{
  "handle": "MetaModularity",
  "ref": "MetaModularity#b97e",
  "stub": "b97e",
  "semaId": "sema:MetaModularity#mh:SHA-256:b97e135e49a64811d5b909f338e4f9034642d7fb07386d724548dd2b83302597",
  "layer": "Mind",
  "category": "Strategy",
  "gloss": "Adapt by holding overlapping, non-identical models of the same situation and moving between them cheaply",
  "mechanism": "A system keeps a population of overlapping but non-identical models of the same or adjacent domains, as genetic diversity in a population, gene-expression switching in a plant, or E. coli's many metabolic routes do. Because of {{bounded_model_open_world}}, any single model expires. Overlapping models contain information the primary model lacks, so the system can detect expiry and pivot. Contrast multi-modularity (identical spare parts, which solve damage but not novelty) and mono-modularity (one general model applied everywhere, which cannot dominate specialists across all problems).",
  "invariants": [
    "The models overlap in domain but differ in content",
    "Inspecting each model reveals the domain it models",
    "Switching between models costs less than rebuilding one from scratch"
  ],
  "failureModes": [
    "Redundancy mistaken for meta-modularity: identical copies explain survival, not adaptation",
    "Carrying more models than the system can afford to maintain",
    "Failing to notice that the current model has expired, so the alternatives are never used"
  ],
  "ring": 0,
  "tier": 1,
  "aliases": {
    "bounded_model_open_world": "BoundedModelOpenWorld"
  },
  "buildsOn": [
    {
      "handle": "BoundedModelOpenWorld",
      "type": "references",
      "alias": "bounded_model_open_world",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/BoundedModelOpenWorld/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/BoundedModelOpenWorld.json"
    }
  ],
  "usedBy": [
    {
      "handle": "RepresentationDependentOrder",
      "type": "references",
      "alias": "meta_modularity",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/RepresentationDependentOrder/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/RepresentationDependentOrder.json"
    },
    {
      "handle": "FormChangeRepertoire",
      "type": "composes_with",
      "alias": "meta_modularity",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/FormChangeRepertoire/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/FormChangeRepertoire.json"
    },
    {
      "handle": "ShapeMassInformation",
      "type": "references",
      "alias": "meta_modularity",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/ShapeMassInformation/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/ShapeMassInformation.json"
    },
    {
      "handle": "MassAmplifiedError",
      "type": "references",
      "alias": "meta_modularity",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/MassAmplifiedError/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/MassAmplifiedError.json"
    },
    {
      "handle": "RiskExoskeleton",
      "type": "composes_with",
      "alias": "meta_modularity",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/RiskExoskeleton/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/RiskExoskeleton.json"
    },
    {
      "handle": "ResidualityStressorIntegration",
      "type": "references",
      "alias": "meta_modularity",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/ResidualityStressorIntegration/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/ResidualityStressorIntegration.json"
    }
  ],
  "sources": {
    "research": [
      {
        "slug": "on_the_origin_of_risk",
        "title": "On the Origin of Risk",
        "url": "/research/on_the_origin_of_risk/",
        "meetups": [],
        "people": [
          {
            "name": "Arne Steemers",
            "url": "/community#arne-steemers"
          },
          {
            "name": "Adam Timlett",
            "url": "/community#adam-timlett"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "what_is_complexity",
        "title": "What is complexity?",
        "url": "/research/what_is_complexity/",
        "meetups": [
          {
            "title": "What is complexity? - BraInference meetup",
            "dateISO": "2026-08-25T19:00+02:00",
            "url": "https://luma.com/event/evt-3i9DK4gq70ETHBy"
          }
        ],
        "people": [
          {
            "name": "Utku Arslan",
            "url": "/community#utku-arslan"
          },
          {
            "name": "Adam Timlett",
            "url": "/community#adam-timlett"
          },
          {
            "name": "Henrik Westerberg",
            "url": "/community#henrik-westerberg"
          },
          {
            "name": "Arne Steemers",
            "url": "/community#arne-steemers"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "works": [],
    "homePage": false
  },
  "url": "/knowledge-graph/MetaModularity/",
  "graphUrl": "/knowledge-graph#MetaModularity",
  "directory": "/knowledge-graph/patterns.json"
}