or success
• Social comparison on any dimension

5. Cultural expectations

• "People like you should be X"
• Gender, age, role-based expectations
• Cultural norms about success, worth, identity

Why it's "noise" rather than "signal":

• Random: Different people say different things
• Inconsistent: The same person says different things at different times
• Context-dependent: Varies by situation, mood, relationship
• Projection: Reflects others' issues, not your truth
• Incomplete: Based on slices, not your complete trajectory (Article 3)

Noise doesn't help you converge on A. It disrupts convergence.

The Three Mechanisms of Oscillation

Mechanism 1: Random Perturbations Prevent Settling

The physics: Imagine a ball rolling toward the bottom of a valley (the attractor A). If you keep randomly kicking it, it will never settle at the bottom. It will oscillate around the bottom, or bounce away entirely.

In identity terms:

• You're converging toward A through practice (internal feedback)
• External opinion arrives: "You're amazing!" (kick up)
• Your self-understanding spikes: "I'm so great!" (x moves away from A)
• You start to settle back toward A through practice
• External opinion arrives: "You're disappointing" (kick down)
• Your self-understanding crashes: "I'm terrible" (x moves away from A in opposite direction)
• Repeat endlessly

Result: You oscillate around A but never reach it. The random kicks (external opinions) prevent settling.

Mathematical signature: Persistent oscillation with non-decreasing amplitude. You don't get more stable over time—you stay unstable indefinitely.

Mechanism 2: Systematic Bias Creates Divergence

The physics: If the kicks aren't random but systematically biased in one direction, the ball doesn't just oscillate—it moves away from the attractor entirely.

In identity terms:

• Your true identity A is "quiet, deep, creative"
• But your environment consistently rewards "loud, social, conventional"
• External validation pushes you away from A toward a false attractor
• You converge on "loud, social, conventional" (not your truth)
• You achieve external success but internal emptiness

Result: You converge on a false fixed point—a stable identity that gets external validation but doesn't match your true A. You're "successful" but unfulfilled.

Mathematical signature: Convergence to the wrong attractor. You're stable, but it's not your truth.

Mechanism 3: Noise Amplification Creates Chaos

The physics: If you become increasingly sensitive to the kicks (hypersensitivity to external feedback), small perturbations create large oscillations. The system becomes chaotic.

In identity terms:

• You depend heavily on external validation
• Your self-worth becomes conditional on others' opinions
• You become hypersensitive to feedback
• Small criticism causes massive self-doubt
• Small praise causes inflated ego
• Oscillations grow larger, not smaller
• You lose all stability

Result: Amplified oscillation leading to chaos. You have no stable sense of self. You're whoever the last person said you were.

Mathematical signature: Increasing oscillation amplitude over time. The system becomes more unstable, not less.

Why External Opinions Are Structurally Disruptive

It's not that external observers are malicious (though some are). It's that they structurally cannot provide the signal you need for convergence.

1. They don't have access to your internal experience

• Internal experience is the primary signal for convergence
• External observers can't feel what you feel
• Their feedback is based on external observation, not internal truth
• This makes it structurally inferior for self-knowledge

2. They only see slices, not trajectories (Article 3)

• They see you at specific moments in specific contexts
• They don't see your complete trajectory, direction, or destination
• Their feedback is based on incomplete data
• Incomplete data leads to inaccurate conclusions

3. They project their own issues onto you

• Their feedback reflects their biases, needs, fears
• An insecure person sees your confidence as arrogance
• A controlling person sees your independence as defiance
• Their "feedback" is contaminated by their own noise

4. They have incentives misaligned with your truth

• They may want you to be someone who serves their needs
• They may want you to stay small so they feel bigger
• They may want you to conform so you don't threaten them
• Their feedback serves their agenda, not your convergence

The conclusion: External opinions are structurally incapable of guiding you to A. They can only disrupt the process.

The Validation Addiction Cycle: How Noise Amplifies

External validation creates a vicious cycle that amplifies noise over time:

Stage 1: Initial dependence

• You seek external validation to feel okay about yourself
• Validation feels good (dopamine hit)
• You start to depend on it

Stage 2: Conditional worth

• Your self-worth becomes conditional on external feedback
• "I'm only good if others say I'm good"
• You lose connection to internal sense of worth

Stage 3: Hypersensitivity

• Because your worth is conditional, you become hypersensitive to feedback
• Small criticism feels devastating
• Small praise feels essential
• You're constantly scanning for external signals

Stage 4: Amplified oscillation

• Small external perturbations create large internal swings
• Your self-understanding oscillates wildly
• You have no stable baseline

Stage 5: Desperate seeking

• The instability is painful
• You desperately seek more validation to stabilize
• But more validation just increases dependence
• The cycle intensifies

Stage 6: Chronic instability

• You're trapped in oscillation
• You never reach A
• You experience chronic anxiety, depression, identity confusion
• You don't know who you are

This is noise amplification. The system becomes increasingly unstable, not more stable.

