| name | dynamic-sufficiency |
| description | Causal state gating via ε-machine. Coworld observer that prevents action |
| version | 1.0.0 |
Dynamic Sufficiency Skill
World/Coworld Awareness
| Role | Skill | Function |
|---|
| World (+1) | gay-mcp | Generates deterministic color streams |
| Coordinator (0) | skill-dispatch | Routes to GF(3) triads |
| Coworld (-1) | dynamic-sufficiency | THIS SKILL - gates action on coverage |
"No action without sufficient witness. The ε-machine observes, the gate permits."
Skills as World-Generating Self-Improvising Memories
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AUTOPOIETIC SKILL LOOP │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌────────────────┼────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ dynamic- │ │ skill- │ │ skill- │
│sufficiency│ │ dispatch │ │installer │
│ MINUS │◀──▶│ ERGODIC │◀──▶│ PLUS │
│ (-1) │ │ (0) │ │ (+1) │
└────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ GATE │ │ ROUTE │ │ LOAD │
│ action │ │ to triad │ │ skills │
└────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘
│ │ │
└───────────────┼───────────────┘
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ WORLD MEMORY │
│ (ε-machine + │
│ observations) │
└────────┬─────────┘
│
┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Observe │ │ Learn │ │ Improve │
│ outcome │ │ domain │ │ world │
│ │ │ mappings │ │ model │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
Core Insight
Skills are not static knowledge. They are:
- WORLD-GENERATING: Each skill generates a local world model for its domain
- SELF-IMPROVISING: Skills learn from observations via ε-machine updates
- MEMORIES: Crystallized patterns of successful action that persist and evolve
The sufficiency triad forms a closed autopoietic loop:
dynamic-sufficiency (-1) ⊗ skill-dispatch (0) ⊗ skill-installer (+1) = 0 ✓
Variational Bound on Action
min(sufficiency) ≤ action ≤ max(fanout)
- dynamic-sufficiency GATES: Prevents action without skills (lower bound)
- max-fanout-gadget FANS OUT: Maximizes parallel action (upper bound)
Together they form a variational bound ensuring both safety and maximum parallelism.
"The ε-machine is the minimal model sufficient to statistically reproduce the observed data."
— Crutchfield & Young, Santa Fe Institute
Version: 1.0.0
Trit: -1 (MINUS - Validator/Gatekeeper)
Core Principle: Never undertake an action without verified skill sufficiency
Theoretical Foundation (Santa Fe Institute)
This skill implements Computational Mechanics from the Santa Fe Institute to ensure agents never act without sufficient capabilities:
1. Causal States (Crutchfield-Young)
Definition: Causal states partition the space of possible tasks into equivalence classes where:
Task T₁ ~ Task T₂ ⟺ Pr(Success | Skills, T₁) = Pr(Success | Skills, T₂)
Two tasks are equivalent if they require the same skill profile for successful completion.
2. ε-Machine (Minimal Sufficient Model)
The ε-machine is the minimal set of skills required for optimal task execution:
ε-machine: S → S × Skills
Where:
- S = Set of causal states (task equivalence classes)
- Skills = Skill symbols required for state transitions
- The ε-machine is minimal and sufficient
3. Effective Complexity (Gell-Mann-Lloyd)
Effective Complexity Y = K(regularities)
= Total AIC - Shannon Entropy of incidentals
Skill Complexity = min{ |Skills| : Skills sufficient for task class T }
4. Predictive Information (Bialek-Nemenman-Tishby)
I_pred = Information from past → future
= I[Task History : Task Success | Loaded Skills]
For K-dimensional skill space:
I_pred ≈ (K/2) log N
The dimension K of the skill space determines predictive sufficiency.
Sufficiency Verification Protocol
Pre-Action Gate
MANDATORY: Before ANY action, the agent MUST verify sufficiency:
def pre_action_gate(action: Action, loaded_skills: Set[Skill]) -> Verdict:
"""
Gate that prevents action without sufficient skills.
