path dependence
Past constrains present
Path dependence describes how past decisions constrain future options—where you can go depends on where you've been.
The concept appears in economics, technology, and institutional analysis: The QWERTY keyboard layout persists through path dependence, not efficiency.
Once a system commits to a particular trajectory, switching costs make alternatives increasingly difficult to adopt, even if they would be superior starting fresh.
Self-modifying response cycles
- irreversibilityState of being permanent
- attractorsThings that draw others
- equilibriumState of balance
- bifurcationDivision into two branches
nonlinearity · tipping points · phase transitions · stability · sensitivity · initial conditions · complexity · emergence
Enforced continued commitment
- network effectsValue increasing with participation
- positive feedbackResponse amplifying original signal
- sunk costsIrrecoverable past expenditures
- market dynamicsEconomic forces affecting prices
hysteresis · entrenchment · legacy systems · winner-take-all · standardization · keyboard layout · economic geography · monopoly
Decisive shifts in direction
- counterfactualsPropositions contrary to fact
- what-ifHypothetical scenario query
- bifurcationDivision into two branches
- pivotal momentsEvents that alter trajectories
unintended consequences · precedent · chronology · historiography
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- Burgess ShaleCambrian lagerstätte in Canada
vestigial structures · divergence · canalization · homology · common descent · macroevolution
feedback loops
Self-modifying response cycles
- irreversibilityState of being permanent
- attractorsThings that draw others
- equilibriumState of balance
bifurcation · nonlinearity · tipping points · phase transitions · stability · sensitivity · initial conditions · complexity · emergence · hysteresis
lock-in
Enforced continued commitment
- network effectsValue increasing with participation
- positive feedbackResponse amplifying original signal
- sunk costsIrrecoverable past expenditures
market dynamics · hysteresis · entrenchment · legacy systems · winner-take-all · standardization · keyboard layout · economic geography · monopoly
turning points
Decisive shifts in direction
- counterfactualsPropositions contrary to fact
- what-ifHypothetical scenario query
- bifurcationDivision into two branches
pivotal moments · unintended consequences · precedent · chronology · historiography
phylogeny
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- contingencyUncertain possible event
Burgess Shale · vestigial structures · divergence · canalization · homology · common descent · macroevolution
- lock-inlock-in, entrenchment, irreversibility, network effects, legacy systems
- entrenchmenttrench, foxhole, bunker, dugout, earthwork
path dependencedeterminism
Doctrine of causal necessity
convergent evolution · teleology · manifest destiny · natural selection · functionalism
path dependencereversibility
Can be undone
adaptability · flexibility · optionality · modularity · liquidity
path dependencenecessity
Indispensable requirement
inevitability · determinism · predestination · essentialism · natural law
path, independent, independence, dependent, dependence, independently, interdependent, interdependence, dependencies