# Bounded rationality ## MicroSim spec - **Recommended sim type:** optimization landscape - **Microsimmability score:** 62/100 - **Layout:** drawing region (canvas) on top; control region (sliders/buttons) below. ### Parameters (tunable controls) - `Search budget` - `Aspiration level` - `Option count` ### What animates An agent samples options under a limited budget and stops at a satisfactory choice. ### Learning objective Show how limited search leads to satisficing rather than optimizing. ## Links (Wikipedia order) <!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Bounded_rationality.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) --> `Accelerator_effect` · `Administered_prices` · `Administrative_Behavior` · `Albert_O._Hirschman` · `Albert_W._Tucker` · [[Algorithm]] · `Algorithmic_game_theory` · `Algorithmic_mechanism_design` · `All-pay_auction` · `Allais_paradox` · `Alpha–beta_pruning` · `Altruism` · `Alvin_E._Roth` · `Ambiguity_aversion` · `Amos_Tversky` · `An_Economic_Theory_of_Democracy` · 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`Value_of_information` · `Veblen_good` · `Vickrey–Clarke–Groves_mechanism` · `Virtual_valuation` · `Viviana_Zelizer` · `Volunteer's_dilemma` · `Von_Neumann–Morgenstern_utility_theorem` · `Walton_Hale_Hamilton` · `War_of_attrition_(game)` · `Warren_Samuels` · `Weak_evolutionarily_stable_strategy` · `Werner_Abelshauser` · `Werner_De_Bondt` · `Wesley_Clair_Mitchell` · `William_Vickrey` · `Winning_Ways_for_Your_Mathematical_Plays` · `Win–stay,_lose–switch` · `Win–win_game` · `Zermelo's_theorem_(game_theory)` · `Zero-sum_game` · `Zugzwang` > p5.js MicroSim stub · part of Systems Science · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounded_rationality) > Relation: subfield of systems science. ## Concept summary Bounded rationality is the idea that rationality is limited when individuals make decisions, and under these limitations, rational individuals will select a decision that is satisfactory rather than optimal. ## Build checklist - [ ] Claim it: set `status: in-progress` + `lease` + `leased_at` - [ ] Write the child page explaining the concept (tie it back to systems science) - [ ] Finalize parameter ranges and defaults - [ ] Implement the p5.js sketch (drawing + control regions) - [ ] Add caption + the learning objective on the page - [ ] Set `status: done` ## p5.js sketch ```javascript // MicroSim: Bounded rationality let controls = {}; function setup() { // createCanvas(...); create sliders for the parameters above. } function draw() { // background(...); read controls; render optimization landscape; respond live. } ``` --- Back to Systems Science · Wikipedia: [Bounded rationality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounded_rationality) --- <!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:START --> ## Semiotic profile > *The semiotic universals this article invokes, machine-derived from the crossref — **unverified** (born so). Populated 2026-07-06 for the Systems room.* **Universals (4):** 🟡 science (5) · 🟡 system (5) · 🟢 optimization (5) · 🟢 sampling (1) **Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal <!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:END --> ## Wikipedia : Wikitube **Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounded_rationality) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Bounded_rationality) ## Previous hub tags Tree parents: [[Agent-based_model]] · [[Complex_system]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Decision_theory]] · [[Emergence]] · [[Feedback]] · [[Game_theory]] · [[Self-organization]] · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]]. Legacy hubs: none. --- *Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*