Pathfinder · a field guide to the species of the path library
compiled 2026-08-01 11:52
35m ago · refresh 300s
Sort a few million blind, self-trapping walks by temperament rather than by
number, and a small menagerie appears. Each kept path is placed into one species from the
shape of its life — how far it pushed, how straight it ran, how tightly it coiled, whether it
circled home before dying. What follows is one representative specimen of each, drawn from
its real trace, with a note on how it compares to the library at large.
Classified
45.5K
kept paths sorted
Species
6
named types seen
Most common
Rambler
67% of the library
Rambler
30.4K paths 66.8%
An ordinary walk; no single trait dominates its shape.
start
death
3121_684390_7.wrd
A legend of 3,121 steps that leaned north, reached radius 450.1, cleared the 300-ring in 2,029 steps, and spent 7.04 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
99%
reach
100%
tortuosity
72%
territory
99%
percentile within the kept library
Coiler
7.4K paths 16.2%
Folded back on itself into a dense, tightly packed knot.
start
death
3063_878390_6.wrd
A marathoner of 3,063 steps that leaned north-east, reached radius 114.4, and spent 42.01 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
99%
reach
0%
tortuosity
100%
territory
14%
percentile within the kept library
Wanderer
6.5K paths 14.2%
Meandered indecisively — many steps for each cell of progress.
start
death
2563_357796_11.wrd
A voyager of 2,563 steps that leaned north, reached radius 302.9, cleared the 300-ring in 1,247 steps, and spent 17.88 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
95%
reach
43%
tortuosity
99%
territory
77%
percentile within the kept library
Escape Artist
934 paths 2.1%
Pushed relentlessly outward and lunged far from the origin.
start
death
1937_40647_14.wrd
A voyager of 1,937 steps that leaned north-east, reached radius 410.2, cleared the 300-ring in 1,264 steps, and spent 4.89 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
52%
reach
100%
tortuosity
5%
territory
74%
percentile within the kept library
Homebody
255 paths 0.6%
Never strayed far; trapped close to where it began.
start
death
3074_526788_3.wrd
A marathoner of 3,074 steps that leaned south, reached radius 128.8, and spent 36.51 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
99%
reach
0%
tortuosity
100%
territory
91%
percentile within the kept library
Sprinter
33 paths 0.1%
Long straight dashes; travelled efficiently, little wasted motion.
start
death
1708_429003_8.wrd
A voyager of 1,708 steps that leaned south, reached radius 308.6, sprinted 10 cells in a straight line, cleared the 300-ring in 1,623 steps, and spent 5.59 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
25%
reach
53%
tortuosity
23%
territory
19%
percentile within the kept library
Orbiter
15 paths 0.0%
Wound around home two or more times before trapping.
start
death
2267_141610_10.wrd
A voyager of 2,267 steps that leaned south, reached radius 341.6, wound about home 2 times, cleared the 300-ring in 1,930 steps, and spent 6.79 steps for every cell of net progress.
length
83%
reach
87%
tortuosity
66%
territory
56%
percentile within the kept library
Classified by the statistics builder (schema v3)
from the kept path library. Species are assigned by priority rules on
each walk's geometry, using library-adaptive cut-offs; each specimen is the strongest example of its
kind. Percentiles and radar axes are ranks within the kept library. All measurement, no decoration.