In blending theory, a kind of compression in which a vital relation holding between input spaces (an outer-space relation ) gives rise to reduced complexity in the blended space, thereby giving rise to an inner-space relation. Specifically, syncopation reduces the number of events in a temporal ‘string’. For example, a pictorial ‘time-line’ used to represent evolutionary development, for instance, can select just a few notable events in evolution, such as the emergence and extinction of the dinosaurs, followed by the emergence of primates, and then hominids, and then homo sapiens; this represents compression by syncopation.