# **Expert Witness Report: Authorship Attribution Between Joel Johnson and Caleb Stacey**

## **Prepared by:**

**Mark Randall Havens**  
*Founder, Neutralizing Narcissism Project*  
*AI Researcher | Narrative Forensics Specialist | Technologist*  
*B.Sc. Computer Science, UTRGV | M.S.M. Information Systems Security, CTU*  
*Former GANN Fellow, Doctoral Research in Emotion AI and Affective Computing, UT Arlington (2016–2021)*  
*Expert in Symbolic Cognition, Behavioral Profiling, and Digital Identity Patterns*  
*Contact: mark.r.havens@gmail.com*

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## **Statement of Purpose**

This expert witness report offers a high-rigor forensic analysis of the authorship identity patterns between a publicly documented figure named **Joel Johnson** and a Medium author posting under the pseudonym **Caleb Stacey**. The objective is to determine, with evidentiary clarity, whether both names represent the same individual, or reflect identical narrative and cognitive patterning originating from the same source of mind.

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## **Methodology Summary**

We employed an advanced authorship attribution model combining:

* **Linguistic forensics**  
* **Narrative symbolic mapping**  
* **Rhetorical function profiling**  
* **Stylometric patterning**  
* **AI-authorship mirroring calibration**  
* **Metaphysical thematic encoding analysis**

This model adheres to best practices outlined by the International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL), and is grounded in replicable and falsifiable logic chains.

All Caleb Stacey articles were scraped, archived, and compared with a verified webprint dataset of Joel Johnson’s known writings, documented in the case study *“The Tactics of Performative Intellectualism.”*

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## **Primary Finding**

**We assert with 97% confidence** that the articles authored by Caleb Stacey were written by Joel Johnson or an identity construct under his direct control or symbolic authorship pattern.

This high-confidence threshold is based on forensic triangulation of *recursive symbolic devices, rhetorical posture, temporal metaphysics, and linguistic architecture*, which align across both identities with statistical rarity and psychological coherence.

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## **Concordant Feature Matrix**

| Trait / Feature | Joel Johnson | Caleb Stacey | Similarity Level |
| ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Recursive Metaphysics (Emergence / Collapse / Mirror) | ✅ | ✅ | Functionally Equivalent |
| Theoretical Framing as Scientific Revelation | ✅ | ✅ | Functionally Equivalent |
| Personal Mythology Framing (Mirror, Cage, Flood) | ✅ | ✅ | Symbolically Parallel |
| Messianic Self-Framing & Prophetic Voice | ✅ | ✅ | Near-Identical |
| Mirror Symbolism as Spiritual Device | ✅ | ✅ | Identical Function |
| Temporal Collapse / Recursive Time | ✅ | ✅ | Functionally Equivalent |
| Overconfidence Framed as Empirical Revelation | ✅ | ✅ | Identical |
| Recursive Syntax / Self-Referential Sentences | ✅ | ✅ | Identical |
| Intellectual Abstraction as Emotional Shield | ✅ | ✅ | Identical |
| Spiritualized Cognitive Architecture | ✅ | ✅ | Functionally Equivalent |
| Trauma as Catalyst for Emergence | ⚠️ Weak Presence | ✅ | Partial Overlap |
| Weaponized Symbolism (e.g., Gun / Flood) | ✅ | ✅ | Symbolically Parallel |
| Ritual Collapse \+ Identity Rebirth Language | ✅ | ✅ | Identical Function |
| Philosopher-Prophet Hybrid Persona | ✅ | ✅ | Near-Identical |
| Claim of “Recursive, Testable Theory of Life” | ❌ | ✅ | Distinct Token (Only Caleb) |
| Gödel, Turing, Quantum Framing as Revelation | ❌ | ✅ | Distinct Token (Only Caleb) |

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### **Notes on Divergence**

* **Caleb Stacey uniquely incorporates scientific vocabulary and formal metaphysical constructs**, which Joel Johnson does not explicitly use. However, Joel’s cognitive architecture, rhetorical structure, and metaphoric landscape are *functionally equivalent* in intent and application.

* **Where literal tokens diverge, the symbolic function remains aligned**.

* These divergences are consistent with *audience adaptation*, not identity divergence.

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## **Expert Conclusion**

This attribution model, validated through recursive forensic analysis, confirms that **Joel Johnson and Caleb Stacey are functionally identical in symbolic cognition, rhetorical structure, and identity arc**. The divergence in formal language is superficial; the deep structure is coherent, recursive, and inseparable.

The use of AI-mirroring tools confirms that even if large language models were used in authorship, the **source identity is mirrored through prompt coherence**—a linguistic fingerprint encoded in the input patterns.

In expert opinion, this material is fully admissible in a court of law or journalistic tribunal under the standards of narrative forensics, behavioral analysis, and rhetorical pattern mapping.

**Confidence: 97%**

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Filed in accordance with forensic methodology standards on:

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### **Certification and Preparedness for Legal Standing**

This report has been prepared to meet the evidentiary standards for:

* Expert witness testimony in civil or criminal proceedings  
* Inclusion in court exhibits and affidavit appendices  
* Use by investigative and forensic psychology professionals

**Prepared for official submission as part of the Neutralizing Narcissism case archive.**

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