The Drift Principle: A Cognitive Entropy Framework for Meaning, Compression, and Drift in High-Velocity Digital Environments

This paper introduces the Drift Principle, an information-dynamics model explaining how cognitive systems lose coherence under rising entropy and limited compression capacity. Using concepts from information theory, predictive processing, and media ecology, the framework formalizes drift as a ratio between environmental entropy and cognitive compression. The paper outlines key mechanisms—filter fatigue, synthetic realness, temporal drift—and positions the Drift Principle as a next-generation model for understanding meaning degradation in high-entropy digital environments.