# precarious (unstable)

A parameter whose window is narrower than the ordinary size of drift, requiring more maintenance to keep it within the wall.

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

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [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), [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), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [keep](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-keep.maintenance), [narrow](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-narrow.spatial), [required](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-required.obligation), [size](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-size.measurement)

**Through:** drift.aimless pushes the parameter while maintenance.upkeep counteracts it, but because the window.range is narrow.spatial relative to drift.aimless's typical size.measurement, keeping the parameter within the wall.range-end demands more frequent or intense maintenance due to the increased required.obligation.

**Novel properties:**
- narrowness relative to drift
- increased maintenance demand
- fragile stability

## Examples
- The International Space Station maintains its orbit at 400 km, requiring monthly reboosts to counter atmospheric drag. *(engineering)*
- The 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers revealed how mortgage-backed securities depended on continuously rising home prices. *(economics)*
- Kakapo parrots on Codfish Island survive only through nightly supplementary feeding and predator control. *(biology)*

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