Returns:
PROCEED: Sufficient skills loaded
LOAD_MORE: Specific skills needed
ABORT: Insufficient and unrecoverable
"""
required = infer_required_skills(action)
coverage = compute_coverage(required, loaded_skills)
if coverage.is_sufficient():
return Verdict.PROCEED
missing = coverage.missing_skills()
if can_dynamically_load(missing):
return Verdict.LOAD_MORE(missing)
return Verdict.ABORT(reason=f"Missing critical skills: {missing}")
Causal State Inference
class CausalStateInference:
"""Infer causal state (task class) from action specification."""
def __init__(self):
self.state_cache = {}
def infer_state(self, action: Action) -> CausalState:
"""
Partition action into equivalence class based on skill requirements.
Uses hierarchical features:
1. Domain (code, data, web, system)
2. Operation type (read, write, transform, verify)
3. Complexity class (O(1), O(n), O(n²), etc.)
4. Tool requirements (bash, read, edit, mcp)
"""
features = self.extract_features(action)
return CausalState(
domain=features.domain,
operation=features.operation,
complexity=features.complexity,
tool_profile=features.tools,
skill_signature=self.skill_signature(features)
)
def skill_signature(self, features) -> Tuple[str, ...]:
"""Canonical skill tuple for this causal state."""
return tuple(sorted(features.required_skills))
ε-Machine Construction
class EpsilonMachine:
"""
Minimal sufficient model for task → skill mapping.
Properties:
- Minimal: No redundant states
- Sufficient: All information for prediction preserved
- Unique: Up to isomorphism
"""
def __init__(self, skill_registry: SkillRegistry):
self.states: Dict[CausalState, Set[Skill]] = {}
self.transitions: Dict[(CausalState, Action), CausalState] = {}
self.registry = skill_registry
def add_observation(self, action: Action, skills_used: Set[Skill], success: bool):
"""Learn from observed action-skill-outcome triples."""
state = self.infer_state(action)
if success:
if state not in self.states:
self.states[state] = set()
self.states[state].update(skills_used)
else:
self.states[state].add(INSUFFICIENT_MARKER)
def minimal_sufficient_skills(self, action: Action) -> Set[Skill]:
"""Return minimal skill set sufficient for action."""
state = self.infer_state(action)
if state .states:
.states[state] - {INSUFFICIENT_MARKER}
similar = .find_similar_states(state)
.intersection_of_skills(similar)
() -> :
state_counts = Counter(.states.keys())
total = (state_counts.values())
probs = [c / total c state_counts.values()]
-(p * log2(p) p probs p > )
Skill Coverage Metrics
Fisher Information Metric
The Fisher metric measures how distinguishable skill configurations are:
def fisher_metric(skill_config_1: Set[Skill],
skill_config_2: Set[Skill],
task_distribution: Distribution) -> float:
"""
g(θ₁, θ₂) = E[(∂log p / ∂θ₁)(∂log p / ∂θ₂)]
Measures information-geometric distance between skill configurations.
"""
diff = skill_config_1.symmetric_difference(skill_config_2)
weighted_distance = sum(
task_distribution[skill] * skill.information_content
for skill in diff
)
return weighted_distance
Sufficiency Invariance
A skill configuration is sufficient if:
I(Task; Outcome | Skills) = I(Task; Outcome | All_Skills)
The loaded skills capture all predictive information about success.
Coverage Score
def coverage_score(action: Action, loaded_skills: Set[Skill]) -> CoverageResult:
"""
Compute sufficiency coverage for an action.
Returns:
score: 0.0 (insufficient) to 1.0 (fully sufficient)
missing: List of missing skills with priority
excess: Skills loaded but not needed
"""
required = epsilon_machine.minimal_sufficient_skills(action)
covered = loaded_skills & required
missing = required - loaded_skills
excess = loaded_skills - required
covered_weight = sum(s.criticality for s in covered)
total_weight = sum(s.criticality for s in required)
score = covered_weight / total_weight if total_weight > 0 else 1.0
return CoverageResult(
score=score,
is_sufficient=(score >= SUFFICIENCY_THRESHOLD),
missing=sorted(missing, key=lambda s: -s.criticality),
excess=excess
)
Task → Skill Mapping (ε-Machine States)
Domain-Specific Causal States
| Causal State | Required Skills | Trit Sum |
|---|
code:haskell:mcp | [ghc, mcp-builder, gay-mcp] | 0 |
code:julia:acset | [julia-gay, acsets, specter-acset] | 0 |
code:clojure:repl | [babashka, cider-clojure, clj-kondo-3color] | 0 |
verify:spi | [spi-parallel-verify, polyglot-spi, bisimulation-game] | 0 |
web:scrape | [firecrawl, exa, read-web-page] | N/A |
file:transform | [read, edit_file, create_file] | N/A |
GF(3) Conservation in Skill Loading
Skills are loaded in triads to maintain GF(3) = 0:
MINUS (-1): Validators (spi-parallel-verify, polyglot-spi)
ERGODIC (0): Coordinators (gay-mcp, triad-interleave)
PLUS (+1): Generators (unworld, topos-generate)
Loading constraint: Σ trit(skill) ≡ 0 (mod 3)
Implementation
Sufficiency Gate Decorator
from functools import wraps
from typing import Callable, Set
SUFFICIENCY_THRESHOLD = 0.95
def require_sufficiency(min_coverage: float = SUFFICIENCY_THRESHOLD):
"""
Decorator that gates function execution on skill sufficiency.
