# instead (alternative)

as a difference that is a choice between one thing and another

- Computed level: L10 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: adverb  ·  Arena: instead

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [difference](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-difference.relation), [choice](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-choice.decision)

**Through:** The distinction between two things combined with a decision selects one thing in place of the other.

**Novel properties:**
- substitution
- alternative selection

## Examples
- In 2003, the Northeast Blackout spread after FirstEnergy’s grid operators chose unmonitored software over manual oversight. *(engineering)*
- The 1986 Chernobyl disaster unfolded when operators chose a risky test protocol instead of standard safety procedures. *(institutions)*
- When penicillin replaced sulfonamides in WWII field hospitals, survival rates from infected wounds rose sharply. *(biology)*

## Used by
- [trust](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-trust.reliance) (L15)
- [wireless](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wireless.electrical) (L11)

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