# Run Report - Simon Abstraction Layer Heuristics

Run date: 2026-07-02
Model: Codex GPT-5
Runner: Codex local thread

## What Was Produced

- `RUN_OUTPUT.md`: first full benchmark answer to `FORAY_PROMPT.md` v1.
- The output includes Simon reading notes, a universal heuristic kit, an abstraction-failure taxonomy, a near-decomposability test, a layer-shift protocol, state/process translation guidance, two worked applications, a field card, a surprise heuristic, and self-critique.

## Verdict

Strong enough as run 1 baseline. The answer stays close to Simon's core moves while turning them into usable tests and update triggers. Its most reusable additions are:

- the `Failure-range ledger`, treating failed abstractions as scoped instruments rather than discarded errors;
- the `boundary exchange rate`, which makes interaction strength visible in information, handoff, and organisational systems;
- the explicit distinction between local workstream validity and interface/integration validity in project planning.

## Source Faithfulness

High for the main Simon spine: hierarchy as subsystem structure, stable intermediate forms, near-decomposability, time-scale separation, sparse description, and state/process description. Medium for the added operational vocabulary, which is a derived heuristic layer rather than Simon's own wording.

## Transferability

Good. The run applies the kit to project planning and urban traffic congestion. A future model should be asked whether it can beat this by choosing a more alien non-project domain and still keeping the test operational.

## Weak Spots

- The near-decomposability scoring is useful but still qualitative.
- The project example is strong; the traffic example is adequate but could be made more surprising.
- The prompt asks for concise depth; this run is somewhat long, though the field card provides the compact version.

## Comparison Baseline For Future Runs

Future model runs should try to improve on:

1. `Boundary exchange rate` as a new heuristic.
2. The practical failure taxonomy.
3. The layer-shift protocol's preservation of the old abstraction as a partial model.
4. The worked project example: local package progress versus interface/integration coherence.

## Next Suggested Run Question

When comparing the next model, ask whether it can produce a more quantitative near-decomposability test without over-claiming precision.