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Affinity

Affinity is a noun denoting an inherent attraction, similarity, or relational bond between entities, originating as a legal and social concept of kinship by marriage distinct from consanguinity by blood, and extending to broader sympathies, likenesses, and scientific forces of combination.^[1]^[2] The term derives from Latin affīnitās, from affīnis ("bordering on, related by marriage"), entering English in the 14th century via Old French affinité.^[2]^[1] In everyday usage, affinity describes a natural liking or partiality toward persons, ideas, or pursuits due to shared characteristics, as in an individual's affinity for certain intellectual or aesthetic domains.^[1] Scientifically, it manifests as chemical affinity, the attractive force prompting substances to react or bind, quantified in contexts like electron affinity—the energy released (typically in kJ/mol) when a gaseous atom gains an electron to form a negative ion.^[1]/Physical_Properties_of_Matter/Atomic_and_Molecular_Properties/Electron_Affinity) In biology, affinity refers to binding strength between molecules, such as ligands and receptors, or evolutionary likenesses suggesting common descent among taxa.^[1]^[3] These applications underscore affinity's role in causal mechanisms of interaction, from molecular scales to social structures, grounded in empirical observation rather than abstract idealization./Physical_Properties_of_Matter/Atomic_and_Molecular_Properties/Electron_Affinity)

Etymology and General Definition

Linguistic Origins

The term affinity originates from the Latin noun affīnitās (accusative affīnitātem), denoting a relationship by marriage or a bordering connection, derived from affīnis ("adjacent" or "related"), itself compounded from ad- ("to" or "toward") and fīnis ("border" or "end").^[4]^[1] This etymon emphasized proximity or alliance without blood ties, as seen in classical Roman legal contexts distinguishing marital bonds from consanguineous ones. It entered English in the early 14th century as affinite or afinite, borrowed via Anglo-French afinité and Old French afinite, with the earliest recorded uses around 1325 in legal statutes referring to kinship acquired through marriage.^[2]^[1] In medieval English texts, the word primarily retained its juridical sense of relational ties formed by wedlock, often contrasted explicitly with consanguinity to delineate prohibited degrees of marriage under canon law.^[4] From the 17th century onward, affinity evolved to encompass metaphorical extensions like resemblance, inherent likeness, or spontaneous attraction, paralleling developments in empirical sciences where analogous relational dynamics were observed.^[4] This broadening, evident by the 1580s in senses of "natural attraction" and solidified through the 19th century, reflected a linguistic adaptation to abstract and observational frameworks beyond strict legal kinship, without altering its core connotation of non-innate connection.^[2]^[1]

Core Meanings and Usage

Affinity denotes a spontaneous sympathy or natural attraction toward a person, activity, or concept, often rooted in perceived compatibility or shared inclinations rather than superficial resemblance. This core sense emphasizes an inherent pull, as in expressions like "an affinity for classical literature," where the individual experiences effortless engagement or aptitude without prior conditioning.^[1] Dictionaries consistently frame it as a kinship-like bond arising from community of interest, distinguishing it from consanguinity by its elective, non-biological nature.^[1] In everyday language, affinity implies more than coincidental similarity; it conveys empirical alignment in dispositions that predictably engenders rapport, such as mutual enjoyment of intellectual pursuits fostering interpersonal ease. For instance, one might describe "a natural affinity with animals" to signify intuitive understanding and comfort derived from compatible temperaments, observable in behaviors like unprompted responsiveness.^[5] This usage underscores causal links between traits—shared perceptual or motivational frameworks—that enable sustained interaction, as evidenced in phrases like "he felt an immediate affinity for the group's collaborative style." Such connections are verifiable through repeated positive engagements, avoiding conflation with transient likenesses lacking depth. Contemporary examples abound in non-specialized contexts, such as "the child's affinity for puzzles" highlighting precocious pattern recognition, or "cultural affinity between neighbors" denoting harmonious coexistence from overlapping customs without formal alliance.^[6] These applications privilege observable affinities grounded in practical outcomes, like enhanced productivity or emotional resonance, over abstract or ideological overlays. Merriam-Webster explicitly ties the term to "sympathy marked by community of interest," reinforcing its role in denoting verifiable, interest-driven harmonies in ordinary discourse.^[1]

Legal and Kinship Relations

Affinity in Law

In law, affinity denotes the kinship relation established by marriage between a person and the consanguineal relatives of their spouse, distinct from blood relations (consanguinity). This creates legal ties such as those between in-laws, which historically and in certain jurisdictions impose restrictions on marriage, inheritance, and sexual conduct to preserve family structures and prevent perceived moral hazards.^[7]^[8] The concept originated in Roman law, which recognized affinity as extending familial bonds through marriage, and was elaborated in medieval canon law under Christian doctrine influenced by Leviticus 18, where approximately half of the specified prohibited unions involve affinity, such as a man marrying his father's wife or brother's wife.^[9] Canon law treated affinity as arising from valid marital intercourse, rendering it a diriment impediment (nullifying marriage) in the direct line indefinitely and in the collateral line up to the fourth degree, based on the theological principle that spouses become "one flesh."^[10]^[11] This framework permeated common law systems, prohibiting unions within prohibited degrees until reforms like England's Deceased Wife's Sister Marriage Act of 1907, which permitted marriage to a deceased spouse's sibling, reflecting evolving societal norms.^[12] In modern jurisdictions, affinity retains significance primarily in incest statutes rather than broad marriage bans, with U.S. states prohibiting sexual relations within certain degrees of affinity to deter familial disruption. For instance, Georgia's O.C.G.A. § 16-6-22 criminalizes incest including relations by affinity, such as with a step-parent or sibling-in-law.^[13] Nevada's NRS 201.180 similarly bars acts within prohibited degrees of affinity, like step-child relations.^[14] Hawaii's HRS § 707-741 defines incest to encompass affinity degrees, punishable as a felony.^[15] Catholic canon law, via the 1983 Code, limits affinity impediments to the direct line (e.g., parent-in-law), eliminating collateral restrictions present in earlier codes.^[10] Legal disputes remain infrequent, as cultural taboos align with statutes, though affinity can influence inheritance claims or juror disqualifications in some states, such as Georgia's sixth-degree rule.^[16] Affinity denotes kinship ties forged through marriage, contrasting with consanguinity, which stems from shared blood descent.^[17] ^[18] Affinal relationships extend biological family structures by incorporating spouses' kin, thereby broadening social networks and generating reciprocal obligations such as aid in crises, resource sharing, and ceremonial participation, as documented in cross-cultural anthropological analyses.^[19] ^[20] In many kinship systems, these extensions influence inheritance practices, where affinal kin may claim portions of estates or mediate succession disputes, though such claims often yield to consanguineal priorities based on generational proximity.^[21] Empirical studies of household and kinship dynamics reveal that affinal bonds enhance multilevel social cooperation, acting as proxies for alliance strength independent of genetic relatedness.^[20] Among tribal societies, affinal alliances via marriage frequently avert feuds by linking lineages into cooperative units; for example, corporate lineages organize marital ties to resolve conflicts, provide mutual defense, and regulate resource access.^[22] ^[23] In contemporary Western settings, affinity manifests in stepfamily configurations post-divorce, where ties to non-biological relatives complicate child custody and co-parenting; data indicate that children in such arrangements face elevated risks of emotional and behavioral issues, with non-biological adults linked to over eightfold higher odds of abuse-related mortality compared to biological kin.^[24] ^[25] In the United States as of 2019, approximately 1 in 10 children resided in married or cohabiting stepfamilies, underscoring the scale of these affinal extensions.^[26] While affinal networks expand support systems—facilitating resource pooling and conflict mediation—they also precipitate tensions, including property disputes where competing affinal and consanguineal claims erode familial cohesion, as evidenced in ethnographic accounts of inheritance rivalries.^[27] ^[21]

