# illusion of control (over)

A self-model that reports as within its reach what no action of its own can set.

- Computed level: L16 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: published  ·  Domain: agency

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [self-model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive), [reach](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-reach.action), [report](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-report.information), [action](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-action.deed), [set](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-set.fix), [control](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-control.ability)

**Through:** Actions and outcomes arrive together often enough that the self-model files the outcome as its own work, and counts walls it cannot move as walls it sets.

**Novel properties:**
- outcomes credited to actions that did not cause them
- reach read as larger than it is
- confidence without a lever

## Examples
- Craps players throw the dice harder when they want high numbers and softer for low ones. *(gambling)*

## Used by
- [cargo cult](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cargo-cult.ritual) (L17)

---
*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-illusion-of-control.over*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-illusion-of-control.over.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*