The page source is markdown, compiled to html with pandoc using mathjax.

There's some extra pandoc filtering magic to create hoverable equations.

The svg graphs are autogenerated from markdown links inside of the pages sources.

I'd wager all they need to do is get some proper CSS happening and they can visually change things without intrusively changing the HTML content itself. The may need to strip away some deprecated attributes for HTML elements, and add class attributes, but that's about it.

In my case, there is a definite nostalgic bias. I would have used the site near the start of my university studies in 1996. That said, I think there is a case for leaving it as-is. Many sites are designed to be accessible and palatable to students today, so there is some merit to maintaining the original style in case it addresses the needs of people who are not well served by modern sensibilities.

I love it because it loads quickly and isn't more complicated then it needs to be.

some centering would be nice

Thanks, had a read and I think I understand approximately. I am still wondering whether biological systems should count as cyclic in this sense too? I think that they seem to, in the returning-to-the-same-state thing, at least across the generations, and even in regular metabolism in some sense - but the law doesn't (intuitively) seem to apply in the biology/evolution case.. it doesn't just diffuse, it can go on in pretty much precisely the same pattern for billions of years it seems? I guess I am probably ignoring something huge about this (like the Sun!?)

I see, thanks. I'm wondering if there might be any good examples of cyclic systems in the natural world too? Both of those devices are complicated, and you'd need to know the operation in detail to be able to connect it with the phases of a state-cycle-diagram.. but maybe something natural might make it easier to understand?

Funny, I wasn’t aware we were aware of the initial conditions of the non-onservable universe.