{"slug":"tjboudreaux-thinking-bounded-rationality","name":"thinking-bounded-rationality","description":"Use when search or investigation could run forever. Set an explicit good-enough threshold first, then stop at the first option that clears it.","long_description":"---\nname: thinking-bounded-rationality\ndescription: Use when search or investigation could run forever. Set an explicit good-enough threshold first, then stop at the first option that clears it.\ndisable-model-invocation: true\n---\n\n# Bounded Rationality\n\nUnder finite tool, context, and time budgets, stop at the first option that meets a predeclared aspiration level. Optimize only when the good-to-best gap is worth the remaining budget.\n\n## When to Use\n\n- Search or option comparison has no natural endpoint and could consume the turn budget.\n- Multiple options would clear the requirement and further comparison has diminishing returns.\n- The decision is reversible or low-stakes relative to more search.\n- You are gathering context beyond what the decision needs to ship.\n\n## When NOT to Use\n\n- Irreversible or high-stakes choices (data loss, security, migrations, public commitments) where the good-to-best gap is material.\n- Correctness gates: tests, security checks, and \"did the fix work?\" need the right answer, not a sufficient-looking one.\n- One cheap lookup would settle the fact — do it; do not satisfice past it.\n- The aspiration level cannot be stated — clarify the requirement first.\n\n## Procedure\n\n1. **State decision and budget.** Name the choice, residual tool/context/time budget, and reversibility.\n2. **Set aspiration before searching.** Write concrete pass/fail criteria for \"good enough.\" Do not evaluate until the threshold is explicit.\n3. **Search sequentially.** Score options in encounter order against the threshold only. Skip full matrices unless step 1 marked high-stakes/irreversible.\n4. **Stop at first adequate.** When an option clears every criterion, select it immediately.\n5. **Handle search failure without moving the goalposts.** If nothing clears after the pre-set cap, preserve the threshold and report no adequate option. Relax only a criterion predeclared as non-load-bearing, record the relaxation, and resume within a new cap; never raise the bar after failure.\n6. **Commit.** Record choice and residual uncertainty; spend remaining budget on execution, not re-ranking.\n\n**Stop condition:** First option meets the predeclared aspiration level, or the search cap is exhausted with none adequate.\n\n## Output\n\n```text\nDecision: \nAspiration: \nSearch: evaluated N; stopped at first adequate | cap exhausted\nSelected: