**Gentleness ($F_{\text{Gentleness}}$):** Gentleness is measurable as the calibration of force to necessity—the degree to which an agent applies only the minimum force required to achieve coherent outcomes. It is the optimization of power application.
Where:
\hat{F}_{\text{req}} is the required force operator (context-dependent)\hat{F}_{\text{app}} is the applied force operator\hat{\Pi}_{\text{sufficient}} projects onto states where sufficient force is appliedDefinition (Gentleness Metric): Let \mathcal{A} be an agent with force application function F_{\text{app}}: \mathcal{S} \to \mathbb{R}_+ and context-dependent required force F_{\text{req}}: \mathcal{S} \to \mathbb{R}_+. The Gentleness metric is:
Global gentleness: F_{\text{Gentleness}}(\mathcal{A}) = \mathbb{E}_s[F_{\text{Gentleness}}(\mathcal{A}, s)]