Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M2850

Verisimilitude

Verisimilitude
StructureHigh supportLogic
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Not "reality" but "likeness to truth". Even science fiction can achieve verisimilitude if the details are logically consistent and the physical rules are uniform.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The cornerstone of immersion. You can write about dragons, but dragons must follow biological laws (e.g., they need to eat). By adding trivial, logical details (e.g., dragon scales can harbor parasites), the fictional becomes believable.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Popper proposed that although theories cannot be verified, they can be compared in terms of their degree of approximation to truth (verisimilitude).

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VerisimilitudeZH · Explicit
    verified

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