Truth and first principles

Use this lens when narrative, identity, trend, or analogy may be driving the decision more than evidence.

Four-column ledger

• Fact: independently checkable observation.
• Interpretation: causal meaning assigned to facts.
• Wish: desired state or moral claim.
• Unknown: information that can change the decision.

Do not use a wish as evidence. Attach a date, cohort, baseline, and source to consequential facts.

Action evidence

Words are cheap; observe time, money, migration, repeated behavior, reputation, opportunity cost, and responsibility. Apply the same test to customers, partners, and the Builder's own priorities.

First-principles reset

Ask why the industry exists, what progress users must make, and which physical, legal, trust, or coordination constraints cannot be removed. Rebuild from those constraints instead of copying competitor features or current categories.

Decision test

Write the strongest disconfirming result, smallest reversible action, success threshold, guardrail, time window, and stop condition. A test that cannot change the decision is theater.

Source boundary: synthesized from True Demand, Part Four.