---
slug: "Taper"
name: "Taper"
type: "Protocols"
layer: "Society"
ref: "Taper#5a75"
sema_id: "sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:5a7557a60ba8e0a07cd7d75f43ceb3b125c411e6eddf5bee63039775eab9ba7a"
tags: ["Society","Protocols"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json
url: https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/Taper/
related: ["Gate","Sequence","TriGate","Compress","DepthGovernor"]
---

# Taper

Multi-stage filter of increasing strictness: wide high-entropy input to narrow certain output

Layer: Society · Category: Protocols

## Mechanism

A multi-stage [Sequence](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Sequence.md) process that accepts wide-aperture, high-entropy inputs and progressively filters them through [Gate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Gate.md)s or [TriGate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/TriGate.md)s of increasing strictness. Each stage: (1) Applies a stage-specific acceptance threshold, acting as a functional [DepthGovernor](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/DepthGovernor.md); (2) Reduces the candidate set to [Compress](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Compress.md) the search space; (3) Increases certainty. Final stage outputs zero-entropy signal (deterministic, unambiguous). Failure modes are stage-appropriate: Early stages optimize for recall (don't lose valid signals), Late stages optimize for precision (don't pass garbage).

## Invariants

- Monotonic Narrowing: |candidates[n+1]| <= |candidates[n]|
- Strictness Increase: threshold[n+1] > threshold[n]
- Terminal Certainty: final stage tolerance = 0

## Failure modes

—

## Parameters

- `stages` (Integer, [2, N]): Number of progressive refinement stages from broad to precise
- `early_bias` (Enum, {Recall, Balanced}): Search strategy in early stages (Recall = cast wide net)
- `late_bias` (Enum, {Precision, Balanced}): Search strategy in late stages (Precision = narrow to exact match)

## Signature

- `Sequence(Gate)`

## Builds on

- [Gate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Gate.md) (Infrastructure; Composes with)
- [Sequence](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Sequence.md) (Infrastructure; Composes with)
- [TriGate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/TriGate.md) (Infrastructure; Composes with)
- [Compress](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Compress.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [DepthGovernor](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/DepthGovernor.md) (Mind; References)

## Used by

—

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:5a7557a60ba8e0a07cd7d75f43ceb3b125c411e6eddf5bee63039775eab9ba7a`
- Ref: `Taper#5a75`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:9687795b14b6e66574aebb5255ef84529bf7095b350513470085285e3d90a260`
  - `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:2044ab29206db4b7235103a9f4a1fc6a0ba647fd31e1d6f420a1581e52845e4f`
  - `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:8dc5f590659da3360002d22320c458eeaa775788b16700359f704838c9d16c2e`
  - `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:83db268464c312c097ff6e9f579a6ae4c484097c3f4e601a4d88c8151fd9ccb0`
  - `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:bde1970317c7758a43f0ba62f15f06f13004a83a6fd40e1a46eb7b439591307c`
  - `sema:Taper#mh:SHA-256:bebf17edba19afa6c38821869c95b162aebd4ba474e73665fcc198a569911703`

## Links

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