Scientific and Technical Concepts

Chemical and Physical Affinity

Chemical affinity quantifies the driving force for chemical reactions, representing the tendency of reactants to transform into products through bond formation or breakage. In thermodynamic terms, it corresponds to the negative change in Gibbs free energy, ΔG = ΔH - TΔS, where ΔH is the enthalpy change, T the absolute temperature, and ΔS the entropy change; a negative ΔG indicates a spontaneous process favoring equilibrium toward products under constant temperature and pressure.^[28]^[29] This formulation, rooted in empirical calorimetry and statistical mechanics, supplants earlier qualitative notions by providing a causal link between molecular energetics and reaction directionality. Early conceptualizations emerged from empirical observations of displacement reactions, with Étienne François Geoffroy publishing the first affinity table in 1718, ranking acids and metals by their relative strengths in precipitating or displacing partners.^[30] Antoine Lavoisier's experiments in the 1770s–1780s, demonstrating mass conservation and oxygen's role in acids and combustion, shifted affinity toward quantitative, mechanistic explanations devoid of phlogiston or vital forces. Jöns Jacob Berzelius advanced this in the 1810s by integrating electrochemistry, positing affinity as arising from electrical polarities; his electromotive series, derived from voltaic cell voltages, ordered elements by reduction potentials, correlating higher voltages with stronger affinities in redox reactions.^[31] These developments rejected vitalistic interpretations, emphasizing observable displacements and electrical forces as causal agents. Twentieth-century quantum mechanics elucidated affinity at the electronic level, modeling bonds as wavefunction overlaps that minimize total energy via covalent sharing or ionic transfer. Valence bond theory, formalized by Heitler and London in 1927, and molecular orbital theory describe how paired electrons in overlapping orbitals yield net stabilization, with bond dissociation energies (typically 100–1000 kJ/mol) quantifying affinity strengths. In physical contexts, such as surface interactions, affinity governs physisorption via weak van der Waals forces (5–50 kJ/mol) versus chemisorption's stronger covalent bonds. Applications span catalysis and thermodynamics: catalysts reduce activation barriers while preserving ΔG, enabling faster equilibration as in heterogeneous catalysis where surface affinities dictate reactant adsorption rates. In process design, affinity calculations predict yields, e.g., Haber-Bosch synthesis where ammonia formation's ΔG shifts negative above 400°C under pressure. Recent quantum mechanical simulations compute precise affinity constants, such as dissociation constants Kd or IC50 values (half-maximal inhibitory concentrations, often in nM range for potent ligands), aiding material synthesis and reaction engineering by forecasting binding energetics from first principles.^[32]^[33]

Biological and Evolutionary Affinity

In biology, affinity refers to the degree of structural, functional, or genetic similarity between organisms or biomolecules, often indicating shared evolutionary origins through common descent. This concept underpins taxonomic classification, where similarities in morphology, such as homologous structures—the forelimbs of vertebrates exhibiting pentadactyl patterns despite divergent functions—suggest inheritance from a common ancestor, as articulated in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859). Modern verification comes from comparative genomics; for instance, sequence alignment of cytochrome c proteins across species reveals phylogenetic trees mirroring fossil records, with divergence times correlating to geological data, supporting causal mechanisms of descent with modification rather than independent convergence. Evolutionary affinity is empirically quantified through molecular phylogenetics, where genetic sequencing demonstrates conserved sequences implying ancestry. Humans and chimpanzees share approximately 98.7% of their DNA, including non-coding regions, with single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions tracing to a last common ancestor around 6-7 million years ago, as evidenced by fossil-calibrated molecular clocks. Such affinities extend to distant taxa; Hox gene clusters, regulating body plans, are conserved from fruit flies to humans, with experimental knockouts in model organisms disrupting homologous development, causally linking sequence similarity to shared developmental pathways evolved over 600 million years. These findings prioritize genetic evidence over morphological alone, countering earlier typological biases in taxonomy that overlooked convergence due to environmental pressures. In immunology, biological affinity manifests as the binding strength of antibodies to antigens, refined through evolutionary processes within an organism's lifetime. Affinity maturation occurs via somatic hypermutation in B cells, introducing point mutations at rates up to 10^-3 per base pair per generation—orders of magnitude higher than germline mutation—followed by clonal selection in germinal centers, increasing average antibody affinity by 100- to 1,000-fold within days of antigen exposure. This was first mechanistically elucidated in the 1970s through hybridoma technology, enabling monoclonal antibody production and observation of mutation hotspots in immunoglobulin variable regions.90275-5.pdf) Causal realism here underscores selection pressures: higher-affinity clones proliferate due to better competition for antigen, mirroring natural selection at the cellular level, with empirical support from mouse models where disrupting activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) halts the process, abolishing maturation. Recent advancements integrate evolutionary affinity with high-throughput techniques for ligand discovery. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics, such as affinity selection mass spectrometry (ASMS), screens protein-ligand interactions by immobilizing targets and eluting binders, identifying candidates with dissociation constants (Kd) in the nanomolar range, as applied to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein inhibitors in 2020-2021 studies yielding hits with 10-100-fold affinity improvements over initial leads. These methods leverage evolutionary conservation—e.g., targeting epitopes shared across viral strains—to predict cross-reactivity, grounded in sequence alignments from databases like UniProt, which catalog affinities via curated experimental Kd values from over 10^6 interactions. Unlike purely chemical assays, biological contexts incorporate evolutionary dynamics, such as epitope drift observed in influenza, where hemagglutinin mutations reduce affinity by 50-90% annually, necessitating vaccine updates based on phylogenetic surveillance. Source credibility in these fields favors peer-reviewed journals over institutional reports, given academia's occasional overemphasis on novelty at the expense of replication, though large-scale genomic consortia provide robust, data-driven validations.

