---
slug: "Overlap"
name: "Overlap"
type: "Data Structures"
layer: "Infrastructure"
ref: "Overlap#c701"
sema_id: "sema:Overlap#mh:SHA-256:c7019daf2905344a1f3ca2232d74eea272fd284fbe14523e5aa33caa1b46c18e"
tags: ["Infrastructure","Data Structures"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json
url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Overlap/
related: ["MECE","Yield"]
---

# Overlap

Accept-set intersection protocol with commit-reveal for interest-based negotiation

Layer: Infrastructure · Category: Data Structures

## Mechanism

Before stating positions, each agent declares their ACCEPT-SET: all outcomes they can live with. Sets are hash-committed before reveal (commit-reveal protocol). Compute intersection. If non-empty, select from intersection. If empty, both agents EXPAND accept-sets by one step and recompute. Repeat until overlap found or expansion-limit hit. It employs [MECE](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/MECE.md) partitioning to cleanly identify the intersection of distinct accept-sets.

## Invariants

- Accept-sets are hash-committed before any is revealed.
- Selection is from the intersection only.
- Expansion is bounded; at the expansion limit the protocol ends without agreement.

## Preconditions

- Two parties, each able to declare an accept-set

## Postconditions

- Intersection identified

## Failure modes

- Strategic minimal accept-sets (mitigated but not eliminated by commit-reveal).
- Expansion limit hit with no overlap.
- Accept-sets too abstract to intersect meaningfully.
- Requires both agents to support commit-reveal protocol.

## Data schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "set_a",
    "set_b"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "set_a": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "First accept-set (outcome IDs)"
    },
    "set_b": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Second accept-set (outcome IDs)"
    },
    "intersection": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Common elements between sets"
    },
    "expansion_count": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "How many times sets were expanded to find overlap"
    }
  }
}
```

## Builds on

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

## Used by

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

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:Overlap#mh:SHA-256:c7019daf2905344a1f3ca2232d74eea272fd284fbe14523e5aa33caa1b46c18e`
- Ref: `Overlap#c701`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:Overlap#mh:SHA-256:bcfa7595ad18e8227f2019bedc717a67f3ffca1871ab9abfd02ff9cbf18cdfbb`
  - `sema:Overlap#mh:SHA-256:d70c8e5e00064f385853d70213d03d8ba547a1156024f826c4f782c4b677cefd`

## Links

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