Principlev1
Measure baseline behavior before implementing interventions
Measure baseline behavior before implementing interventions to distinguish genuine effects from normal variation and regression to the mean.
Why This Is a Principle
Derives from Hindsight Bias and Calibration Necessity (memory reconstructs unreliably), Human memory of task duration is systematically biased and (memory of duration is biased), and Memory is reconstructive, not reproductive—humans rebuild (raw experience without reflection doesn't produce learning). Baseline measurement provides the reference point these axioms show we cannot reliably generate from memory alone.