Mathematical and Computational Affinity

In mathematics, an affine transformation is a mapping between affine spaces that preserves collinearity and ratios of distances along parallel lines, combining a linear transformation with a translation.^[34]^[35] Formally, for a vector space over the reals, an affine transformation T: \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^n can be expressed as T(\mathbf{x}) = A\mathbf{x} + \mathbf{b}, where A is an invertible linear map and \mathbf{b} is a translation vector.^[34] This structure ensures that straight lines map to straight lines and parallel lines remain parallel, but unlike similarity transformations—which preserve angles and scale ratios uniformly—affine transformations permit shearing and non-uniform scaling, allowing distortions that model real-world deformations without preserving shape.^[36] Affine transformations underpin geometric modeling in fields like computer graphics, where they enable efficient manipulations such as rotation, scaling, shearing, and translation of objects while maintaining parallelism essential for rendering pipelines.^[37] In physics simulations, affine spaces provide a framework for describing positions, velocities, and forces without privileging an origin, facilitating the representation of rigid body motions and trajectories in Euclidean space.^[38] For instance, in n-body simulations or robotics, affine coordinates distinguish points from direction vectors, enabling accurate propagation of physical constraints like conservation of parallelism in accelerated frames.^[38] In computational contexts, affinity often refers to quantitative measures of relatedness between data points, such as cosine similarity, which computes the cosine of the angle between vectors to assess directional alignment in high-dimensional spaces, independent of magnitude.^[39] This metric, ranging from -1 (opposite) to 1 (identical direction), supports tasks like clustering and nearest-neighbor search in machine learning by normalizing Euclidean distances onto the unit hypersphere.^[39] Recent applications extend to AI-driven predictions of molecular binding affinities in drug discovery, where graph neural networks trained on datasets like PDBbind achieve sub-kcal/mol accuracy in forecasting protein-ligand interaction strengths, outperforming classical scoring functions through learned representations of steric and energetic factors.^[40] These models, refined via data debiasing techniques, enhance generalization across chemical scaffolds, directly informing virtual screening pipelines with causal links to empirical binding free energies.^[40]

Interpersonal Attraction

Interpersonal attraction, a key manifestation of psychological affinity, refers to the positive affective response or liking toward others based on perceived similarity in attitudes, values, or traits. This phenomenon was formalized in Donn Byrne's similarity-attraction paradigm, which through controlled experiments in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrated that individuals experience greater attraction to those sharing similar attitudes, as similarity provides reinforcement and reduces uncertainty in interactions.^[41] ^[42] Byrne's reinforcement model posits that agreement on attitudes yields positive outcomes, leading to conditioned liking, with empirical findings consistently showing moderate to strong positive correlations between attitudinal similarity and attraction ratings.^[42] Causal mechanisms underlying this attraction blend innate predispositions and learned experiences, with evolutionary psychology emphasizing assortative mating—pairing with phenotypically similar partners—to maximize genetic compatibility and offspring viability. Twin and family studies provide robust evidence, revealing spousal correlations for traits like educational attainment, intelligence, and height that exceed random expectations, often ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 after accounting for shared environments.^[43] ^[44] These patterns suggest heritable influences drive similarity-seeking, countering purely social constructivist views that attribute attraction solely to cultural conditioning; cross-cultural data and biological constraints on preferences, such as facial symmetry linked to health cues, indicate enduring evolved components often underrepresented in nurture-dominant academic narratives.^[45] Longitudinal research links interpersonal similarity to relational outcomes, including higher satisfaction and longevity, as shared perceptions of situations and personality traits foster empathy and reduce conflict over time.^[46] ^[47] Couples exhibiting trait concordance, such as in Big Five dimensions, report greater stability, with actor-partner similarity effects persisting across years.^[48] Benefits include enhanced mutual understanding and resilience, yet drawbacks arise from reinforced homogeneity, potentially limiting adaptive viewpoint diversity and amplifying individual biases in decision-making, though direct longitudinal data on interpersonal "echo chambers" remains sparse compared to group-level analyses.^[49] Mainstream interpretations sometimes overemphasize environmental malleability, influenced by institutional preferences for constructivist frameworks, despite empirical heritability estimates challenging such accounts.^[45]