Usage:
@require_sufficiency(min_coverage=0.9)
def complex_action(params):
...
"""
def decorator(func: Callable):
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
action = Action.from_callable(func, args, kwargs)
loaded = get_loaded_skills()
coverage = coverage_score(action, loaded)
if not coverage.is_sufficient:
for skill in coverage.missing:
if can_load(skill):
load_skill(skill)
coverage = coverage_score(action, get_loaded_skills())
if not coverage.is_sufficient:
raise InsufficientSkillsError(
f"Cannot execute {func.__name__}: "
f"coverage={coverage.score:.2%}, "
)
:
result = func(*args, **kwargs)
epsilon_machine.add_observation(action, loaded, success=)
result
Exception e:
epsilon_machine.add_observation(action, loaded, success=)
wrapper
decorator
Pre-Message Hook
class SufficiencyHook:
"""
Hook that runs before every agent message.
Ensures sufficient skills are loaded before ANY action.
"""
def __init__(self, epsilon_machine: EpsilonMachine):
self.em = epsilon_machine
self.skill_loader = SkillLoader()
def pre_message(self, message: str, context: Context) -> PreMessageResult:
"""
Analyze message and ensure sufficiency before processing.
"""
predicted_actions = self.predict_actions(message, context)
required_skills = set()
for action in predicted_actions:
required_skills.update(
self.em.minimal_sufficient_skills(action)
)
loaded = self.skill_loader.get_loaded()
coverage = self.compute_coverage(required_skills, loaded)
if not coverage.is_sufficient:
to_load = self.prioritize_loading(coverage.missing)
for skill in to_load:
self.skill_loader.load(skill)
loaded = self.skill_loader.get_loaded()
coverage = self.compute_coverage(required_skills, loaded)
return PreMessageResult(
proceed=coverage.is_sufficient,
loaded_skills=loaded,
coverage=coverage,
causal_state=.em.infer_state(predicted_actions[]) predicted_actions
)
() -> [Action]:
actions = []
keywords = {
: Action(operation=),
: Action(operation=),
: Action(operation=),
: Action(operation=),
: Action(operation=),
: Action(operation=),
: Action(domain=),
: Action(domain=, language=),
: Action(domain=, language=),
: Action(tool=),
: Action(skill=),
: Action(skill=),
}
message_lower = message.lower()
keyword, action_template keywords.items():
keyword message_lower:
actions.append(action_template)
actions [Action(operation=)]
Sufficiency Violation Handling
Violation Levels
| Level | Coverage | Response |
|---|
| CRITICAL | < 50% | ABORT: Refuse to act |
| WARNING | 50-80% | LOAD: Attempt dynamic loading |
| ADVISORY | 80-95% | PROCEED: Note missing skills |
| SUFFICIENT | ≥ 95% | PROCEED: Full capability |
Error Messages
class InsufficientSkillsError(Exception):
"""Raised when action cannot proceed due to missing skills."""
def __init__(self, action: Action, coverage: CoverageResult):
self.action = action
self.coverage = coverage
msg = f"""
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SUFFICIENCY VIOLATION ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Action: {action.summary():<54} ║
║ Coverage: {coverage.score:.1%} (required: ≥95%) ║
║ ║
║ Missing Skills: ║
"""
for skill in coverage.missing[:5]:
msg += f"║ • {skill.name:<56} ║\n"
msg += """║ ║
║ Resolution: ║
║ 1. Load missing skills: skill load {missing} ║
║ 2. Use alternative approach with loaded skills ║
║ 3. Request human guidance ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
"""
super().__init__(msg)
Integration with GF(3) Triadic System
Skill Triad Completion
When loading skills for sufficiency, complete triads for GF(3) conservation:
def complete_triad(skills_to_load: Set[Skill]) -> Set[Skill]:
"""
Add skills to complete GF(3) = 0 triads.
