# raising the bar (threshold)

*Ordinarily means:* setting a higher standard than before

The wall that moves when a model of what can be done shifts, closing the window of what was possible before.

- Computed level: L12 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: social systems  ·  Arena: competition

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-model.representation), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless)

**Through:** raise

**Novel properties:**
- dynamic boundary
- collective expectation shift

## Examples
- In 2012, Usain Bolt's 9.58-second 100m record raised the bar for all sprinters, redefining elite performance thresholds. *(sports)*
- After SpaceX landed and reused the Falcon 9 booster in 2015, the cost and reusability bar reset across orbital launch systems. *(engineering)*
- When AlphaGo defeated Lee Sedol in 2016, it raised the bar for what was thought possible in AI game-playing strategy. *(computing)*

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