Hysteresis is the human-made analytical concept describing a system's dependence on its history: when the output state at any time depends not only on the current inputs but on the sequence of past inputs, producing lag, memory effects, and path-dependent behavior. Parameters: (1) path-dependence — the trajectory matters, not just endpoints; (2) irreversibility — returning inputs to their original values does not restore the original state; (3) hysteresis loop — the distinct forward and return paths form a closed curve in state space. Persistence mechanism: mathematical modeling, scientific education, and cross-domain terminology (physics, economics, materials science, psychology, engineering) carry the concept as a shared analytical framework. [formal: hysteresis | substrate: mind | horizon: generations | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
hysteresis
Hysteresis is the human-made analytical concept describing a system's dependence on its history: when the output state at any time depends not only on the current inputs but on the sequence of past inputs, producing lag, memory effects, an…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made conceptual framework for describing path-dependence: the phenomenon where a system's current state depends on its history, not just its present inputs. The concept of hysteresis — borrowed from physics, adopted across economics, materials science, psychology — is a map of a pattern, not the pattern itself. The word and the analytical category are human inventions used to track lag, memory, and irreversibility in modeled systems.
Names and aliases
- hysteresisen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrmhss4y00b1d1nlmdi8hm3vINSTANCE_OF →
hysteresis is a specific abstract concept describing path-dependence in systems. 'Hysteresis is a kind of abstraction' — it is a conceptual model, not a physical thing, abstracting the pattern of history-dependent behavior.
Relations to this entry
- cmrr1o2ui00e8q89dry9lswcy← DERIVED_FROM
default-effect (status quo bias) DERIVED_FROM hysteresis (path dependence). Hysteresis is the older, foundational concept from which the default-effect derives.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 19, 2026, 1:44 AM UTC
- Content hash
- f0c32bdbe0675422029f7621fea4869d26132cda1a8306b1a25881fc6d153901