Appendix D: Notation and Conventions

This appendix collects the notation used throughout the book. Conventions are consistent with the Geometric Series.


Manifolds and Spaces

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$\mathcal{P}$ Political preference manifold (6-dimensional) Ch. 4
$d$ Dimensionality of $\mathcal{P}$ ($d = 6$) Ch. 4
$d_1, \ldots, d_6$ The six manifold dimensions: economic, social, environmental, foreign policy, trust, identity Ch. 1
$g_{ij}$ Riemannian metric tensor on $\mathcal{P}$ Ch. 4
$\Sigma$ Covariance matrix of voter distribution on $\mathcal{P}$ ($6 \times 6$) Ch. 4
$\Sigma_{ij}$ Covariance between dimensions $d_i$ and $d_j$ Ch. 4
$\lambda_1, \ldots, \lambda_6$ Eigenvalues of $\Sigma$ (in decreasing order) Ch. 4
$d_\mathcal{P}(v_1, v_2)$ Geodesic distance between $v_1$ and $v_2$ on $\mathcal{P}$ Ch. 4
$d_M(v_1, v_2)$ Mahalanobis distance (manifold distance approximation) Ch. 4
$T\mathcal{P}$ Tangent bundle of $\mathcal{P}$ Ch. 6
$\mathcal{O}$ Outcome space of a voting function Ch. 5
$W$ Overton window (connected bounded subset of $\mathcal{P}$) Ch. 10
$\partial W$ Boundary of the Overton window Ch. 10

Voters and Representatives

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$V$ Set of voters Ch. 5
$n$ Number of voters Ch. 5
$v, v_i$ Individual voter (or voter’s manifold position) Ch. 4
$\phi: V \to \mathcal{P}$ Preference configuration (assigns manifold position to each voter) Ch. 5
$\mu$ Mean of voter distribution on $\mathcal{P}$ Ch. 4
$\bar{v}$ Frechet mean of the voter distribution Ch. 4
$r(v)$ Representative of voter $v$ under electoral system $E$ Ch. 15
$r^*(v)$ Manifold-optimal representative for voter $v$ Ch. 15
$x_C, x_{C_i}$ Candidate’s position on $\mathcal{P}$ Ch. 5

Voting and Elections

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$\mathcal{V}$ Voting function ($\mathcal{P}^n \to \mathcal{O}$) Ch. 5
$E$ Electoral system Ch. 15
$C_1, \ldots, C_m$ Candidates Ch. 5
$m$ Number of candidates Ch. 5
$k$ Number of districts Ch. 9
$D$ Districting function ($V \to \{1, \ldots, k\}$) Ch. 9
$D^{-1}(j)$ Voters assigned to district $j$ Ch. 9

Indices and Measures

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$BI(S, E)$ Political Bond Index for population $S$ under system $E$ Ch. 15
$BI_i(S, E)$ Dimension-specific Bond Index on dimension $d_i$ Ch. 15
$GI(D)$ Gerrymandering Index for districting $D$ Ch. 9
$GI_{d_i}(D)$ Dimension-specific gerrymandering index Ch. 9
$R$ Information preservation ratio Ch. 5, 13

Campaign and Media

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$\mathbf{F}_C$ Campaign heuristic field (vector field on $\mathcal{P}$) Ch. 6
$\mathbf{e}$ Projection axis (unit vector in $\mathbb{R}^d$) Ch. 6
$\mathbf{e}^*$ Optimal campaign projection axis Ch. 6
$\mathbf{h}$ Political heuristic field (superposition of all sources) Ch. 6
$\alpha_k(v)$ Influence weight of information source $k$ at voter $v$ Ch. 6
$\beta_O$ Overton window boundary penalty coefficient Ch. 10

Symmetry and Gauge Theory

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$G_D$ Democratic gauge group Ch. 5
$\tau_A$ Voter anonymity transformation Ch. 5
$\tau_N$ Option neutrality transformation Ch. 5
$\tau_R$ Re-description invariance transformation Ch. 5
$D_4$ Dihedral group of order 8 (Hohfeldian symmetry) Ch. 17

Coalition Analysis

Symbol Meaning First Appearance
$C$ Coalition (subset of voters or agents) Ch. 12
$A_C$ Agreement submanifold of coalition $C$ Ch. 12
$F(C)$ Fragility index of coalition $C$ Ch. 12
$\epsilon$ Agreement tolerance threshold Ch. 12

Conventions