---
slug: "BeliefTracking"
name: "BeliefTracking"
type: "Memory"
layer: "Mind"
ref: "BeliefTracking#c78d"
sema_id: "sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:c78d68a1f4fe92e2f284e489f6987bc42183245181c6710b9d0c9e582b054e13"
tags: ["Mind","Memory"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json
url: https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/BeliefTracking/
related: ["Agent","Belief","CognitiveBias","SurprisalUpdate","EpistemicCascade","Revisance","sema:BayesUpdate#mh:SHA-256:a762656f3df6a4b6322a6da1ae14f3093e675cba380bb5e488f397863f3e8b0a","Revisance#73f1"]
---

# BeliefTracking

Note what you believed before and after

Layer: Mind · Category: Memory

## Mechanism

Epistemic Version Control. Enforces a 'Commit Log' for internal knowledge. Before processing new information, the [Agent](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Agent.md) must query and pin its current Priors. If the posterior belief shifts significantly, the [Agent](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Agent.md) creates a new Node connected to the old one via a `supersedes` edge, explicitly noting the 'Surprisal' that caused the shift. It calculates the divergence magnitude via [SurprisalUpdate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/SurprisalUpdate.md) to determine whether a new node is justified or if the evidence fits the existing model.

## Invariants

- Causal Link: Every update must cite the specific 'Trigger' (Evidence) that caused the shift.
- Non-Destructive Update: Old beliefs are never deleted, only Superseded.
- Prior Commitment: Must retrieve/state existing beliefs BEFORE ingesting new evidence.

## Preconditions

- Existing knowledge graph
- Incoming information stream

## Postconditions

- [Belief](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Belief.md) graph updated with version history
- Learning delta recorded

## Failure modes

- Hindsight [CognitiveBias](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/CognitiveBias.md): [Agent](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Agent.md) overwrites prior beliefs with new data, destroying the record of learning.
- Epistemic Thrashing: Creating new belief versions for trivial noise (over-sensitivity).
- Silent Update: Changing internal weights/state without creating a graph edge to document it.

## Parameters

- `update_threshold` (Float, [0.0, 1.0]): Minimum delta to trigger belief revision

## Builds on

- [Agent](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Agent.md) (Mind; References)
- [Belief](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Belief.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [CognitiveBias](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/CognitiveBias.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [SurprisalUpdate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/SurprisalUpdate.md) (Mind; References)

## Used by

- [EpistemicCascade](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/EpistemicCascade.md) (Mind; References)
- [Revisance](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Revisance.md) (Mind; References)

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:c78d68a1f4fe92e2f284e489f6987bc42183245181c6710b9d0c9e582b054e13`
- Ref: `BeliefTracking#c78d`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:e02e3c597330e2769854a6cbee467a000ef8aaf8275256973482fce6aaf9c991`
  - `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:65b5f43b911ac5cf11622c6e4c4fa89457541630ec72f1f387394d5ad8afff14`
  - `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:6f91264f8bcb9a1eba37e37adf40c9fe779135fb88b8a7748de81c9f76c75c76`
  - `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:6142b1c96257501505d4af3e9985e1845d80257b9db3d60e7892765373cca398`
  - `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:1ae45fb5af911a83c09d9acc4a007b9147dd46c979ae0febc0bee6754f8a224e`
  - `sema:BeliefTracking#mh:SHA-256:890a705eecf03acd88de6614e0225f4f910eaf6c5bf19f8852aa0b238d1ab513`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/BeliefTracking/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/#BeliefTracking)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/BeliefTracking.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json)