home / skills / plurigrid / asi / dynamic-sufficiency-goblin

dynamic-sufficiency-goblin skill

Q: How does the GF(3) conservation help in practice?

The GF(3) rule provides a compact invariant that ensures helper spawns are balanced and predictable, aiding debugging and making system behavior auditable.

Q: Can this approach prevent rapid spawn/release flapping?

The base thresholds reduce trivial churn, but adding hysteresis, cooldown timers, or maximum helper limits is recommended for environments with bursty traffic.

safe

/skills/dynamic-sufficiency-goblin

This skill manages dynamic sufficiency goblin behavior to balance workload and resources using load-based spawning and GF(3) conservation.

npx playbooks add skill plurigrid/asi --skill dynamic-sufficiency-goblin

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (1)

SKILL.md

3.6 KB

---
name: dynamic-sufficiency-goblin
description: Self-regulating Goblins actor implementing Ivan Illich's dynamic sufficiency
metadata:
  trit: +1
---

# Dynamic Sufficiency Goblin

**Real Spritely Goblins** actor that self-regulates workforce via load-based spawning. GF(3) conserved.

## Illich's Principle

> "Tools that demand only threshold skill, foster autonomy."

A goblin that:
1. Monitors load (free energy)
2. Spawns helpers when overwhelmed (>80%)
3. Releases helpers when idle (<30%)
4. Maintains `Σ trits ≡ 0 (mod 3)`

## Real Guile Goblins Implementation

```scheme
(use-modules (goblins)
             (goblins actor-lib methods)
             (ice-9 format)
             (srfi srfi-1))

(define (^sufficiency-goblin bcom capacity)
  (define queue '())
  (define helpers '())
  (define my-trit 0)

  (define (load-factor)
    (/ (length queue) (max 1 capacity)))

  (define (gf3-sum)
    (+ my-trit (fold + 0 (map cdr helpers))))

  (define (balanced-trit-for-spawn)
    (case (modulo (+ (gf3-sum) 300) 3)
      ((0) 0) ((1) -1) ((2) 1)))

  (methods
   ((enqueue item)
    (set! queue (cons item queue))
    (when (> (load-factor) 0.8)
      (let* ((helper-trit (balanced-trit-for-spawn))
             (helper (spawn ^sufficiency-goblin 2)))
        (set! helpers (cons (cons helper helper-trit) helpers)))))

   ((release-idle)
    (when (and (< (load-factor) 0.3) (pair? helpers))
      (set! helpers (cdr helpers))))

   ((status)
    `((load . ,(load-factor))
      (helpers . ,(length helpers))
      (gf3 . ,(gf3-sum))
      (conserved? . ,(zero? (modulo (gf3-sum) 3)))))))

;; Usage with actormap (no networking required)
(define am (make-actormap))
(define goblin (actormap-spawn! am ^sufficiency-goblin 3))
(actormap-run! am (lambda () ($ goblin 'enqueue "work")))
```

## Run

```bash
cd ~ && flox activate -- guile -e main /tmp/sufficiency-goblin.scm
```

## Output

```
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║     DYNAMIC SUFFICIENCY GOBLIN (Real Spritely Goblins)        ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

Created goblin with capacity=3

  Enqueued: 1 items, load=33.3%, helpers=0
  Enqueued: 2 items, load=66.7%, helpers=0
  → Spawned helper with trit 0 (GF(3)=0)
  Enqueued: 3 items, load=100.0%, helpers=1
  → Spawned helper with trit 0 (GF(3)=0)
  Enqueued: 4 items, load=133.3%, helpers=2

  Status:
    queue:     4 items
    helpers:   2
    GF(3) Σ:   0
    conserved: ✓

Processing work...
  Processed: braindance-4
  Processed: braindance-3
  ...

Attempting to release idle helpers...
  ← Released helper (was trit 0)
  ← Released helper (was trit 0)

  Status:
    queue:     0 items
    helpers:   0
    GF(3) Σ:   0
    conserved: ✓
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
```

## GF(3) Conservation

```
Spawn rule: helper-trit = -Σ(current) mod 3
  sum=0 → spawn 0  (neutral)
  sum=1 → spawn -1 (balance)
  sum=2 → spawn +1 (balance)

Invariant: Σ(goblin + helpers) ≡ 0 (mod 3) ∀ states
```

## Dependencies (flox)

```bash
flox install guile guile-goblins guile-fibers guile-gnutls
```

## Integration

```
braindance-worlds (0) ⊗ dynamic-sufficiency (+1) ⊗ acsets (-1) = 0 ✓
```

Overview

This skill implements a self-regulating actor called the Dynamic Sufficiency Goblin that automatically adjusts helper workers based on load while conserving a GF(3) trit sum. It spawns helpers when load exceeds a high threshold and releases them when idle, maintaining a modular invariant to keep the system balanced. The design favors low-threshold tools that promote autonomy and predictable scaling.

How this skill works

The goblin tracks a local queue and computes a load factor against its capacity. When load > 80% it spawns a helper with a trit chosen to restore the global GF(3) sum; when load < 30% it releases helpers. The implementation enforces the invariant Σ(trits) ≡ 0 (mod 3) across the goblin and its helpers at all times, ensuring conserved state while adapting workforce size.

When to use it

Automated worker pools that must self-scale without centralized coordination
Systems that require an invariant or checksum-like conservation across agents
Lightweight background processing where spawn/release latency is acceptable
Environments favoring threshold-based, easy-to-understand tooling for autonomy
Prototyping topology-inspired resource management or educational demos of Illich’s principle

Best practices

Set capacity to reflect realistic processing throughput so load thresholds trigger sensibly
Keep spawn and release logic simple to avoid oscillation; consider hysteresis if needed
Log spawn/release events and GF(3) sums for observability and debugging
Limit maximum helpers or add cooldowns if external resource limits exist
Design helper lifecycle to gracefully drain work before release to avoid lost tasks

Example use cases

A local task queue that grows during peak input and shrinks during idle to save CPU
A classroom demo of conservation laws applied to software agents using GF(3) invariants
A microservice that must maintain a small, explainable coordination rule instead of complex orchestration
Edge deployments where minimal autonomy and simple scaling rules reduce operational overhead

FAQ

How does the GF(3) conservation help in practice?

The GF(3) rule provides a compact invariant that ensures helper spawns are balanced and predictable, aiding debugging and making system behavior auditable.

Can this approach prevent rapid spawn/release flapping?

The base thresholds reduce trivial churn, but adding hysteresis, cooldown timers, or maximum helper limits is recommended for environments with bursty traffic.