Discharge Theory: A Research Program for Information-Work Dynamics and Navigational Ethics

Discharge Theory (DT) offers a unified conceptual framework for reconciling thermodynamics, information theory, and naturalistic ethics. By operationalizing Interface Complexity ($C$) as a navigational rank and defining Knowledge ($K$) through its duality as both a physical record and a navigational bias, the theory proposes a conserved identity for "Discharge Value". This research program moves beyond static information measures to provide a falsifiable calculus of how systems convert potential into meaningful traces while navigating multidimensional objective frontiers.