Mind · Reasoning
MetaAccuracy
Success at hitting any one of several available targets, each measured in its own code
Definition
Mechanism
Accuracy measures how close attempts land to one reference target. Meta-accuracy instead scores each attempt by its distance to whichever of several targets it comes closest to, where each target may be measured in a different code or metric. A general who lets weaker archers shoot from closer, or a gene that contributes to several proteins through alternative splicing, raises meta-accuracy: more attempts succeed at something of value. The means of reaching each target can differ, so the code used to build an attempt is itself switched to suit the target. Exaptation, overlapping coding sequences and disordered proteins are natural examples.
Invariants
- Each attempt is scored against its nearest available target, not a single fixed one
- Targets may be measured in different codes or metrics
- Raising meta-accuracy generally means switching between codes or targets
Risks
Failure modes
Measuring only distance to one target and so undervaluing solutions that succeed at another
Assuming each element (gene, part, team) serves exactly one target
Relationships
Root pattern: builds on nothing in this library.
Used by
References
Switch one line of development back and forth between two inversely related niches, so that a path to complex function exists where no path exists within a single niche
A problem in which meta-accuracy trades off against meta-precision, so that solving it requires changing shape
Inputs that are generated but currently rejected are cheap, latent options sitting in the gap between the generator's and the acceptor's languages
Reference