Sybil Resistance Through Physical Co-Presence

What This Is

Research on using physics-based identity verification (one body, one location, one time) to achieve complete Sybil resistance without biometrics, surveillance, or specialized hardware. Includes the formal academic paper, a kitchen-table accessible version, and a neurobiology-informed implementation analysis connecting oxytocin/vasopressin pathways to system design.

Status

Complete

Key Finding

The Sybil problem was solved by physics before computers existed. If every human on Earth is counted in the same 60-minute window, one body cannot appear in two places. Combined with BLE continuous presence attestation and vouch chains, this achieves 100% Sybil resistance with zero surveillance. The "cost" of the system -- forced human connection -- is reframed as its primary output.

Evidence

• Physics: one body cannot occupy two locations simultaneously (no technology exists or is theoretically possible to violate this)
• Precedent: Australia's mandatory voting since 1924, >90% compliance with a $20 fine
• Neurobiology: oxytocin-vasopressin research (Carter 2017, Kosfeld et al. 2005) shows in-person interactions trigger trust pathways
• Comparison: Worldcoin (spoofable iris scans), BrightID (bootstrappable fake subgraphs), Proof of Humanity (improving deepfakes) all fail because they let one body appear at multiple times

Related Research

• ../ble_mesh_networking/ -- BLE continuous presence attestation is the technical mechanism enforcing the 60-minute co-presence window
• ../emergency_response/ -- The community mesh that carries the quarterly count also enables real-time emergency response
• ../consensus_distillation_trust/ -- Mathematical framework proving Sybil resistance requires costly signalling, which physical presence provides
• ../democratic_voting_mechanisms/ -- What you vote on once your identity is verified
• ../platform_sovereignty_identity/ -- Corporate identity monopoly this replaces

What's Missing

• Pilot study data (see ../ethics_submission/ for the ethics protocol)
• Exact willingness curves for quarterly participation
• Cross-cultural validation of the neurobiology claims (oxytocin effects are context-dependent)
• Implementation details for satellite-delayed attestation in extremely remote areas

Files

Note on (Applebee & Combe, 2026, "Be In The Same Room") Duplicate

(Applebee & Combe, 2026, "Be In The Same Room") (20_be_in_the_same_room.md) also appears in ../ble_mesh_networking/manuscript/ with minor numbering difference ("(Applebee & Combe, 2026, "Be In The Same Room") of 20" vs "(Applebee & Combe, 2026, "Be In The Same Room") of 33"). This directory is the canonical location for the Sybil resistance argument; the BLE mesh copy is a cross-reference.