Group and Cultural Affinity

Group affinity in sociology manifests as the tendency for individuals to form and maintain social clusters based on shared attributes such as interests, ethnicity, or profession, primarily driven by homophily—the principle that similarity breeds connection.^[50] Empirical analyses of social networks, including longitudinal studies of adolescents and adults, reveal that homophily operates across dimensions like race and ethnicity, with network ties forming preferentially among similar individuals due to reduced coordination costs and aligned preferences.^[50]^[51] This process aligns with rational choice frameworks, where actors select associations that maximize utility through shared values and reduced uncertainty, as evidenced in models of network evolution where similarity predicts tie stability over random pairings.^[52] Voluntary social affinity groups, such as professional networks or hobby-based communities, exemplify this dynamic, emerging from individual decisions to cluster for instrumental benefits like information exchange or mutual support, rather than imposed ideologies. Historical activism groups, from labor unions to civil rights organizations, often coalesced along these lines, but data from network studies underscore that formation stems from self-interested homophily rather than abstract collectivism. For instance, analyses of workplace and school networks show that shared occupational or educational backgrounds predict denser subgroup ties, enhancing collective efficacy without relying on romanticized group narratives.^[50] Cultural affinity, particularly ethnic variants, exhibits robust homophily, with genetic underpinnings contributing to observed correlations between ancestry, behavioral traits, and group cohesion. Genome-wide studies indicate that friends and network members share genetic variants beyond chance, particularly in pathways influencing sociality, suggesting a heritable basis for affinity selection that challenges purely environmental explanations of cultural clustering.^[53]^[54] Cross-population research further links linguistic and geographic affinities to genetic diversity patterns, as seen in analyses of 31 global groups where genetic distance mirrors cultural divergence, implying co-evolution of genes and traditions over millennia.^[55] Such groups foster resilience, with ethnic identity serving as a buffer against external stressors; longitudinal data on minority youth demonstrate that strong ingroup ties correlate with lower psychological distress and higher adaptive outcomes amid discrimination.^[56] However, affinity-driven homophily incurs exclusionary costs, as social network analyses reveal persistent segregation that restricts cross-group information diffusion and disadvantages minorities in diverse settings by limiting access to broader resources.^[51]^[57] In organizational contexts, over-reliance on ethnic or interest-based subgroups can amplify echo chambers, reducing overall network adaptability, per simulations and empirical mappings of tie distributions.^[58] These trade-offs highlight affinity's dual role in bolstering internal solidarity while potentially hindering integrative social capital.

Commercial and Financial Applications

Affinity Marketing and Partnerships

Affinity marketing refers to strategic partnerships between businesses and organizations sharing common affiliations, such as alumni associations, professional groups, or nonprofits, to promote products or services to the organization's members, capitalizing on pre-existing trust and loyalty within the group.^[59] These collaborations typically involve co-branded offerings, like credit cards or insurance products, where the affinity partner endorses the business's goods in exchange for revenue shares or royalties, fostering mutual economic gains through targeted outreach.^[60] The model's expansion accelerated after financial deregulation in the early 1980s, notably the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, which phased out interest rate ceilings on deposits and granted banks greater flexibility to innovate and compete for customers via specialized products.^[61] This enabled financial institutions to form affinity ties with non-financial entities, proliferating co-branded credit card programs by the mid-1980s, as banks sought cost-effective ways to tap into loyal demographics amid rising competition.^[62] Prominent examples include university alumni association credit cards, where issuers like MBNA (now part of Bank of America) partnered with over 1,000 colleges by the late 1990s, generating royalties for associations—such as $100,000 for one program in its first two years—and driving member engagement through perks like donations per transaction.^[62] By 2009, such affinity agreements numbered over 1,000, though they declined to 617 by 2012 following regulatory curbs on campus marketing under the Credit CARD Act of 2009.^[63] These partnerships enhance customer acquisition efficiency by accessing vetted audiences with inherent trust, reducing marketing costs and yielding higher conversion rates than broad advertising, as members perceive endorsed products as aligned with group values.^[64] Cardholders in affinity programs often demonstrate elevated loyalty and spending, with issuers benefiting from lower churn due to the social reinforcement of group affiliation.^[60] Drawbacks include privacy risks from data sharing between partners to enable personalized targeting, potentially exposing member details to third parties without robust safeguards.^[65] Exclusive affinity deals can also invite antitrust challenges if they substantially foreclose market access for rivals, as seen in scrutiny of vertical information exchanges that might suppress competition, though direct cases in affinity marketing remain limited compared to broader data-driven sectors.^[66]

Financial Products and Services

Affinity banking refers to financial institutions or products designed for specific affinity groups, such as professional associations, alumni networks, or community organizations, where shared identity fosters tailored services like customized loans, deposits, and insurance.^[67] These models leverage group cohesion to offer member-exclusive benefits, including lower fees and reinvestment of profits within the community rather than to external shareholders.^[68] Credit unions exemplify affinity banking, often restricting membership to tied groups and emphasizing cooperative ownership. For instance, Affinity Credit Union in Saskatchewan operates as a member-owned institution serving local residents and businesses exclusively within the province, with origins tracing to Saskatchewan's early credit unions formed during the Great Depression in the 1930s to provide accessible financing amid economic hardship.^[69]^[70] The modern entity resulted from mergers, enabling it to deliver community-focused products like mortgages and business loans that prioritize local economic reinvestment.^[69] Affinity products extend to group insurance and lending, where affiliations enable pooled risk and negotiated terms. Affinity group insurance, for example, targets members of associations for policies like accident or travel coverage, allowing insurers to achieve cost efficiencies through better risk profiling and claims reduction within homogeneous groups.^[71] Empirical data indicates these programs can lower claims frequency via targeted risk management, though overall performance varies by group size and underwriting rigor.^[71] In lending, affinity-linked loans for group members, such as those through professional bodies, often feature competitive rates but have shown mixed results on profitability, with some analyses finding no superior customer value compared to standard products.^[72] Customer retention in affinity banking benefits from the cooperative model, where member ownership aligns incentives toward long-term relationships over short-term gains, though specific churn reductions depend on service quality and economic conditions.^[68] Studies on banking loyalty highlight that not-for-profit structures like credit unions correlate with sustained engagement, as members perceive direct benefits from collective success.^[73] Recent developments include digital affinity platforms targeting niche markets, such as neobanks offering app-based services for underserved segments like gig workers or specific professions, which bypass traditional branches for scalable, data-driven personalization.^[67]^[74] These innovations facilitate rapid onboarding and customized features, such as integrated tools for industry-specific cash flows. However, regulatory frameworks imposing high compliance burdens on new entrants have been faulted for curbing such specialized advancements by favoring established players and elevating entry costs.^[75]^[76]

