thinking-bounded-rationality

1# Bounded Rationality
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3Under 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.
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5## When to Use
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7- Search or option comparison has no natural endpoint and could consume the turn budget.
8- Multiple options would clear the requirement and further comparison has diminishing returns.
9- The decision is reversible or low-stakes relative to more search.
10- You are gathering context beyond what the decision needs to ship.
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12## When NOT to Use
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14- Irreversible or high-stakes choices (data loss, security, migrations, public commitments) where the good-to-best gap is material.
15- Correctness gates: tests, security checks, and "did the fix work?" need the right answer, not a sufficient-looking one.
16- One cheap lookup would settle the fact — do it; do not satisfice past it.
17- The aspiration level cannot be stated — clarify the requirement first.
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19## Procedure
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211. **State decision and budget.** Name the choice, residual tool/context/time budget, and reversibility.
222. **Set aspiration before searching.** Write concrete pass/fail criteria for "good enough." Do not evaluate until the threshold is explicit.
233. **Search sequentially.** Score options in encounter order against the threshold only. Skip full matrices unless step 1 marked high-stakes/irreversible.
244. **Stop at first adequate.** When an option clears every criterion, select it immediately.
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