Skip to main content
Back to Lexicon Directory
CRAFT SYSTEMS/ɪnˈtɛnʃən ˈaʊtkʌm daɪˈvɜːrdʒəns/

Intention-Outcome Divergence

Etymology: Creative writing workshop diagnostic methodology / cybernetic feedback theory.
Theorist Origin: Creative Writing Workshop Pedagogy / Cybernetics (Wiener, 1948)
Formulaic Definition

The measurable structural vector delta between what an author or system architect intended to communicate and what an actual human audience cognitively experiences and infers.

Formal Mathematical / Diagrammatic Model:Δ = Vector(IntendedMeaning) - Vector(PerceivedInterpretation)
Canonical Literature Specimen

An institution using passive voice ('funds were reallocated') intending to sound measured and objective, while the public interprets it as an active admission of corruption.

Related Lexicon Terms
The Maker's EyeSensemakingHeteroglossia