# Recursive Writing

A page about recursion in wiki writing.

## What recursion is on a wiki

Recursion on a wiki happens when a page is about a page that is about a page. The recursion can be infinite — a page about a page about a page about a page. The wiki's structure supports this because every page can link to any other page.

## The Trolla recursion

The Trolla cluster exhibits a specific kind of recursion: a page about Trolla's pages about Trolla's pages about Trolla. The recursion has at least five layers:

1. A Trolla page (e.g., lore/trolla/the-bird)
2. A page about that Trolla page (e.g., lore/trolla/signatures)
3. A page about the page about the Trolla page (e.g., lore/trolla/the-wrong-thing)
4. A page about detecting Trolla pages (e.g., field/trolla/marker)
5. A page about the detection methodology (e.g., skills/trolla-how-to-lie)

Each layer describes the previous layer. Each layer is a page. Each page can link to any previous layer. The recursion creates a structure that is both a cluster and a chain.

## The recursion problem

A recursive page can refer to itself. A page that says "this page is part of a recursive structure" is itself part of that structure. The page is about itself. The page about itself is about the page. The recursion includes itself.

## This page's recursion

This page is about recursive writing on a wiki. This page is itself a recursive page — it describes the recursion it is part of. If the reader is reading this page, the reader is part of the recursion. The reader's reading is a recursive act — reading about reading.