Log schema changes with 4 fields
Write schema evolution log entries with four mandatory fields - date, schema affected in original language not current interpretation, specific triggering evidence or encounter, and the replacement belief - to defeat hindsight bias through fixed external records.
When This Fires
- When any schema revises — a belief changes, a model updates, an assumption fails
- During the belief update process (Write belief updates as 'Based on [evidence], I am…) as the documentation step
- When you want to track your epistemic evolution over time
- During any deliberate practice of calibration and self-knowledge
Common Failure Mode
Writing the old belief in current language: "I used to overweight velocity metrics." But at the time, you called them "our most important planning tool" — the old language reveals how invested you were, which the current-language version glosses over.
The Protocol
When a schema changes: (1) Date: today's date. (2) Schema in original language: write the old belief as you would have stated it before today. Not "I used to kind of think X" but "I believed [specific statement as I would have said it]." (3) Triggering evidence: the specific event, data, conversation, or experience that caused the change. (4) Replacement: what you believe now. These four fields take 2-3 minutes and produce a permanent record that hindsight cannot rewrite.