Routing and Leverage¶
Routing¶
Evolution and work don't change how much energy flows or where it ends. They change how it is routed.
| Aspect | Without evolution | With evolution |
|---|---|---|
| Energy in = out | Yes | Yes |
| Long-run exergy destroyed | ~Same | ~Same |
| Path | Few steps | Many work-doing steps |
| Storage | Short-lived, physical | Long-lived, chemical, informational |
| Sources | Mostly sunlight | Sunlight, geochemical, fossil, nuclear |
| Timing | None | Store, defer, release on demand |
D1. Evolution routes exergy: longer paths, more work per joule, storage, timing control. [Framing]
The work–constraint loop¶
- Work builds constraints (a cell builds a membrane; a society builds a factory).
- Constraints channel work.
- Information records which constraints to build.
- Information decays, so it is itself a dissipative structure that must be maintained by the flows it steers.
D2. Information persists if it routes enough exergy into its own maintenance and copying. [Framing — central selection criterion] Increased dissipation is a frequent side effect, not the target.
Leverage¶
D3. Information is the control layer of dissipation. [Framing] A small flow (genome, brain, plan, code, policy) steers a much larger one. This is how evolution reshapes Earth's routing without changing Earth's energy budget, and why control and allocation work has disproportionate effects.
Open¶
- No accepted metric for routing complexity. Chaisson's energy rate density measures throughput, not routing. → Open Questions
- Leverage is directionally clear but not operationally measured.