Structural Pattern · BCI Lexicon
Cognitive Friction
The intellectual cost required to decode a symbolic system. Moderate friction protects a premium; excessive friction creates market inefficiency.
Mechanism
Friction is not simply good or bad — it has an optimal range. Too little, and a system is instantly legible to anyone, which is the raw material of the Legibility Trap. Too much, and even willing buyers cannot locate or understand what they are being asked to pay for, which caps demand before scarcity ever becomes an asset. This is the underlying mechanism Perceptual Legibility is built to measure.
No registry case has yet been matched to this pattern with confidence. Definition only, until real evidence supports a specific example.
Definitional Authority — This term is defined canonically in BSIP v4.0 and the White Paper v4.0. This page restates that definition on its own address for reference; it is not an independent source and does not diverge from it.
Rating Limitation — Nothing on this page constitutes a credit rating, valuation opinion, or investment instruction of any kind.