# state of the art (frontier)

The wall of what can be made now, which moves as work continues.

- Computed level: L11 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: published  ·  Domain: technology  ·  Arena: E12

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [work](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-work.effort), [make](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-make.verb), [time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-time.dimension), [change](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-change.process)

**Through:** Accumulated work pushes the boundary of the achievable outward, so the wall itself drifts over time rather than holding still.

**Novel properties:**
- a wall that moves
- yesterday's edge becomes today's floor
- position is only knowable relative to a moment

## Examples
- The James Webb Space Telescope achieved 50-nanometer precision alignment of its mirrors in orbit, a first for deployed astronomy. *(engineering)*
- AlphaFold 2 predicted over 98% of human proteins with high accuracy, setting a new benchmark in computational biology. *(computing)*
- The 2020 U.S. presidential election saw record turnout and unprecedented use of mail-in ballots, reshaping electoral logistics. *(institutions)*

## Used by
- [pushing the envelope](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pushing-the-envelope.frontier) (L18)
- [strike while the iron is hot](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-strike-while-the-iron-is-hot.window) (L15)

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