Five waves. Six stages. One pattern. Bar length = total wave duration.
1 · Invention
2 · Friction Phase
3 · Paradox Phase
4 · Reorganization
5 · Compression
6 · New Formation
Hover each segment for historical detail — faded bars on the AI row = projected stages not yet reached. Scale: years since invention.
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The pattern is accelerating. Print took 150+ years to complete. The internet took 35. AI's current position: year 9. The productivity data still shows almost nothing. That is not reassurance. That is Stage 3 turning into Stage 4.