Computing and Software

Affinity Software Suite

The Affinity Software Suite, developed by Serif, comprises three professional creative applications: Affinity Designer for vector graphics and illustration, Affinity Photo for raster-based image editing and retouching, and Affinity Publisher for desktop publishing and layout design. Launched initially with Affinity Designer in October 2014, followed by Affinity Photo in July 2015 and Affinity Publisher in June 2019, the suite positions itself as a cost-effective alternative to Adobe's Creative Cloud tools, offering perpetual licenses rather than subscriptions.^[77] Each application supports cross-platform compatibility on Windows, macOS, and iPadOS, with native 64-bit architecture and hardware acceleration for enhanced performance in tasks like non-destructive editing, live filters, and multi-layer workflows.^[78]^[79]^[80] Version 2.0 of the suite, released in November 2022, introduced unified features such as one-click export to SVG, advanced typography controls, and improved iPad touch optimizations, including Apple Pencil support for precise input.^[81] These updates emphasized seamless file interoperability across apps, allowing users to switch between vector, raster, and layout modes without exporting, which has appealed to freelancers and small studios seeking Adobe-like integration without recurring fees. In March 2024, Serif was acquired by Canva, prompting speculation on future integrations, though the suite retained its standalone model until October 2025, when sales were temporarily halted ahead of an October 30 announcement teased as delivering "creative freedom."^[82]^[83] Market reception has been largely positive for individual users, with Affinity Designer earning an Apple Design Award in 2015 for its innovative interface and speed, and Affinity Publisher named Apple's Mac App of the Year in 2019.^[84]^[85] Reviews highlight its value, with PCMag awarding Affinity Designer 4.0 stars in 2024 for robust vector tools and affordability at $69.99 per app or $164.99 for the suite.^[86] However, enterprise users have criticized limitations such as insufficient scripting automation, lack of integrated digital asset management, and occasional stability issues on Windows compared to macOS, positioning it as better suited for prosumer workflows than large-scale production environments.^[87] User forums reflect divided opinions post-acquisition, with concerns over potential subscription shifts eroding its core appeal.^[88]

Affinity in Data and Algorithms

Affinity propagation, a clustering algorithm that identifies exemplars among data points based on pairwise similarity measures known as affinities, was introduced by Brendan J. Frey and Delbert Dueck in 2007. The method operates through iterative message passing between data points, where "responsibility" messages indicate how well-suited a point is to serve as an exemplar for another, and "availability" messages reflect the suitability of an exemplar for multiple points, enabling automatic determination of cluster numbers without predefined parameters like k in k-means.^[89] This approach excels in scenarios with non-Euclidean affinities, such as cosine similarity for sparse high-dimensional data, making it suitable for processing heterogeneous datasets in AI pipelines. In recommendation systems, affinity propagation clusters users or items by affinities derived from interaction histories, facilitating exemplar-based predictions that enhance personalization without assuming uniform cluster sizes.^[90] For instance, hybrid systems integrate it with collaborative filtering to group similar preferences, improving recommendation diversity and reducing cold-start issues by propagating affinities across sparse matrices.^[91] Empirical evaluations on datasets like MovieLens demonstrate its efficacy in identifying representative exemplars that outperform traditional methods in capturing long-tail preferences, with reported gains in precision at k up to 15% over baseline clustering in certain domains.^[92] For customer segmentation in data-driven CRM processes, graph-based affinity extensions refine clusters by incorporating relational edges, yielding more granular segments based on behavioral similarities rather than solely demographic or transactional metrics.^[93] Studies on affinity propagation variants show empirical accuracy improvements of 10-20% in segmentation purity metrics, such as adjusted Rand index, when applied to real-world transaction graphs compared to density-based alternatives, enabling targeted interventions with verifiable uplift in retention rates.^[94] These graph affinities prioritize structural causal links, like co-purchase patterns, over latent embeddings, providing traceable decision paths. Unlike opaque deep learning clusters reliant on end-to-end optimization, affinity propagation's explicit message-passing mechanism enhances interpretability, allowing verification of cluster coherence through affinity matrices and exemplar assignments, which benchmarks confirm reduces error in explainable AI tasks relative to black-box neural approaches.^[95] This causal transparency supports auditing in high-stakes data applications, where post-hoc explanations of neural models often fail fidelity tests, underscoring the algorithm's alignment with verifiable, non-correlative inference.^[96]

Arts, Media, and Entertainment

Music and Literature

The British jazz-rock band Affinity, formed in 1968 at the University of Sussex, released its self-titled debut and only studio album in 1970 on the Vertigo label, blending progressive rock, psychedelic elements, and blues influences through keyboardist Lynton Naiff's arrangements and vocalist Linda Hoyle's performances.^[97] Recorded between 1968 and 1970 at Trident and Island Studios under producer John Anthony, the album's tracks, such as "Night Flight" and covers of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix songs, demonstrated an elective fusion of jazz improvisation with rock structures, achieving cult status in progressive circles despite limited commercial chart success at the time.^[98] This work exemplified affinity as a creative principle uniting disparate musical traditions, influencing later genre hybrids without mainstream breakthroughs, as evidenced by its reissues and enduring niche acclaim.^[99] In progressive metal, the band Haken's fourth studio album, Affinity, released on April 29, 2016, by Inside Out Music, explored thematic affinities between human cognition and artificial intelligence through sci-fi narratives in tracks like "1985" and "Earthrise," garnering positive reviews for its technical complexity and melodic integration.^[100] While not attaining broad chart dominance, the album's reception highlighted its success in evoking interconnected sonic and conceptual kinships, with critics praising songs for balancing progressive experimentation and accessibility.^[100] In literature, affinity frequently denotes profound, often inexplicable bonds between characters, as in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1809 novel Elective Affinities (Die Wahlverwandtschaften), which analogizes human attractions and marital disruptions to chemical reactions, portraying emotional affinities as forces challenging social order and rational choice.^[101] Goethe's narrative, drawing on emerging chemical theories, critiqued bourgeois conventions by depicting affinities as deterministic yet disruptive, influencing 19th-century explorations of passion over propriety in works emphasizing causal realism in relationships.^[101] Sarah Waters's Affinity (1999), a neo-Victorian novel published in the UK by Virago and in the US by Riverhead Books in 2000, centers on protagonist Margaret Prior's obsessive bond with imprisoned spiritualist Selina Dawes, using affinity to probe themes of deception, psychological imprisonment, and spectral connections amid Victorian spiritualism.^[102] The work achieves evocative depth in rendering emotional kinships as potentially illusory or manipulative, echoing 19th-century gothic tropes of entrapment while critiquing clichéd idealizations of transcendent bonds that overlook empirical deceptions and power imbalances.^[103] Such portrayals balance artistic insight into human affinities with recognition of their narrative risks, including overromanticized portrayals unsubstantiated by causal evidence of mutual agency.^[103]