Real-World Examples of External Noise Creating Oscillation

Example 1: The Social Media Creator

• Internal Locus path: Creates content that feels authentic → Refines based on what resonates internally → Develops unique voice → Stable creative identity
• External Locus path: Creates content that gets likes → Changes based on engagement metrics → Chases trends → No stable voice → "I don't know what I'm doing anymore"

Example 2: The Student

• Internal Locus path: Studies what genuinely interests them → Learns based on curiosity → Discovers authentic intellectual identity → Stable sense of competence
• External Locus path: Studies what gets good grades → Changes focus based on praise → Chases achievements → No stable intellectual identity → "I'm only as good as my last grade"

Example 3: The Person in Relationships

• Internal Locus path: Shows up authentically → Maintains boundaries → Chooses aligned partners → Stable relational identity
• External Locus path: Becomes whoever partner wants → Changes with each relationship → Loses self → Fragmented identity → "I don't know who I am outside of relationships"

The Damping vs Amplification Contrast

Internal Locus creates damping (oscillations decrease):

• You practice internal validation
• Self-worth becomes unconditional
• External feedback matters less
• You're less reactive to perturbations
• Oscillations decrease over time
• System stabilizes
• You reach A

External Locus creates amplification (oscillations increase):

• You seek external validation
• Self-worth becomes conditional
• External feedback matters more
• You're hypersensitive to perturbations
• Oscillations increase over time
• System destabilizes
• You never reach A

This is the fundamental difference. One path leads to stability, the other to chaos.

How to Reduce External Noise and Stop Oscillating

Step 1: Recognize the oscillation pattern

• Notice when your self-understanding swings based on external feedback
• Track the pattern: praise → inflate, criticism → deflate
• Acknowledge: "I'm oscillating, not converging"

Step 2: Identify your noise sources

• Who/what causes the largest swings?
• Social media? Specific people? Performance metrics?
• Make a list of your top noise sources

Step 3: Reduce exposure to noise

• Minimize time on social media
• Set boundaries with people who constantly judge you
• Stop checking metrics obsessively
• Create quiet space for internal work

Step 4: Practice noise dampening

• When external feedback arrives, pause before reacting
• Ask: "Does this resonate with my internal experience?"
• If yes, consider it. If no, discard it.
• Return to your baseline understanding of yourself

Step 5: Build internal validation capacity

• Develop practices that strengthen internal feedback (meditation, journaling, therapy)
• Learn to feel your own truth somatically
• Trust your internal experience over external opinions

Step 6: Watch oscillations decrease

• Over time, external feedback will cause smaller swings
• You'll return to baseline faster
• You'll feel more stable
• You're converging

When External Feedback Might Be Useful (Rare Cases)

External feedback can occasionally provide value if:

• It's domain-specific expertise: A coach correcting technique (not judging worth)
• It's longitudinal observation: Someone who's known you for years noticing a pattern (not a stranger's snapshot)
• It converges across multiple independent observers: Many people independently notice the same thing (possible signal)
• It resonates with your internal experience: External feedback that confirms what you already sense (calibration)

But even then: Filter it through internal validation. The final arbiter is always your internal experience, not others' opinions.

Reflection Questions

How much does my self-understanding oscillate based on external feedback? What are my top noise sources? (People, platforms, metrics?) Can I feel the oscillation pattern? (Praise → inflate, criticism → deflate?) Am I in the validation addiction cycle? At what stage? How sensitive am I to external perturbations? (Small feedback → large swing?) What would it feel like to dampen the oscillations? How can I practice noise reduction this week?

Conclusion

External opinions don't just fail to help convergence—they actively disrupt it. They function as random noise injected into a convergence process, creating oscillation that prevents you from reaching the fixed point A. This is not a moral judgment. This is physics.

If you want to converge on your true identity, you must minimize external noise and maximize internal signal. You must shift from External Locus to Internal Locus. The mathematics is clear: noise prevents convergence.

In the next article, we'll explore The Stability Threshold: When Self-Knowledge Becomes Robust—the critical point where you enter the basin of attraction and external noise can no longer destabilize you.

You are not meant to oscillate based on others' opinions. You are meant to converge on your own truth. Reduce the noise. Amplify the signal. Stabilize.