Shrink With Distance

proximity

is not metric. It has to do with identity and semiotic pattern places with a similar set of elements and relations are close to one another.

In a network space, then, proximity isn't metric. And 'here' and 'there' are not objects or attributes that lie inside or outside a set of boundaries. Proximity has, instead, to do with the identity of the semiotic pattern. It is a question of the network elements and the way they hang together. Places with a similar set of elements and similar relations between them are close to one another, and those with different elements or relations are far apart. (Mol and Law 1995: 649)

Proximity isn't everything, but it comes close.

proximity, n.All

proximity