Principlev1
Treat the act of building a tool as a form of
Treat the act of building a tool as a form of externalization that reveals implicit steps in your workflow, making the tool itself secondary to the understanding gained.
Why This Is a Principle
Derives from Generative Externalization (writing is generative, not transcriptive) and Externalization Exposes Hidden Structure (externalization exposes tacit knowledge). Building forces explicit specification of what was previously implicit, producing metacognitive value beyond the tool artifact.