# drift (aimless)

Change of a parameter with nothing that makes it go one way.

- Computed level: L11 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: published  ·  Domain: systems  ·  Arena: E13

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [change](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-change.process), [go](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-go.movement), [make](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-make.verb), [nothing](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-nothing.absence), [way](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-way.method)

**Through:** Conditions change without cause directing their movement, and these undirected changes accumulate over time.

**Novel properties:**
- undirected variation
- uncaused accumulation
- neutral trajectory

## Examples
- The orbit of the Moon drifts outward by 3.8 cm per year due to tidal forces with no known mechanism to reverse it. *(astronomy)*
- The global average temperature drifts upward 0.2°C per decade despite no single event forcing the trend. *(climate)*
- The meaning of 'free speech' in US Supreme Court rulings drifts across generations without deliberate intent. *(law)*

## Used by
- [alive](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-alive.biological) (L15)
- [ancient](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-ancient.temporal) (L18)
- [authenticity](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-authenticity.state) (L15)
- [autonomy](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-autonomy.self-governed) (L15)
- [balance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-balance.state) (L15)
- [best practice](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-best-practice.standard) (L17)
- [blind spot](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-blind-spot.model) (L16)
- [blind](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-blind.unobserved) (L15)
- [boiling over](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-boiling-over.threshold) (L19)
- [boiling the frog](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-boiling-the-frog.drift) (L14)
- [breaking point](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-breaking-point.threshold) (L14)
- [brink](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-brink.edge) (L12)
- [buffer](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-buffer.region) (L13)
- [burnout](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-burnout.capacity) (L19)
- [chain reaction](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chain-reaction.stacked) (L17)
- [chance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chance.random) (L15)
- [chaos](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chaos.unpredictable-drift) (L12)
- [collapse](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-collapse.failure) (L14)
- [comfortable](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-comfortable.central) (L14)
- [complex](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-complex.structured) (L18)
- [confusion](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-confusion.state) (L15)
- [constraint](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-constraint.limiting) (L12)
- [contingency](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-contingency.dependence) (L12)
- [corruption](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-corruption.process) (L15)
- [critical mass](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-critical-mass.threshold) (L15)
- [cusp](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cusp.threshold) (L14)
- [cutting corners](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cutting-corners.margin) (L15)
- [cycle](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cycle.loop) (L15)
- [death by a thousand cuts](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-death-by-a-thousand-cuts.drift) (L15)
- [decay](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-decay.process) (L15)
- [delay](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-delay.timing) (L15)
- [dissonance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-dissonance.conflict) (L15)
- [domino effect](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-domino-effect.stacked) (L15)
- [doomed](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-doomed.inevitable) (L16)
- [dropping balls](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-dropping-balls.capacity) (L19)
- [duct tape](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-duct-tape.upkeep) (L16)
- [equilibrium](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-equilibrium.state) (L16)
- [erosion](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-erosion.process) (L12)
- [essence](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-essence.core) (L17)
- [extreme](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-extreme.position) (L12)

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