Track where each schema came from — prioritize…
For each schema you operate on, document source provenance in a single field—specific person, book, cultural norm, direct experience, or unknown—then prioritize verification effort by source weakness.
Why This Is a Rule
Where a schema came from determines how much verification it needs. A schema derived from repeated direct experience in the relevant domain has strong provenance — it's been reality-tested through the adoption process. A schema absorbed from cultural norms has weak provenance — it was inherited without testing. A schema with "unknown" provenance is the highest risk — you can't even evaluate the source quality.
Five source categories provide a simple provenance taxonomy: Specific person (mentor, teacher, authority — evaluate by that person's domain expertise), Book (evaluate by evidence quality in the book, not the book's reputation), Cultural norm (high risk — absorbed without testing, often outdated), Direct experience (strong — personally reality-tested, but may be sample-size-limited), Unknown (highest risk — you don't know where this belief came from, which means you can't evaluate its foundation).
Verification effort should prioritize weakest-provenance schemas first: "unknown" sources get verified before "direct experience" sources, because unknown-provenance schemas have the highest probability of being unfounded.
When This Fires
- During schema inventory and audit (Inventory what you actually do — not what you should…, Five-step schema audit)
- When you notice you're operating on a belief and can't remember where it came from
- During prioritization of which schemas to validate first
- When evaluating whether a schema's confidence level is justified by its source
Common Failure Mode
Treating all sources as equal: a cultural norm absorbed at age 12 gets the same confidence as a principle derived from 10 years of direct professional experience. Provenance tracking makes the confidence-source mismatch visible.
The Protocol
For each schema: (1) Add a provenance field: who or what was the source? Choose from: specific person, book, cultural norm, direct experience, unknown. (2) If "unknown" → highest verification priority. You're operating on a belief with no traceable foundation. (3) If "cultural norm" → high priority. It was inherited, not tested. (4) If "specific person" → medium priority. Evaluate by that person's domain expertise. (5) If "book" → evaluate by evidence quality in the book. (6) If "direct experience" → lower priority, but check sample size. Direct experience is reality-tested but may be limited to narrow conditions.