Drift
Symbol: D
Definition: The slow departure from a reference point. The rate at which a system moves away from its stated principles or baseline coherence.
The Ship Metaphor
Imagine a ship that sets sail due east. Every day, the current pushes it slightly south. After a year, the ship is hundreds of miles off course — but the crew never noticed because the change was gradual.
That’s drift.
In Social Systems
- Stated beliefs drift from actual behavior
- Original laws drift from current practice
- Founding principles drift from lived reality
Constitutional Drift
The Constitution provides a fixed reference point. We measure how far current practice has drifted from original text.
Related
- Coherence - what drift moves away from
- Inertia - resistance to correcting drift
- Phase Transition - when drift becomes collapse