Path dependence is a theoretical framework used across social sciences to explain how past events or decisions constrain later ones, often in ways that are not necessarily efficient or optimal. The core tenet of this concept is that 'history matters'; early, often minor or fortuitous, events can have significant and enduring consequences, establishing a trajectory that is difficult to reverse. This process is characterized by positive feedback or increasing returns, whereby an initial choice becomes progressively more entrenched as more actors adopt it, thus increasing the benefits for subsequent adopters and raising the costs of switching to an alternative. The classic illustration is the QWERTY keyboard layout. Historical analysis suggests its design was not engineered for maximum typing speed but rather to prevent mechanical typewriter keys from jamming. Despite the obsolescence of this original constraint and the availability of demonstrably superior layouts, QWERTY's dominance has been perpetuated by network effects and prohibitively high switching costs for typists, educators, and manufacturers. This phenomenon demonstrates how a system can become 'locked-in' to a standard that is suboptimal. Consequently, path dependence provides a powerful analytical lens for understanding the persistence of institutions, technologies, and social conventions that might otherwise appear irrational, revealing how contingent historical junctures, rather than ineluctable logic, shape present-day structures.