Path-Dependent Propagation Axiom

The Path-Dependent Propagation Axiom is one of ATH's five founding axioms (with Correlation Primacy, Interface Tension, Variance Amplification and the Formal Analogy Principle). It holds that degradation does not spread uniformly but follows the specific routes the building's geometry and material boundaries allow — the 'resistance landscape' — so the history and path of colonisation determine the outcome. Where a contaminant lands, how moisture travels and which interfaces are weakest set a path-dependent trajectory, meaning identical organisms on different buildings produce different failures.