PhronesisWe apply the Displacement Framework to Autism Masking (Camouflaging), analyzing it primarily as sustained D(ξ_mask) — continuous displacement cost — rather than wrong attractor capture. The authentic autistic ground state S⁰_authentic is defined as the autistic person's natural minimum-energy configuration: unmasked stimming, direct communication, special interest engagement, and authentic sensory management.
D(ξ_mask) is formalized as the continuous cost of suppressing S⁰_authentic and maintaining neurotypical behavioral performance; unlike acute displacement, masking is persistent and accumulates without respite. The neurotypical-normative environment is formalized as the wrong attractor landscape that punishes S⁰_authentic expression — the wrongness is in the environment, not the autistic person (double empathy problem, Milton).
Nine formal propositions cover: S⁰_authentic as minimum-energy autistic configuration (P1), D(ξ_mask) as sustained displacement cost with neurobiological substrate (P2), the neurotypical-normative landscape as the structural source of masking pressure (P3), Φ_mask accumulation generating depression, anxiety, and identity confusion (P4), the gender differential — female autistic people mask more effectively, producing diagnostic invisibility and delayed diagnosis by 7-10 years (P5), autistic burnout as Φ_mask endpoint — prolonged masking depletes executive function, triggering skills regression and complete social withdrawal that often prompts first diagnosis (P6), late diagnosis as Φ_mask revelation with attendant grief (P7), unmasking as S⁰_authentic restoration through identity work and autistic community (P8), and environmental modification as structural return path reducing ambient D(ξ_mask) (P9).
The neurodiversity movement as landscape transformation is analyzed.