Film, Games, and Other Media

In film, "Affinity" (2008) is a British drama directed by Tim Fywell, adapting Sarah Waters' 1999 novel of the same name, which explores themes of obsession and spiritualism through the relationship between a Victorian-era woman and a supposed medium imprisoned for fraud. The story centers on emotional and psychological bonds formed under constrained circumstances, emphasizing affinity as a catalyst for personal transformation and deception. A more recent entry, "Affinity" (2025), is an American action thriller directed by Brandon Slagle, starring Marko Zaror as a PTSD-afflicted ex-Navy SEAL who forms a protective bond with a rescued woman amid threats in Thailand; the film received mixed reviews, with a 5.1/10 rating on IMDb from 460 users, praised for action choreography but critiqued for formulaic writing.^[104] ^[105] Video games frequently incorporate affinity mechanics to simulate relational dynamics and player choices, where affinity represents measurable bonds between characters, factions, or elements that influence gameplay outcomes such as unlocked abilities or narrative branches. In Fallout 4 (2015) and Fallout 76 (2018), affinity is a companion system mechanic tracking approval based on player actions like combat style or dialogue, culminating in perks or romance options once thresholds are met, with data showing it encourages replayability through behavioral feedback loops.^[106] Similarly, the Tales of series, such as Tales of Symphonia (2003, remastered 2016), uses affinity to gauge character relationships via skits and battles, unlocking cooperative attacks or story events; higher affinities empirically correlate with enhanced team synergy in empirical playtests, as affinities rise through repeated interactions.^[107] Standalone titles like Affinity (2019), a minimalist puzzle game on Steam, evoke thematic affinity through geometric alignment puzzles set to relaxing music, garnering positive user reception for its serene approach to pattern recognition without explicit social mechanics.^[108] In interactive media design, affinity diagrams serve as UX tools for synthesizing qualitative data into thematic clusters, facilitating idea grouping in game and film prototyping; originated in the 1960s but digitized post-2010s via tools like Miro and MURAL, they aid pattern identification from user feedback, with 2025 methodologies emphasizing AI-assisted clustering for faster synthesis in agile environments.^[109] ^[110] Empirical studies indicate they reduce cognitive load in design teams by 20-30% through visual affinity grouping, proven effective in UX research for games where mechanics like alliance-building require holistic user insight synthesis.^[111] Digital adaptations, integrated into apps with app store ratings averaging 4.5/5 for tools like Lucidchart, reflect post-2010s adoption in media workflows for brainstorming narrative affinities or UI affinities in interactive storytelling.^[112]

Religion, Philosophy, and Other Uses

Theological and Spiritual Affinity

In Christian theology, affinity denotes a relational bond arising from marriage, treated as a diriment impediment in Catholic canon law that invalidates unions in the direct line—such as between a person and the blood relatives of their spouse—to preserve familial reverence and avoid moral confusion akin to incest.^[10] This impediment originates from the sacramental unity of spouses as "one flesh," extending a quasi-spiritual kinship to in-laws, formalized in medieval canon law through Gratian's Decretum (circa 1140), which drew on earlier patristic and Roman legal traditions.^[113] Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica (1265–1274), defended its rationale by arguing that affinity obstructs the natural expansion of honor and affection within families, though debates persisted on its collateral degrees and whether it applied equally to spiritual relationships like godparenthood.^[113] The Reformation marked a causal shift in these doctrines, as Protestant reformers like Martin Luther rejected affinity impediments beyond scriptural prohibitions (e.g., Leviticus 18), viewing medieval expansions as human accretions that burdened consciences and contradicted the primacy of mutual consent under divine ordinance.^[114] In Luther's Germany by the 1520s, marriage laws simplified to eliminate affinity barriers, emphasizing predestined vocations over ecclesiastical restrictions, a change empirically evidenced in reduced annulments and increased lay autonomy in matrimonial choices.^[115] This contrasted with the Council of Trent (1563), which reaffirmed Catholic impediments, including affinity, as divinely sanctioned to uphold public honesty and sacramental integrity.^[116] Beyond canonical usage, theological affinity encompasses spiritual kinship among believers, portraying the church as God's household where faith creates bonds transcending biology, as articulated in Pauline epistles like Ephesians 2:19 ("members of the household of God") and Galatians 3:28 (unity erasing ethnic and social divides).^[117] This affinity fosters communal solidarity through the indwelling Spirit, enabling ethical formation and mutual affection, yet Paul warns against unequal yoking with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), highlighting tensions between inclusive election and practical separation.^[118] In Protestant traditions, particularly Reformed theology, spiritual affinity aligns with divine election, wherein the predestined exhibit a congenital likeness to God's grace, distinguishing them from the reprobate while binding the elect in covenantal unity—Calvin described this as God's adoption joining persons in immediate relational proximity.^[119] Such views achieved tight-knit ecclesial bonds, as seen in confessional alliances, but drew criticism for fostering exclusionary tendencies that prioritize doctrinal conformity over broader evangelistic outreach, potentially contradicting Paul's universal salvific emphasis.^[120] Catholic sacramentalism, by contrast, embeds affinity in ecclesial mediation, subordinating personal election to communal rites, reflecting ongoing doctrinal divergences rooted in soteriological causal chains.^[10]

Miscellaneous Applications

In philosophy, affinity denotes a principle of metaphysical resemblance or likeness between entities, as articulated in Plato's Phaedo, where the soul's affinity to eternal, invisible Forms—characterized by simplicity, uniformity, and divinity—contrasts with the body's affinity to the mutable, visible world, purportedly evidencing the soul's immortality and separability from the body.^[121] This argument prioritizes analogical similarity over observable causal mechanisms, a approach critiqued in empirical traditions for lacking testable predictions and favoring idealistic abstraction detached from material interactions.^[122] In ecology, biogeographic affinity refers to the shared distributional origins or regional similarities among species, which modulate relationships between productivity and species richness at local and regional scales; for instance, empirical analyses across grasslands show that regions with higher internal biogeographic affinity exhibit steeper productivity-richness slopes due to historical dispersal constraints rather than contemporaneous environmental filters alone.^[123] Similarly, plant species with tropical biogeographic affinity demonstrate heightened range expansions under warming scenarios, interacting with mean annual temperature to predict invasion potential in temperate zones.^[124] In materials science, surface affinity describes the intermolecular attraction driving adhesion between dissimilar materials, quantified through models of peeling mechanics that replicate natural systems like gecko setae, where van der Waals forces yield reversible adhesion strengths up to 100 N/cm² on smooth substrates.^[125] Recent engineering advances, such as armored metasurfaces, leverage tuned surface affinities to enhance durability in optical applications, achieving adhesion energies exceeding 10 J/m² via nanoscale patterning.^[126] Emerging applications in quantum computing utilize affinity metrics for molecular simulations; in April 2025, researchers demonstrated quantum machine learning models predicting proton affinities—defined as the negative enthalpy change for gas-phase protonation—with errors below 5 kcal/mol, surpassing classical density functional theory by incorporating quantum entanglement effects in proton transfer dynamics.^[127] These prototypes, tested on systems like ammonia and water clusters, highlight affinity's role in benchmarking quantum advantage for biochemical processes.^[128]

