I see what you mean by paradox. It's definitely chaotic in that the system loops back on itself, but the main component of tectonics are (supposed to be) mantle

I see what you mean by paradox. It's definitely chaotic in that the system loops back on itself, but the main component of tectonics are (supposed to be) mantle cells due to heat difference between the core and the crust.[1] There are Euler poles (also confusingly named poles of rotation - but they're unrelated to the axis of rotation or the poles of the Earth) involved in plate tectonics, but for describing how they move relative to each other.[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_internal_heat_budget https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_internal_heat_budget [2] https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/md_help/geology_course/euler_poles.htm https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/md_help/geology_cour...