Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M2063

Muller's Ratchet

Muller's Ratchet
SystemsHigh supportSystems Theory
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

In asexual populations, deleterious mutations accumulate unidirectionally like a ratchet, and cannot be reversed (because there is no genetic recombination to purge errors), eventually leading to extinction (mutational meltdown).

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Entropy increase in closed systems. If an organization is closed (does not introduce external talent/ideas) and lacks a purging mechanism (does not eliminate), its 'errors' and 'bureaucracy' will only accumulate unidirectionally until collapse. It is necessary to introduce 'sexual reproduction' (external exchange) to break the ratchet.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

In asexual populations, deleterious mutations accumulate irreversibly (the ratchet only moves forward, never backward), leading to fitness decline.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muller%27s_ratchetZH · Explicit
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