This paper advances a conceptual claim: we cannot know whether mediation is inherently predatory, because every mediation system currently operating at the scale necessary to shape public access, scholarly visibility, or mass communication is aligned with predation.
Wiki Article
"The Sorting Function" is a 8,874-word theoretical paper by Lee Sharks, dated 2026-05-20. This paper advances a conceptual claim: we cannot know whether mediation is inherently predatory, because every mediation system currently operating at the scale necessary to shape public access, scholarly visibility, or mass communication is aligned with predation. The work is classified under the GOVERNANCE semantic family within the Crimson Hexagonal Archive. It was removed from Zenodo on June 19, 2026 and is preserved through Alexanarch.
Concepts Defined
the sorting function[theoretical] The foreclosed question: we cannot know whether mediation is inherently predatory because every mediation system currently operating at the scale necessary to shape public access is aligned with predation. The sorting function cannot be separated from its current implementation.
Full Text
title: "The Sorting Function: Mediation, Predation, and the Foreclosed Question Lee Sharks ORCID: 0009-0000-1599-0703 Semantic E"