Scientific Definition
Some processes converge to the same equilibrium regardless of where they started — history stops mattering.
Plain-English Definition
Some processes converge to the same equilibrium regardless of where they started — history stops mattering.
Feynman Explanation
If a system is Markov-convergent, fighting over the starting conditions is theater.
Core Principle
Some processes converge to the same equilibrium regardless of where they started — history stops mattering.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Some processes converge to the same equilibrium regardless of where they started — history stops mattering.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Knowing whether your domain is path-dependent or Markov-convergent changes everything about strategy.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
If a system is Markov-convergent, fighting over the starting conditions is theater.
Examples
- Diffusion of an innovation that eventually saturates the market regardless of who adopted first.
- Knowing whether your domain is path-dependent or Markov-convergent changes everything about strategy.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Ask: 'If we restarted with different initial conditions, would we end up here anyway?'
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Ask: 'If we restarted with different initial conditions, would we end up here anyway?'
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.