Reality Drift Glossary

A short PDF that names structural patterns of misalignment in modern systems.

The glossary comes from the Reality Drift project and focuses on a specific failure mode. Systems that remain coherent, efficient, and functional while gradually losing alignment with lived reality.

Rather than treating these experiences as isolated issues, it identifies recurring patterns that emerge when perception, attention, and meaning are shaped by optimization pressures and layered mediation.

It introduces a small set of coined terms for diagnosing this drift across everyday life, digital environments, and institutional systems.

Examples include:

• Filter Fatigue — why everything feels tiring even when nothing is happening
• Synthetic Realness — when polished signals feel more authentic than lived experience
• Optimization Trap — when improvement turns into compression

If any of that resonates, these PDFs are worth a skim.

Framework Definition:

• Canonical Definition
• Canonical Overview

Glossary PDFs:

• Reality Drift Glossary

Concept Framework PDFs:

• Reality Drift Concept Framework
• Filter Fatigue Concept Framework
• Optimization Trap Concept Framework
• Synthetic Realness Concept Framework
• The Drifted Self Concept Framework

Visual Framework PDFs:

• Reality Drift Visual Glossary
• Reality Drift Visual Frameworks

Writing Elsewhere:

• Substack
• Medium
• Github Repo

Extended Material:

• Visual Reference Collection
• Working Paper Collection
• Book Length Reader Edition
• Mechanics & Taxonomy
• Drift/Fidelity Index
• Reality Drift Explained: Questions About Modern Life
• Connection Papers
• Recognition Guides

This glossary draws from the Reality Drift framework developed between 2023 and 2026 by A. Jacobs.

Note: This site exists as a lightweight archive and reference point. It is not the primary home of the Reality Drift project.