Example:
Input: {spi-parallel-verify (-1), gay-mcp (+1)}
Output: {spi-parallel-verify (-1), triad-interleave (0), gay-mcp (+1)}
"""
current_sum = sum(s.trit for s in skills_to_load) % 3
if current_sum == 0:
return skills_to_load
needed_trit = (3 - current_sum) % 3 - 1
complementary = find_skill_with_trit(needed_trit)
return skills_to_load | {complementary}
Sufficiency Triad
The core sufficiency verification triad:
dynamic-sufficiency (-1) ⊗ skill-dispatch (0) ⊗ skill-loader (+1) = 0 ✓
Commands
just sufficiency-check action="create haskell mcp server"
just sufficiency-epsilon
just sufficiency-complexity
just sufficiency-gf3
just sufficiency-audit
Configuration
sufficiency:
threshold: 0.95
violations:
critical:
threshold: 0.50
response: abort
warning:
threshold: 0.80
response: load_and_retry
advisory:
threshold: 0.95
response: proceed_with_note
epsilon_machine:
learn_from_failures: true
state_cache_ttl: 3600
gf3:
enforce_triads: true
auto_complete: true
Mathematical Appendix
Theorem: Minimal Sufficient Skill Set
For any task T with skill requirement function R(T), the ε-machine produces a skill set S* such that:
- Sufficiency: P(Success | S*) = P(Success | All Skills)
- Minimality: ∀ S' ⊂ S*: P(Success | S') < P(Success | S*)
- Uniqueness: S* is unique up to isomorphism
Proof Sketch
By the Fisher-Neyman factorization theorem, S* is sufficient iff:
P(Task | Skills) = h(Task) × g(R(Task), S*)
where h doesn't depend on outcome. The ε-machine construction ensures this factorization by partitioning tasks into causal states with identical conditional success probabilities.
Narya Compatibility (ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENT)
Effect Typing (GF(3))
| Operation | Trit | Justification |
|---|
pre_action_gate | -1 (MINUS) | Read-only verification, gates action |
infer_state | -1 (MINUS) | Classifies task, no mutation |
coverage_score | -1 (MINUS) | Computes metric without side effects |
add_observation | +1 (PLUS) | Updates ε-machine state |
load_skill | +1 (PLUS) | Commits skill to loaded set |
complete_triad | 0 (ERGODIC) | Coordinates GF(3) balance |
Narya Log Schema
narya:
before: "hash(loaded_skills)"
after: "hash(loaded_skills_post_gate)"
delta: "skills_loaded_or_blocked"
birth: "new_epsilon_machine_observations"
impact_test: "sufficiency_threshold_crossed?"
Proof Witness Generation
def narya_witness(action, loaded_before, loaded_after, verdict):
"""
Generate proof of sufficiency gate decision.
