James Kovalenko

Independent Researcher · Progress Function · Manifold Control

I study compounding systems: the structural conditions under which they accelerate, stall, and collapse. The Progress Function is the formal model. The Excess is the first commercial instrument it produces.

The Progress Function is a formal model of civilizational advance that treats progress as a multiplicative interaction of six structural variables. The framework is diagnostic: given a system, it identifies the binding constraint and specifies which intervention has the highest return. A working paper is in circulation with policy researchers. A country-level measurement index is in development.


Current Work

Product
The Excess. Quarterly danger-threshold signal on S&P 1500 profit dynamics. 4.3× RR. A product of Manifold Control.
Research
The Progress Function. A formal model of civilizational advance. Working paper, measurement framework, country-level diagnostics.
Publication
The Progress Function on Substack. Applied diagnostics, live data, research notes. The framework develops in public.

Background

Prior work spans agentic AI infrastructure, prediction market analysis pipelines, and energy deployment diagnostics.


Contact