Reality Drift — Intellectual Lineage
A collection of short papers tracing the intellectual foundations behind the Reality Drift framework. These notes connect ideas from systems theory, media ecology, and cognitive science to recurring patterns in modern informational environments. Each paper revisits a foundational thinker and shows how their work helps explain the way environments shape perception, how constraints stabilize meaning, and how systems begin to drift when those constraints weaken. Together, these papers provide background for the core mechanisms of Reality Drift, including Optimization Traps, Semantic Drift, and Constraint Collapse.
Conceptual Lineage Papers
Reality Drift and Gregory Bateson (PDF)
Connects Reality Drift to Bateson’s work on feedback, difference, systems, and the breakdown of correction when information no longer constrains behavior.
Reality Drift and Marshall McLuhan (PDF)
Shows how McLuhan’s media theory helps explain how environments reshape perception long before people consciously notice the change.
Reality Drift and Terrence Deacon (PDF)
Links Reality Drift to Deacon’s ideas about symbols, constraint, and meaning, showing how representations can become unstable when grounding weakens.
Related Framework Concepts
Explore:
- What Is Reality Drift?
- Overview & FAQ (PDF)
- Reality Drift Glossary (PDF)
Core Concepts: