What is schema failure?

Schema failure is a concept in personal epistemology: Operating on a flawed schema produces systematically flawed decisions.

Example: A startup founder raises $2M to build a product based on the schema 'enterprise buyers prioritize features over simplicity.' Every design review, every sprint, every hire optimizes for feature density. Eighteen months in, every lost deal cites the same objection: 'too complicated.' The schema was wrong from day one, and every dollar spent since then compounded the error. The cost wasn't just the money — it was the eighteen months of organizational momentum pointed in the wrong direction.

This concept is part of Phase 11 (Schema Foundations) in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for schema foundations.