The NOEM Framework: A Normalized Cognitive-Energetic Model of Meaning Generation

This paper introduces the NOEM framework, a normalized cognitive-energetic model of meaning generation designed to explain the growing divergence between information production and structured understanding in contemporary societies. While digital technologies and artificial intelligence have dramatically expanded the volume and velocity of information, this expansion has not resulted in a proportional growth of knowledge or meaningful understanding. The framework defines noem as the capacity of a cognitive system to transform informational inputs and cognitive effort into structured meaning. To improve analytical rigor, the model is formalized using dimensionless normalized indices representing cognitive energy, informational filtering capacity, and informational entropy. Meaning-generation capacity is modeled as an increasing function of cognitive effort and filtering capacity and a decreasing function of informational entropy. The paper further proposes empirical proxies for these variables and introduces a dynamic interpretation of how meaning-generation capacity evolves over time. It also examines the dual role of artificial intelligence as both an entropy-reducing and entropy-amplifying force. The article concludes by outlining a research agenda for empirical validation and comparative analysis of informational systems.