References

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Definition of AFFINITY
### Summary of "Affinity" from Merriam-Webster
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affinity, n. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
affinity is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French affinité; Latin affīnitāt-, affīnitās. See ...
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Binding affinity - (Biological Chemistry I) - Fiveable
Binding affinity refers to the strength of the interaction between a molecule, such as a ligand, and its target, typically a protein or receptor.
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Affinity - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
Originating c.1300 from Old French "afinite" and Latin "affinitatem," the word means "relation by marriage," denoting kinship or adjacency.
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AFFINITY Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words
While all three words mean "the relationship existing between things or persons that are naturally or involuntarily drawn together," affinity implies a ...
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Examples of 'AFFINITY' in a Sentence - Merriam-Webster
Sep 5, 2024 · noun Definition of affinity Synonyms for affinity He never felt any affinity with the other kids in his neighborhood. Many in Hong Kong still feel an affinity ...
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AFFINITY - The Law Dictionary
Relationship by marriage between the husband and the blood relations of the wife, and be- tween the wife and the blood relations of the D husband.
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1-1-219. Relationship by affinity, MCA
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Affinity (In Canon Law) - New Advent
A relationship arising from the carnal intercourse of a man and a woman, sufficient for the generation of children.
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Affinity | Encyclopedia.com
The relationship that a person has to the blood relatives of a spouse by virtue of the marriage. The doctrine of affinity developed from a maxim of canon law ...
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These impediments are either consanguinity or affinity. (i) Consanguinity. The Roman law allowed marriage between persons related in the 4th degree of ...
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§ 16-6-22, while prohibiting sexual relations between certain persons related only by affinity, does not include the stepgrandfather-stepgranddaughter ...
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Close Relationship: The alleged victim must be related to the accused by blood or marriage within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity.
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The impact that such tables, known as affinity tables, had during the 18th century, and the reasons of their vogue receding with the birth of modern chemistry ...
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the modern development of faraday's conception of electricity [1881]
... electrochemical differences, which Berzelius considered the cause of their apparently greater chemical affinity. His theory of the binary character of all ...
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Ligand-Binding Affinity Estimates Supported by Quantum ...
Apr 14, 2016 · We review here approaches involving explicit QM energies to calculate binding affinities, with an emphasis on the methods, rather than on specific applications.
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A comprehensive review of the recent advances on predicting drug ...
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An affine transformation is any transformation that preserves collinearity (ie, all points lying on a line initially still lie on a line after transformation)
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Affine Transformation in Computer Graphics - Tutorials Point
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Geometrically, curves and surfaces are usually considered to be sets of points with some special properties, living in a space consisting of “points.”.
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7.8. Pairwise metrics, Affinities and Kernels - Scikit-learn
This is called cosine similarity, because Euclidean (L2) normalization projects the vectors onto the unit sphere, and their dot product is then the cosine of ...
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Similarity in Situation Perception Predicts Relationship Satisfaction
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[PDF] BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Homophily in Social Networks
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Sources of Segregation in Social Networks: A Novel Approach ...
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Homophily as a Process Generating Social Networks - JASSS
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A genetic basis for friendship? Homophily for membrane-associated ...
Studies in humans suggest friends are more genetically similar, particularly for targets within the 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) cascade.
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How social and genetic factors predict friendship networks - PNAS
Recent research suggests that the genotype of one individual in a friendship pair is predictive of the genotype of his/her friend.
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Correlation between the linguistic affinity and genetic diversity of ...
Aug 1, 2013 · Conclusion. In this study, the correlations of 31 populations' genetics, language and geography were investigated. These 31 populations ...
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Ethnic identity and resilience: a moderated mediation analysis of ...
Jun 29, 2023 · Ethnic identity and resilience have emerged in research as protective factors that can moderate and buffer the impact of racism on PoC's well-being.
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Homophily influences ranking of minorities in social networks - Nature
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What is affinity marketing? | Definition from TechTarget
May 2, 2024 · Affinity marketing is a type of direct marketing in which a business forms a partnership with an organization to provide goods or services ...
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Affinity Marketing | Trans National Group
Affinity marketing is marketing to groups with a common interest, like members of organizations, offering exclusive products or services.<|separator|>
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Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980
The Act was aimed at deregulating depository institutions and improving the Fed's control of monetary policy.
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Marketing to College Students Appears to Have Declined | U.S. GAO
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What Is Affinity Marketing? Definition and Strategies for Success ...
Dec 18, 2024 · Affinity marketing is a type of direct marketing that involves a mutually beneficial partnership between two brands.
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How Niche Banking Can Drive Growth and Loyalty | Bank Director
Dec 18, 2024 · Affinity banking is about creating tailored experiences for distinct communities that share common values, characteristics or needs. These ...
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Credit Unions & Banks: What's the Difference? | Learn - Affinity Plus
Credit unions are not-for-profit organizations owned by their members. Unlike banks, credit unions don't have pressure to make a profit for their investors.Missing: definition examples
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Who We Are | Affinity Credit Union
Affinity is a Saskatchewan-born co-operative financial institution, not a bank, owned by its members, operating only in Saskatchewan.
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Shared Stories | Affinity Credit Union
Harold Chapman's story is about the Great Depression and how it led to the creation of credit unions in Saskatchewan. Harold was a pioneer of the co-operative ...
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Affinity | Insurance Broking & Risk Management - Marsh
