Protocol

Forensic Pattern Reader

Transform from a passive consumer of information into an active forensic examiner of reality. Distinguish observation from inference. Detect the dog that didn't bark. Maintain chain of custody on your own cognition.

Forensic Pattern Reader
Old Way
  • Consume summaries before raw data
  • Let context anchor your interpretation
  • Trust visible patterns at face value
  • Forget where you learned things
  • Rewrite memory to match outcomes
New Way
  • Analyze primary sources blind
  • Shield from biasing information
  • Hunt for what's missing from the picture
  • Tag every belief with its source
  • Log predictions before outcomes

Does this sound familiar?

  • You read the conclusion before the data and wonder why you always agree with experts
  • You can't remember where you learned half of what you 'know'
  • Your predictions feel accurate but you've never actually tracked them
  • You notice patterns everywhere but can't explain what's missing from the picture
  • You change your mind but can't articulate exactly what evidence caused the shift
  • You feel certain but can't distinguish observation from inference
Myth

Common Myth

Smart people are naturally good at avoiding bias. Intelligence protects against cognitive contamination.

Mechanism

The Three Pillars of Cognitive Forensics

Click a system to explore its habits

Trace Integrity

Trace Integrity

Protect raw data from contamination. Separate observation from inference. Use Linear Sequential Unmasking to prevent bias cascade.

Negative Space Reasoning

Negative Space Reasoning

See what isn't there. Correct for survivorship bias. Detect temporal lacunae, pronoun drops, and the manufactured absence of adversarial environments.

Chain-of-Custody Memory

Chain-of-Custody Memory

Maintain an audit trail of your own cognition. Log decisions before outcomes. Tag beliefs with sources. Calculate your calibration.

Glossary

01

Trace Integrity

The protection of raw data from cognitive contamination, ensuring observations remain untainted by premature conclusions.

02

Linear Sequential Unmasking (LSU)

A protocol where evidence is analyzed blind before reference samples are revealed, preventing circular reasoning.

03

Survivorship Bias

The error of drawing conclusions only from data that 'survived' a selection process, ignoring what failed or disappeared.

04

Temporal Lacuna

A gap in a narrative, often bridged by phrases like 'later on,' where critical events may be hidden.

05

Chain of Custody

The chronological documentation of how a belief was formed, what evidence was used, and when confidence changed.

06

Brier Score

A mathematical measure of probabilistic prediction accuracy, revealing chronic overconfidence or underconfidence.

07

Double Crux

A method for resolving disagreement by finding the specific belief that, if changed, would change both parties' minds.

08

Cognitive Contamination

When an analyst's interpretation is swayed by contextually irrelevant information, often beneath conscious awareness.

Getting Started

Step01

Week 1: Install the Clean Room

Start with Foundation habits that separate observation from inference. Learn to shield from hot takes and log confidence before comparison.

Step02

Week 2: Protect Your Traces

Master the Trace Integrity system. Practice Linear Sequential Unmasking and information sequencing by bias power.

Step03

Week 3: See the Invisible

Develop Negative Space Reasoning. Learn to detect survivorship bias, temporal lacunae, and linguistic markers of omission.

Step04

Week 4: Build Your Audit Trail

Establish Chain-of-Custody Memory. Start your decision journal, tag beliefs with sources, and assign probabilistic confidence.

Step05

First Investigation: Apply the Full Protocol

Run the Investigation Protocol playbook on a real decision. Combine all three systems into a single analytical workflow.

Step06

Find a Specific Technique

Search for habits related to specific forensic techniques like pronoun analysis, Benford's Law, or the Crystal Ball method.

Step07

Browse the Full Deck

Clear all filters and explore the complete habit library.

When It Happens

  • Encounter New Information

    T+0

    A report, claim, or dataset arrives. Before reading summaries or opinions, you enter the clean room.

  • Blind Analysis Phase

    T+5m

    Examine raw data in isolation. Document observations in one column, inferences in another. Log confidence levels.

  • Negative Space Scan

    T+15m

    Ask: What's missing? What filter generated this data? Where are the temporal gaps? What would I expect to see if I'm wrong?

