Drift (D)

1. Canonical Definition

Drift (D) is the rate at which misalignment accumulates in a meaning-system when truth fidelity (T), signal alignment (P), or structural coherence (C) cannot keep pace with system demands. Drift originates as the emergent result of T, P, and C losing proportionality under pressure. Once present, D behaves as a thermodynamic variable, accelerating further inconsistency and reducing interpretive stability.

In Meaning System Science, Drift defines the destabilizing dimension that determines how quickly meaning becomes non-coherent over time.

2. Featured Lineage: Foundational Thinkers

Claude Shannon — A Mathematical Theory of Communication (1948)
Revealed that information reliability decreases as noise and load increase. MSS extends this by defining drift as the measurable rate at which misalignment accumulates when interpretive demands exceed a system’s correction capacity.

Charles Perrow — Normal Accidents (1984)
Showed that complex systems accumulate small inconsistencies that interact to produce non-coherent outcomes. MSS adapts this by treating drift as a structural and thermodynamic property of meaning-systems rather than a failure of individual actors.

3. Plainly

Drift is the rate at which meaning becomes inconsistent.

• It rises when people receive conflicting information.

• It rises when signals diverge across channels or roles.

• It rises when demand exceeds a system’s ability to verify or reconcile interpretation.

When drift increases faster than the system can correct it, interpretation diverges across teams, workflows, and contexts.

4. Scientific Role in Meaning System Science

D represents the thermodynamic dimension of MSS: the dissipation, accumulation, and non-reconciliation of interpretive inconsistency.

Drift captures:

• contradiction buildup,

• unresolved interpretive gaps, and

• inconsistencies that cannot be reconciled across contexts.

Drift is the only variable that directly counteracts proportional stability.

5. Relationship to the Variables (T, P, C, D, A)

• T — Truth Fidelity: Reduced accuracy initiates contradiction buildup.

• P — Signal Alignment: Misaligned signals create unresolved interpretive gaps.

• C — Structural Coherence: Unclear or overloaded structures generate conflicting transmission paths.

• A — Affective Regulation: Lower regulatory bandwidth reduces correction capacity, increasing the drift rate.

• D — Drift: The net rate at which inconsistencies accumulate when stabilizing variables fall out of proportion, and the destabilizing pressure that accelerates non-coherence once present.

6. Relationship to the First Law of Moral Proportion

L = (T × P × C) / D

Drift is the denominator of the First Law.

• As D increases, legitimacy (L) decreases regardless of the strength of T, P, or C.

• Drift is the most sensitive indicator of proportional instability.

A system with high drift cannot maintain interpretive stability even when its inputs appear strong.

7. Application in Transformation Science

Transformation Science uses drift to analyze:

• when inconsistency accumulates faster than corrective mechanisms,

• when variable relationships no longer support proportional stability,

• how T/P/C degradation interacts to produce compounding misalignment, and

• when restructuring is required to restore viable proportional conditions.

Drift is the earliest quantifiable early-warning signal of emerging non-coherence.

8. Application in Transformation Management

Practitioners monitor drift to detect:

• rising inconsistency across channels and workflows,

• contradictory or unclear decision pathways,

• accumulating interpretive discrepancies, and

• declining capacity to maintain a shared understanding.

Reducing drift is essential for stabilizing meaning and enabling legitimate transformation.

9. Example Failure Modes

• Teams operate with divergent interpretations of the same information.

• Signal volume, variability, or complexity exceeds interpretive capacity.

• Structural pathways route information in ways that create conflicting outputs.

• Verification and correction are too slow to reconcile accumulating contradictions.

10. Canonical Cross-References

Meaning System Science • Physics of Becoming • First Law of Moral Proportion • Truth Fidelity (T) • Signal Alignment (P) • Structural Coherence (C) • Affective Regulation (A) • Thermodynamics (Meaning-System) • 3E Standard™ • LDP-1.0 • Transformation Management