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Path-Dependent Propagation Axiom
SPATIAL
Decay doesn't spread evenly across a building — it follows the paths the structure allows, gathering where moisture travels and surfaces are weakest. This principle holds that a building's own geometry and materials decide where deterioration goes, which is why two identical-looking houses can weather completely differently. We read those paths rather than assume uniform wear.
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.
resistance landscape
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.
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