# chaos (unpredictable-drift)

drift whose later values cannot be predicted from current ones at the resolution available

- Computed level: L12 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: none  ·  Arena: emergence

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [available](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-available.accessible), [current](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-current.fluid), [later](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-later.temporal), [value](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-value.worth)

**Through:** The components together form a drifting parameter that changes without direction, bounded by range limits, where future values cannot be determined from present states due to limited access to sufficient resolution.

**Novel properties:**
- unpredictable trajectory
- bounded instability
- resolution-limited foresight

## Examples
- The 2008 financial crisis emerged from mortgage default cascades the Federal Reserve could not forecast at monthly reporting resolution. *(economics)*
- Weather beyond two weeks in the Lorenz attractor defies prediction despite precise initial measurements. *(physics)*
- In 2010, a single trader's algorithm triggered the Flash Crash, dropping the Dow 1000 points in minutes. *(computing)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chaos.unpredictable-drift*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chaos.unpredictable-drift.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*