Concepts
The irreducible epistemic atoms underlying the curriculum. 4,828 atoms across 8 types
Information fasting
the practice of temporarily cutting off information inputs to clarify which ones are actually needed and to reset neural machinery that distinguishes signal from noise
Half-life of information
the time period required for half of a body of knowledge in a field to be superseded or proven wrong
Flash information
knowledge with a half-life of hours to days that is typically urgent but not important, such as stock prices, trending topics, and most notifications
Cycle information
knowledge with a half-life of months to a few years that is necessary for current professional competence but does not compound over time, such as industry trends and framework documentation
Bedrock information
knowledge with a half-life of decades to centuries that consists of foundational principles, mental models, and first principles that remain relevant across time, such as human psychology and mathematical principles
Expertise
the ability to efficiently process information by automatically filtering out irrelevant data and focusing on signal, achieved through structured pattern exposure that changes perceptual processing itself rather than simply accumulating more information
Chunking
the cognitive process of compressing multiple discrete pieces of information into larger meaningful units that consume one working memory slot while carrying the information density of multiple items, enabling experts to process more meaning with the same working memory capacity
Premature closure
the cognitive bias that leads individuals to accept an initial interpretation or diagnosis as final before it has been fully verified, characterized by anchoring on first data, confirmation bias, and search satisficing.
Naive realism
the pervasive cognitive distortion characterized by three interlocking assumptions - that one perceives events as they actually are (transparent window belief), that rational people given same information will reach same conclusions (shared reality expectation), and that disagreement indicates others are uninformed, irrational, or biased (external attribution bias) - which protects all other biases from examination by making the belief in objective perception feel like common sense
Calibration
the alignment between your confidence and your accuracy, measured by the correspondence between stated confidence levels and actual outcome frequencies across multiple predictions
Well-calibrated perception
the cognitive infrastructure that aligns subjective confidence with objective accuracy through structured feedback loops, physiological monitoring, bias recognition, and domain-specific calibration practices
Overconfidence
the systematic, predictable, measurable error where humans exhibit excessive confidence in their knowledge, estimates, and performance, characterized by three distinct forms—overestimation of actual performance, overplacement relative to others, and overprecision of confidence intervals—that behave differently across task difficulty levels and operate below the surface of conscious awareness
Overprecision
the form of overconfidence where individuals believe their estimates are more accurate than they actually are, demonstrated by confidence intervals that are too narrow and fail to capture true values at the stated confidence level
Prediction tracking
the practice of recording specific probabilistic predictions with confidence levels, reasoning, and resolution dates, then scoring outcomes against stated probabilities to make miscalibrations visible and enable calibration feedback
Somatic marker hypothesis
emotions are not just distorters of good decision-making — they are necessary components of it - the theory that emotions provide necessary pre-conscious signals that bias attention toward or away from certain options before deliberate analysis begins
Sleep deprivation
the condition where insufficient sleep impairs cognitive performance to the degree that it equals or exceeds the impairment caused by moderate alcohol intoxication, while simultaneously degrading the brain systems responsible for self-monitoring and error detection
Perceptual calibration
the process of empirically measuring and adjusting for physiological states that systematically distort perception, specifically including sleep deprivation as a measurable input that affects the accuracy of one's cognitive instrument
Stress-induced perceptual narrowing
the neurobiological phenomenon where emotional arousal physically contracts the perceptual field by reducing prefrontal cortex engagement and increasing amygdala dominance, resulting in measurable loss of contextual information processing and cognitive flexibility under stress
Metabolic state
the physiological condition of the body, particularly blood glucose levels, that measurably alters cognitive performance, perception, and judgment by affecting attention, working memory, processing speed, executive function, and emotional regulation
Hungry judgment
the phenomenon where metabolic depletion, particularly low blood glucose, creates a negative affective filter that distorts perception and judgment by making negative interpretations more accessible and positive interpretations less so, without the individual recognizing the metabolic influence
Domain-specific calibration
the epistemic skill where confidence accurately reflects accuracy within a particular domain, requiring repeated feedback cycles and specific learning experiences that cannot be transferred to other domains
Calibration instrument
a person or system that provides external data about systematic errors in one's perception or behavior that cannot be detected through introspection alone
Blind spot
the quadrant in the Johari Window that contains what others can see about you but you cannot see about yourself, representing systematic errors in self-perception that are detectable through peer feedback
Peer feedback
structured, solicited observations from multiple independent people about one's behavior, beliefs, or perceptions that serve as calibration data to correct systematic blind spots