{
  "id": "locked-in.path",
  "term": "locked in",
  "sense": "path",
  "pos": "adjective",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 14,
  "domain": "emergence",
  "style": "folk",
  "definition": "A parameter has drifted so far within its window that leaving it would cross a wall, though no one can see the wall yet because the model still fits.",
  "folk_gloss": "Being deeply focused and unable to stop what you're doing.",
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "drift.aimless",
      "window.range",
      "wall.range-end",
      "model.representation"
    ],
    "interaction": "self-model",
    "novel_properties": [
      "boundary.limit",
      "maintenance.upkeep"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [],
  "relations": [],
  "used_by": [],
  "forms": [
    "lock in",
    "locked in"
  ],
  "closed": false,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "phrases:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.7,
    "sources": [
      "folk phrase — path dependence"
    ]
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-locked-in.path"
}