constraint

A constraint is a boundary enforced by rules. Per the removal test (Law 8): remove rules and constraints cease to operate — without rules to define and enforce boundaries, there are only natural limits, not constraints. Constraints exist because rules delimit possibility.

A constraint is a specific kind of boundary — it delineates what is permitted versus prohibited within a domain. A competent speaker would call a constraint 'a boundary (on what can happen).' Law 9: specific→general.

Direction tested: a boundary condition IS a constraint — it constrains the operating limits of a system to a specific range. A competent speaker calls a boundary condition 'a type of constraint.' Law 9: specific→general.

Path-dependence IS a specific kind of constraint: when prior choices or events restrict subsequent options. A competent speaker would accept 'path-dependence is a constraint on future choice.' Constraint is the nearest established kind.

A bottleneck IS a specific kind of constraint — namely, the constraint that limits system throughput. A competent speaker would call a bottleneck 'a constraint' (the throughput-limiting kind).

Law 9 INSTANCE_OF: deadlines are a specific kind of constraint — specifically, a time-bound constraint that fixes a completion point. A competent speaker would describe a deadline as 'a type of constraint on time.' The note pins the sense of constraint as any mechanism that limits or bounds behavior.

Direction tested: path-dependence → constraint. Removal test: remove constraint (something that limits options) and path dependence ceases to operate — without constraints, all sequences of choices converge to the same outcome and 'dependence on path' is meaningless. Path dependence is the phenomenon where prior choices, through accumulated constraints, determine future possibilities. Law 8 DEPENDS_ON, removal-test confirmed.