Cross-domain patterns must share causal structure…
Validate cross-domain pattern candidates by verifying that the relational structure (not surface similarity) matches across domains—two patterns share structure when the causal relationships between elements are preserved even when the elements themselves differ completely.
When This Fires
- When a pattern from one domain "reminds you of" a pattern in another domain
- During brainstorming when someone says "this is just like [other domain]"
- When building cross-domain links in your knowledge system (Prioritize cross-domain links over within-cluster links…)
- Any time an analogy feels insightful and you want to verify it's genuine
Common Failure Mode
Accepting vocabulary overlap as pattern validation: "Both situations have a 'bottleneck,' so the same solution should work." But a manufacturing bottleneck (physical throughput constraint) requires different interventions than a cognitive bottleneck (attention capacity limitation). The word is the same; the causal structure is different.
The Protocol
When a cross-domain pattern candidate surfaces: (1) Describe the pattern in Domain A: what are the elements and what causal relationships connect them? (2) Describe the suspected pattern in Domain B with the same structure. (3) Compare: are the causal relationships preserved? Does A-causes-B in Domain 1 map to A'-causes-B' in Domain 2? (4) If causal structure is preserved → valid cross-domain pattern. Solutions that work in one domain may transfer. (5) If only surface features match → invalid analogy. Solutions will not transfer despite the superficial resemblance.