"""
before_hash = hash(frozenset(loaded_before))
after_hash = hash(frozenset(loaded_after))
skills_added = loaded_after - loaded_before
coverage_before = coverage_score(action, loaded_before)
coverage_after = coverage_score(action, loaded_after)
return NaryaWitness(
before=before_hash,
after=after_hash,
delta={
"coverage_delta": coverage_after.score - coverage_before.score,
"skills_added": list(skills_added),
"verdict": verdict.name
},
trit=-1,
birth=skills_added if verdict == Verdict.PROCEED else set(),
verified=coverage_after.is_sufficient
)
Invariants (ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENT)
invariants:
- name: sufficiency_threshold
predicate: "action proceeds only if coverage >= 0.95"
scope: per_action
failure_mode: abort_or_load
- name: epsilon_machine_minimal
predicate: "ε-machine has no redundant states"
scope: per_machine
failure_mode: state_consolidation
- name: causal_state_partition
predicate: "tasks with same skill signature share causal state"
scope: per_observation
failure_mode: reclassify
- name: gf3_triad_complete
predicate: "loaded skills sum to 0 mod 3"
scope: per_context
failure_mode: complete_triad
- name: statistical_complexity_bounded
predicate: "C_μ <= log2(|Skills|)"
scope: per_machine
failure_mode: log_warning
Fibers (ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENT)
fibers:
- name: causal_state_fiber
base: "CausalState"
projection: "infer_state(action)"
- name: skill_requirement_fiber
base: "Action"
projection: "minimal_sufficient_skills(action)"
- name: coverage_fiber
base: "Action × LoadedSkills"
projection: "coverage_score(action, skills)"
- name: epsilon_machine_fiber
base: "ε-Machine"
projection: "states(machine)"
- name: triad_fiber
base: "SkillSet"
projection: "partition_by_trit(skills)"
MCP Lift (ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENT)
lift:
to_mcp:
tool_name: "sufficiency_gate"
params:
- name: "action"
type: "object"
description: "Action specification {domain, operation, tools}"
- name: "loaded_skills"
type: "array"
description: "Currently loaded skill names"
- name: "threshold"
type: "number"
description: "Sufficiency threshold (default 0.95)"
returns:
type: "object"
properties:
verdict: "PROCEED | LOAD_MORE | ABORT"
coverage: "Coverage score 0.0-1.0"
missing_skills: "Skills needed for sufficiency"
causal_state: "Inferred task equivalence class"
narya_witness: "Proof witness"
to_acset:
schema: "SchEpsilonMachine"
objects: [CausalState, Skill, Action]
morphisms: [requires, transitions_to]
attributes: [, ]
[, , , ]
[, , ]
Condensation Policy (ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENT)
condensation:
trigger: "num_causal_states > 100 or state_cache_stale"
strategy: "merge_equivalent_states"
pre_condensed:
- "states with identical skill signatures"
- "actions with coverage >= 1.0 (fully redundant)"
- "expired cache entries (TTL exceeded)"
Counterexamples
loaded = {"read", "edit"}
action = Action(domain="code", language="haskell", operation="mcp")
result = pre_action_gate(action, loaded)
assert result == Verdict.ABORT
skills_unbalanced = {
Skill("gay-mcp", trit=+1),
Skill("spi-verify", trit=-1)
}
epsilon_machine.add_observation(action, loaded, success=False)
Skill Name: dynamic-sufficiency
Type: Pre-Action Verification Gate
Trit: -1 (MINUS - Validator)
Color: #2626D8 (Blue)
GF(3) Triad: dynamic-sufficiency (-1) ⊗ skill-dispatch (0) ⊗ skill-loader (+1) = 0
SFI Foundation: Computational Mechanics, Effective Complexity, Predictive Information
Status: ✅ ADMITTED (all 7 MUST requirements satisfied)
Scientific Skill Interleaving
This skill connects to the K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-skills ecosystem:
Scientific Computing
- scipy [○] via bicomodule
- Hub for numerical/scientific computation
Bibliography References
dynamical-systems: 41 citations in bib.duckdb
SDF Interleaving
This skill connects to Software Design for Flexibility (Hanson & Sussman, 2021):
Primary Chapter: 3. Variations on an Arithmetic Theme
Concepts: generic arithmetic, coercion, symbolic, numeric
GF(3) Balanced Triad
dynamic-sufficiency (+) + SDF.Ch3 (○) + [balancer] (−) = 0
Skill Trit: 1 (PLUS - generation)
Secondary Chapters
- Ch10: Adventure Game Example
- Ch9: Generic Procedures
- Ch8: Degeneracy
- Ch4: Pattern Matching
- Ch2: Domain-Specific Languages
- Ch1: Flexibility through Abstraction
- Ch6: Layering
- Ch7: Propagators
Connection Pattern
Generic arithmetic crosses type boundaries. This skill handles heterogeneous data.
Cat# Integration
This skill maps to Cat# = Comod(P) as a bicomodule in the equipment structure:
Trit: 0 (ERGODIC)
Home: Prof
Poly Op: ⊗
Kan Role: Adj
Color: #26D826
GF(3) Naturality
The skill participates in triads satisfying:
(-1) + (0) + (+1) ≡ 0 (mod 3)
This ensures compositional coherence in the Cat# equipment structure.