Evaluate source credibility before consuming content…
Evaluate source credibility before consuming content, not after, because evaluating post-consumption cannot recover the cognitive resources already spent processing noise.
Why This Is a Principle
Derives from working memory limits (Working Memory Capacity Limit), cognitive resource depletion (Directed Attention as Depletable Resource), and information decay (Exponential Information Decay). The principle prescribes temporal placement of evaluation (before, not after) to prevent resource waste. It's actionable (use CRAAP or SIFT before reading), general across information types, and addresses efficiency of cognitive resource allocation.
Source Lessons
High-quality sources reduce noise filtering
Curating better inputs is more efficient than filtering bad ones. Every hour spent choosing credible sources saves ten hours of downstream fact-checking, second-guessing, and correcting decisions built on noise.
The cost of staying informed about everything
Every minute spent consuming noise is a minute stolen from depth. The cost of staying informed about everything is understanding nothing well enough to act on it.