Principlev1PR-2096
Separate high-signal channels requiring attention…
Separate high-signal channels requiring attention from reference channels consulted when needed and low-signal optional channels, because collapsing these into a single stream destroys the signal-to-noise ratio.
Why This Is a Principle
This principle derives from the axiom that abundant information creates scarce attention (Information and attention have an inverse relationship), signal-to-noise ratio determines channel capacity (Signal-to-noise ratio determines the capacity…), and attention is finite and must be allocated (Attention is a finite cognitive resource that must…). It prescribes information architecture based on the foundational constraint that attention cannot scale to infinite information streams.