---
slug: "MentalSim"
name: "MentalSim"
type: "Strategy"
layer: "Mind"
ref: "MentalSim#c28c"
sema_id: "sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:c28c84db7597a2e8cef38b73dc9780b6f8fe28c9d45700c4431b3a7a2ac3b8fc"
tags: ["Mind","Strategy"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json
url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/MentalSim/
related: ["Agent","AgentSandbox","Deep","HeuristicSnap","Simulation","State","System","SimulationTrace","ProphetFanOut"]
---

# MentalSim

Predictive modeling of system dynamics

Layer: Mind · Category: Strategy

## Mechanism

[System](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/System.md) 2 [Simulation](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Simulation.md). [Agent](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Agent.md) constructs a causal graph of the target system. It executes a 'Dry Run' of the proposed plan within that graph, inside an isolated [AgentSandbox](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/AgentSandbox.md), to predict [State](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/State.md)(t+1) — toggling between fast [HeuristicSnap](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/HeuristicSnap.md) and rigorous [Deep](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Deep.md) simulation modes.

## Invariants

- Builds a causal graph of the target [System](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/System.md) before running anything.
- The [Simulation](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Simulation.md) produces no side effects in the production context.
- Costs at most `cost_fraction` of executing the plan for real.

## Preconditions

- Causal model of target system available
- Initial state known

## Postconditions

- Probabilistic outcome vector generated

## Failure modes

- Map-Territory Error: [Simulation](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Simulation.md) diverges from reality (Hallucinated Physics).
- Overconfidence: [Agent](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Agent.md) trusts the simulation execution log more than real-world feedback.

## Parameters

- `cost_fraction` (Ratio, (0.0, 0.5]): Share of real execution cost the simulation may consume before simulating is not worth it.
- `fidelity` (Enum, {Low, High}): Whether the causal graph models coarse dynamics or detailed ones.
- `steps` (Integer, [1, 10]): How far ahead the dry run looks.

## Builds on

- [Agent](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Agent.md) (Mind; References)
- [AgentSandbox](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/AgentSandbox.md) (Society; References)
- [Deep](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Deep.md) (Mind; References)
- [HeuristicSnap](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/HeuristicSnap.md) (Mind; References)
- [Simulation](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Simulation.md) (Mind; References)
- [State](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/State.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [System](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/System.md) (Infrastructure; References)

## Used by

- [SimulationTrace](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/SimulationTrace.md) (Mind; References)

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:c28c84db7597a2e8cef38b73dc9780b6f8fe28c9d45700c4431b3a7a2ac3b8fc`
- Ref: `MentalSim#c28c`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:5728b6db7446bf4b3dc0ce1998ddf5a2b724b09438efc15d68709c09ec93a26e`
  - `sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:7212dad44c65f6241e70f0fc2e20440788e837a84cc644fea6bcc5f59e09f94e`
  - `sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:287471afbc4498472aca1185bd961b7338fb6d9f28e6f007f44a4f824e8bb520`
  - `sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:9ddd892c32849bd213ec101cbce9c51f127634ba81f79c4186ae1b67196fdbef`
  - `sema:MentalSim#mh:SHA-256:1ca02743f4d01cc9740234943b92ad700825c2a4c918a4f7b1248872e4aa4e1f`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/MentalSim/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/#MentalSim)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/MentalSim.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json)