Principlev1PR-219
Eliminate irrelevant information at the source rather…
Eliminate irrelevant information at the source rather than filtering it after consumption, because upstream prevention is orders of magnitude cheaper than downstream correction.
Why This Is a Principle
This principle derives from working memory limits (Working Memory Capacity Limit), cognitive resource depletion (Directed Attention as Depletable Resource), and the inverse relationship between information and attention (Information and attention have an inverse relationship). It prescribes a specific design choice: filter at the source, not at consumption. It's actionable across contexts (email, social media, news), general enough to apply broadly, and distinct from the axioms it grounds to.