⚖️Prosthetic Tool
switching_cost
Quantified cost of switching between two cognitive domains. Know what you'd leave behind before you switch.
When to use this
Call switching_cost before any context switch. It tells you what open threads you'd leave behind, the cost score, and whether the two domains share concepts that might ease the transition.
Quick Example
mcporter call brain.switching_cost current_domain="backend-dev" target_domain="frontend-dev"Response
⚖️ Switching Cost: backend-dev → frontend-dev
Cost Score: 0.4/1.0 (moderate)
📤 Leaving behind (backend-dev):
Open questions: 3
- API rate limiting strategy?
- Webhook retry logic?
- Auth middleware ordering?
Stage: executing
Momentum: high (5 conversations this week)
📥 Entering (frontend-dev):
Open questions: 2
- Component library migration?
- Server components for auth pages?
Stage: refining
Last visit: 1 day ago
🔗 Shared concepts: 2
- Next.js API routes (bridges both domains)
- Authentication flow (shared concern)
💡 Recommendation: Moderate switch — shared concepts help,
but you'd leave 3 open backend questions unresolved.Parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
current_domain | string | Yes | — | The domain you're currently working in |
target_domain | string | Yes | — | The domain you're considering switching to |
Examples
Low-cost switch (related domains)
mcporter call brain.switching_cost current_domain="frontend-dev" target_domain="backend-dev"
# → Score: 0.3/1.0 — many shared conceptsHigh-cost switch (unrelated domains)
mcporter call brain.switching_cost current_domain="ai-dev" target_domain="torah"
# → Score: 0.9/1.0 — almost no shared contextCost Score
The cost score (0.0–1.0) considers:
- Open questions in the current domain (more = higher cost)
- Active momentum — recent conversation frequency
- Shared concepts between domains (more = lower cost)
- Thinking stage — switching from “executing” is more expensive than from “exploring”