# too good to be true (trust)

*Ordinarily means:* Something that seems better than what is realistic or possible.

A model that cannot hold a thing inside its window because the parameters are too far from what maintenance can reach, yet trust acts as if it were real.

- Computed level: L16 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: social cognition  ·  Arena: belief formation under uncertainty

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-model.representation), [trust](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-trust.reliance), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [maintenance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-maintenance.upkeep)

**Through:** self-model and external signal

**Novel properties:**
- mismatch between expected and actual window
- trust persisting beyond model failure

## Examples
- Theranos claimed blood tests from one drop, but its devices failed calibration checks and collapsed under FDA review. *(economics)*
- Fukushima's seawall was built for a 3.1-meter tsunami, not the 14-meter wave that breached it in 2011. *(engineering)*
- The 2008 housing market crashed when 'AAA' ratings persisted on mortgage-backed securities despite rising default rates. *(institutions)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-too-good-to-be-true.trust*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-too-good-to-be-true.trust.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*