Principlev1PR-262
Maintain external cognitive systems with the same rigor…
Maintain external cognitive systems with the same rigor as internal cognitive health, because a disorganized external system is functionally equivalent to degraded biological memory when that system constitutes part of your thinking.
Why This Is a Principle
Grounds to Extended Cognition Thesis (external processes constituting genuine cognition) and Knowledge that exists only in tacit form degrades without… (tacit knowledge degrades without maintenance). The principle prescribes treating externalized systems as cognitive infrastructure requiring active maintenance. Once a system is part of your mind per extended mind thesis, neglecting it is equivalent to neglecting neural health.
Source Lessons
The externalized mind is the extended mind
Your notebooks, tools, and systems are not aids to thinking — they are part of your thinking. When a tool plays the same functional role as a cognitive process, it is a cognitive process.
Sleep deprivation degrades perception
Insufficient sleep impairs perception as much as moderate alcohol intoxication — and unlike alcohol, you cannot feel it happening.