# in too deep (path-dependence)

*Ordinarily means:* committed too far to turn back now

A parameter has drifted past the point where maintenance can hold it inside the window, and the model still treats the old boundary as real.

- Computed level: L15 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: EmergenceLexicon  ·  Arena: everyday language

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [maintenance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-maintenance.upkeep), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [boundary](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-boundary.limit), [model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-model.representation)

**Through:** self-model

**Novel properties:**
- path-dependence

## Examples
- The Boeing 737 MAX kept using the old MCAS software design to avoid costly retraining, despite changing aerodynamics. *(engineering)*
- New York City's subway signal system remained analog because replacing it would require shutting down lines no politician could authorize. *(institutions)*
- The Amazon rainforest has lost so many trees that it now emits more carbon than it absorbs, unable to return to previous function. *(ecology)*

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