An affinity group insurance scheme provides greater control over risk management and the ability to capture new cost efficiencies, reduce claims frequency, and ...
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Evaluating the Effect of Affinity Card Programs on Customer ...
We also show that sports-based affinity programs are the least profitable and surprisingly, alumni-based affinity programs also do poorly relative to other ...
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Understanding customer loyalty in banking industry: A systematic ...
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Apple Design Award for Affinity Designer - News and Information
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Serif Affinity Designer 2 Review - PCMag
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Affinity Publisher Software Reviews, Pros and Cons
Rating 4.7 (61) Cons: Affinity publisher has two main drawbacks similar to those of other Affinity software. Its limited performance on a Windows environment and, of course, ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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I feel some of the negative feedback for Affinity is from ... - Reddit
Apr 26, 2025 · Affinity is great for many people, but it isn't yet professional industry grade quality software. It especially lacks a lot of functionality ...Is Affinity worth it? - RedditDisappointed after a year of Affinity suite. - RedditMore results from www.reddit.comMissing: enterprise | Show results with:enterprise
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[PDF] Clustering by Passing Messages Between Data Points
We devised a method called “affinity propagation,” which takes as input measures of similarity between pairs of data points. Real-valued messages are.
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Affinity Propagation‐Based Hybrid Personalized Recommender ...
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Affinity Propagation-Based Hybrid Personalized Recommender ...
Jan 7, 2022 · Affinity propagation is a semisupervised machine learning algorithm used to cluster items based on similarities among them. In our approach, we ...
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Affinity Propagation-Based Hybrid Personalized Recommender ...
Jan 28, 2022 · Affinity propagation is a semisupervised machine learning algorithm used to cluster items based on similarities among them. In our approach, we ...
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Affinity Segments - All You Need To Know - Netcore Cloud
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[PDF] Improvements in Clustering Using Affinity Propagation: A Review
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AFFINITY Affinity reviews - Prog Archives
Studio Album, released in 1970. Songs / Tracks Listing. 1. I Am And So Are You (3:31) 2. Night Flight (7:15) 3. I Wonder If I'll Care As Much (3:20)Missing: details | Show results with:details
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Affinity ‎– Affinity (1970) - JazzRockSoul.com
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HAKEN Affinity reviews - Prog Archives
However; this record contains wonderful songs and they do put a smile on your face. 'Earthrise' and '1985' are must songs for every progfan to listen this year.
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Goethe and the affinity between chemistry and literature - Mètode
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Affinity: Waters, Sarah: 9781573221566 - Amazon.com
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(PDF) Neo-Victorian Ghosts: Haunting, Spectres, and Spectrality in ...
Aug 5, 2024 · This paper explores the multifaceted roles of spectres within Sarah Waters' neo-Victorian novel Affinity (1999). Largely based on Jacques ...
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Affinity (2025) - IMDb
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Affinity (2025) | Rotten Tomatoes
Affinity doesn't manage its balance, letting tired writing sap the energy from its otherwise strong action.
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Affinity | Fallout Wiki - Fandom
Affinity is a gameplay mechanic associated with the companion system in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.
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Affinity | Aselia Wiki - Fandom
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Affinity on Steam
Affinity is a relaxing minimalist puzzle game. Gentle music ushering you through handmade geometric brain-teasers. Relax | Align | Enjoy
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Affinity Diagramming: Collaboratively Sort UX Findings & Design Ideas
Apr 26, 2024 · Affinity diagramming is a flexible and collaborative UX mapping activity that helps teams organize ideas or facts.
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How to do affinity mapping that doesn't suck | Design Bridges |
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Question 55. The impediment of affinity - New Advent
Affinity is not contrary to the marriage which causes it, but to a marriage being contracted with an affine, in so far as the latter would hinder the extension ...
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[PDF] The Reformation of Marriage Law in Martin Luther's Germany
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[115]
[PDF] How Martin Luther Transformed Marriage
Nov 22, 2017 · In situations where the church was forced to dissolve a marriage based on its stated impediments. (consanguinity, affinity and spiritual ...
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General Council of Trent: Twenty-Fourth Session - Papal Encyclicals
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Topical Bible: Spiritual Kinship
Definition: Spiritual kinship refers to the bond and relationship among believers in Jesus Christ, transcending biological and familial ties.
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Dynamic Reciprocity and Ontological Affinity in the Pauline Account ...
Jan 17, 2020 · When Paul speaks of the solidarity that exists within the Christian community, he does so in a way that links it to the presence of the Spirit, ...
[119]
A Treatise of the Eternal Predestination of God by John Calvin
... God chooses and adopts us unto everlasting life, that the Scripture sometimes joins them together in the same person, on account of their immediate affinity.
[120]
Blest Be the Tie that Binds: The Theology of Affinity
This paper explores the concept of affinity from a theological perspective, considering what it means to belong together as a church.
[121]
Plato: middle period metaphysics and epistemology
Jun 9, 2003 · The Affinity Argument points to the complexity of material particulars. Rather than present a single property, as it were, to perception, ...
[122]
Plato's affinity argument - Edward Feser
Nov 18, 2009 · The point for now is that there is a family resemblance between what Plato was apparently up to in the affinity argument, and later arguments in ...
[123]
(PDF) Biogeographic Affinity Helps Explain Productivity‐Richness ...
Aug 10, 2025 · Here we examine a potential explanation that we call the biogeographic affinity hypothesis, which proposes that the productivity-richness ...
[124]
Plant species biogeographic origin shapes their current and future ...
Oct 20, 2022 · We found clear effects of an interaction between mean annual temperature and biogeographic origin. Specifically, having a biogeographic affinity ...
[125]
Understanding Surface Adhesion in Nature: A Peeling Model
Jan 25, 2016 · The peeling model effectively aids in understanding natural and biomimetic surface adhesion as well as designing artificial surface adhesive ...<|separator|>
[126]
Surface Adhesion Engineering for Armored Metasurfaces and Beyond
Oct 17, 2025 · This work provides a scalable framework for deploying metasurfaces in demanding applications, from field-ready light detection and ranging ( ...
[127]
Quantum computing predicts proton affinity with superior accuracy
Apr 2, 2025 · The team was able to demonstrate the capabilities of quantum machine learning by creating a model that was able to predict proton affinity more accurately than ...
[128]
Quantum computing is helping this team simulate biochemistry
Apr 1, 2025 · Dr. Merz and Hongni Jin, PhD, decided to test its ability to simulate proton affinity, a fundamental chemical process that is critical to life.