Notes by Ioannis Tsiokos on one-way systems
Ratchettheory.com
Understanding how systems move one way, on their own.
Across cells, cities, and code, certain processes do not merely fluctuate; they advance discretely. Ratchet Theory treats those advances as objects worthy of study.
What is Ratchet Theory?
Ratchettheory.com is an ongoing attempt to formalize a simple claim.
Given enough time, noise, and local rules, some structures do not just drift. They accumulate. They lock in. They become hard to undo.
Such structures are called ratchets. The work here keeps the definition narrow so that it can clarify:
- How organization emerges and persists
- Why certain perturbations are reversible while others encode directionality
- Where one-way dynamics appear in biology, cognition, markets, and machines
Why you might care
If you have asked why the following observations hold, you are already engaging with ratchets:
- Evolution cannot simply return to prior states
- Cities, protocols, and institutions harden as they mature
- Behaviors that appear voluntary remain bounded by past commitments
- Certain socio-technical systems become safer and more informative as they scale
Ratchettheory.com names these patterns, collects references, and proposes models that make them legible.
What you will find here (eventually)
Short technical and visual notes that catalogue distinct ratchet families, from biochemical to civic.
Small computational worlds where the ratchet mechanisms are exposed and can be inspected without bravado.
The materials assume patience and curiosity, not prior specialization.
Correspondence
I share materials when there is a clear result rather than on a schedule.
Email: ioannis@automorph.io