But psycho-mechanics is concerned not with the condition of a and b in equilibrium, but on the way to equilibrium. What phenomenon can we witness here that could be called (loosely) the “falling of the inhibition sum”? Consider now not the end-state of equilibrium, but rather the beginning of the process. Here, at \(t_0\), one representation a is joined by a second representation b. At this first instant, the vivacity of each representation is at its uninhibited maximum,[42] and therefore the forces of opposition are also maximally active. Notice now that while, as stated above, S, the load of forces distributed at equilibrium is a constant already fixed by the nature of a and b, these forces, at \(t_0\), are not at all distributed but active, with a and b bearing no load (as yet). Hence, at \(t_0\), one could reasonably call these active forces the “inhibition sum”, but not in the sense of the distributed load, but rather in the sense of the load-to-be-distributed over a and b. Let us call the distributed load “S”, to remain consistent with the use of the term in psycho-statics, but let us call the load-to-be-distributed “\(S_n\)”, to indicate the load to be distributed at \(t_n\).[43]