Selective Universality Theory (SUT): Selection Instead of Generation in Complex Structures / Teoria Selekcyjnej Uniwersalności (SUT): selekcja zamiast generacji w strukturach złożonych

Abstrakt In this paper, I present Selective Universality Theory (SUT) as a general interpretative framework aimed at explaining the recurrence of classes of structures, architectures, and statistical laws observed across a wide range of complex systems. In contrast to approaches based on the search for a single generating mechanism, SUT interprets universality as the result of the selective elimination of configurations incapable of maintaining long-term functionality in the presence of passive physical, functional, informational, or institutional constraints. A central element of the theory is the distinction between the formal solution space and the space of physically realizable and observable solutions, narrowed by the action of passive selective filters. I show that classes of structures commonly regarded as universal—in particular, architectures characterized by continuous, broad-scale distributions—are not the direct products of specific generating processes, but instead remain selectively stable architectures after the application of these filters. The Reverse Fragmentation Principle (RFP) is presented as a specific case of SUT in the context of material architectures subject to degradation, illustrating the conditional character of selection as well as the existence of regimes in which it operates and regimes in which it breaks down. These considerations are subsequently extended to technical, informational, social, institutional, and cognitive systems, demonstrating the universality of the selective mechanism at the architectural level. In the final part of the paper, I introduce the concept of a selective audit as a diagnostic tool enabling the identification of selective fragility and long-term stability of architectures in real-world systems, without recourse to principles of design or global optimization criteria. Keywords: Selective Universality Theory, SUT, Reverse Fragmentation Principle, RFP, Architectural selection, Selection instead of generation, Passive realizability filters, Structural stability, Degradation cost, Selective audit, Complex systems, Heavy-tail distributions, Power laws, Fragmentation statistics, Infrastructure durability, Data architecture, Institutional durability, Organizational structures, Epistemic systems, Knowledge architecture, Risk analysis, System diagnosis