Preprint.
This manuscript is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.
It is currently under consideration for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Abstract

The Vector of Progress: The Geometry of Resistance and the Fate of Innovation in Complex Systems.

This article analyzes the phenomenon of systemic inhibition of progress in various areas of human activity—from education, sports, and infrastructure to fundamental science, cultural memory, and symbolic politics. Drawing on the author's extensive empirical experience and a series of specific case studies, this article offers an interpretation of resistance to innovation as a structural property of stable social and institutional systems focused primarily on their own reproduction.

This paper introduces a vector model of progress, allowing us to describe the degree and form of resistance through the angle between the direction of the innovative impulse and the system's trajectory. It is shown that ideas that directly contradict the system are repressed or destroyed; ideas that are located across the dominant vector are ignored and accepted only in the distant historical perspective; ideas with partial vector overlap can be integrated, often with a time lag.

----

We create scientific works that humanity truly needs. Each of our studies is a step forward for mankind, a movement toward knowledge that helps build a better future.

Our values are creation, progressive development, and support for all that is most valuable accumulated by humanity: in history, literature, science, culture, and sports. We believe that knowledge is power, and science is the path to a brighter future.

You can become a part of this mission. Your support helps us produce discoveries that change people’s lives and advance humanity.

Support us via PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SergeiKolesniak
You can contact us by email: intellectpictures@gmail.com