# the writing on the wall (forewarning)

*Ordinarily means:* obvious sign that something bad is about to happen

a visible mark that a parameter has drifted to the boundary of its window, indicating the system will soon cross that boundary and change state

- Computed level: L18 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: the change of state itself

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [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), [boundary](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-boundary.limit), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [marks](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-marks.visual), [change](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-change.process), [state](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-state.condition)

**Through:** drift moves the parameter toward the boundary, and the resulting marks signal the upcoming change

**Novel properties:**
- impending boundary breach

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