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Persistent Distinction

Definition

A persistent distinction is an ontic partition of a system’s state space whose lifetime against noise exceeds the timescale of the dynamics it constrains.

Persistence is defined operationally by suppressed transition rates between regions of state space, not by representation or use.

Ontic / Core Claim

A distinction persists when physical dynamics prevent rapid equilibration across its boundary.

This requires that:

• transitions between regions of state space are suppressed relative to thermal or stochastic fluctuations,
• the suppression is maintained through metastability, dissipation, or continuous driving,
• the distinction’s lifetime is long compared to the characteristic timescale of system evolution or control.

Persistence is therefore a physical property of the system’s dynamics and environment, not an epistemic property of an observer.

Distillation

A distinction persists when physics makes it hard to forget.

Why it matters

• Memory and records: Explains what it takes for a distinction to function as memory rather than transient fluctuation.
• Thermodynamics: Grounds stability and durability in metastability, noise suppression, and entropy production.
• Control and computation: Clarifies why reliable state variables require energetic or dynamical cost.

Links

• Related atoms:

  • Distinction
  • State Space
  • Persistence
  • Bit
  • Symmetry Breaking
  • Record (Memory Substrate)

• Used in molecules:

  • (none yet)

• Conflicts with:

  • Naive informational abstractions that treat stability as free

Sources

• Source: Landauer, R. (1961). Irreversibility and Heat Generation in the Computing Process. IBM Journal of Research and Development, 5(3), 183–191. https://doi.org/10.1147/rd.53.0183

  • Key: @landauerIrreversibilityHeatGeneration1961
  • Pages: 183–191

• Source: Bennett, C. H. (1982). The thermodynamics of computation—A review. International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 21(12), 905–940. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02084158

  • Key: @bennettThermodynamicsComputationReview1982
  • Pages: 905–940

• Source: Seifert, U. (2012). Stochastic thermodynamics, fluctuation theorems, and molecular machines. Reports on Progress in Physics, 75(12), 126001. https://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/75/12/126001

  • Key: @seifertStochasticThermodynamicsFluctuation2012
  • Pages: 105

These works formalize the thermodynamic constraints underlying metastability, irreversibility, and information persistence.

Recontextualization Log

• 2025-12-26 · context: Derived from stabilized Distinction atom
  effect: created
  note: Introduced persistence as a dynamical, thermodynamic property distinct from asymmetry itself.