  • Sequential Unmasking

    T+20m

    Now reveal context, opinions, and reference samples. Compare your blind analysis to the proposed narrative.

  • Revision Audit

    T+25m

    If your view changes, document exactly why. Log the decision with probabilistic confidence and source tags.

  • Chain of Custody Sealed

    T+30m

    The analysis is complete. Your decision journal entry is locked. Future you can audit this moment without hindsight contamination.

"

Every contact leaves a trace. In the cognitive realm, every exposure to information—whether relevant or irrelevant—leaves a trace that alters the observer's perception.

Locard's Exchange Principle, adapted

Progression

Habit Tiers

Tier 1

Foundation

Install the Operating System — Separate observation from inference. Shield from hot takes. Start a decision journal. Tag beliefs with sources.

Tier 2

Growth

Develop the Protocols — Practice LSU. Sequence information by bias power. Map temporal lacunae. Apply the True Rejection test. Steel-man arguments.

Tier 3

Mastery

Calibrate the Instrument — Run adversarial verification. Apply Benford's Law. Calculate Brier scores. Conduct Double Crux sessions.

Tier 4Peak

Titan

Build the Infrastructure — Design personal LSU protocols. Build a failure library. Publish prediction track records. Conduct cognitive M&M reviews.

Habits

40cards

Core Systems

3pillars

Playbooks

5protocols

Progression Tiers

4levels

Frequently Asked Questions

Protocol Playbooks

Curated sequences of habits designed to be practiced together. Click a playbook to see its cards in the deck below.

Investigation Protocol
11 cards

Investigation Protocol

Full forensic analysis workflow: blind examination, negative space scan, sequential unmasking, and revision audit.

Separate Observation from Inference
Read Primary Sources First
Shield from Hot Takes

+8 more habits

Source Verification
5 cards

Source Verification

Validate claims and trace beliefs back to credible origins. Break the chain of hearsay.

Tag Every Belief with a Source
Quarantine Unsourced Claims
Apply the True Rejection Test

+2 more habits

Deception Detection
6 cards

Deception Detection

Linguistic and behavioral markers of omission, distancing, and manufactured absence.

Map Temporal Lacunae
Detect Pronoun Drops
Flag Passive Voice Evasion

+3 more habits

Calibration Audit
5 cards

Calibration Audit

Monthly review of prediction accuracy, confidence calibration, and cognitive failure patterns.

Assign Probabilistic Confidence
Calculate Your Brier Score
Conduct a Cognitive M&M Review

+2 more habits

High-Stakes Decision
7 cards

High-Stakes Decision

Full protocol for irreversible decisions: blind analysis, adversarial verification, and diagnostic timeout.

Practice Linear Sequential Unmasking
Sequence Information by Bias Power
Run Adversarial Verification

+4 more habits

Quests

Challenges to accelerate your transformation. Click a quest to see its target cards.

Initiation

The Baseline Protocol

Clean your cognitive lens by separating facts from interpretations and isolating raw data from external influence.

"The scene is contaminated. Your first task is to secure the perimeter and stop the leaks."

FOUNDATION tier streak for 7 days
7 cards
View Quest Cards
System Mastery

The Void Analysis Protocol

Master the art of reasoning from absence, identifying linguistic evasion, and mapping what isn't being said.

"Truth is rarely found in the signal. It hides in the silence, the gaps, and the selective omissions."

Complete Negative Space Reasoning system
13 cards
View Quest Cards
Titan Trial

The Forensic Post-Mortem

Perform a deep-dive reconstruction of a failed prediction to isolate the exact moment of cognitive contamination.

"The error is the evidence. To master the mind, you must dissect its failures with clinical precision."

Complete TITAN tier
1 cards
View Quest Cards

The Full Deck

40 habits across 3 core systems

Systems:
Playbooks:
Separate Observation from Inferencefoundation

Separate Observation from Inference

Document raw facts in one column, interpretations in another; never mix them.
⏱ 5m⚡ low
Trace Integrity
Read Primary Sources Firstfoundation

Read Primary Sources First

Review raw data, charts, or documents before reading any summaries or opinions.
⏱ 15m⚡ medium
Trace Integrity
Shield from Hot Takesfoundation

Shield from Hot Takes

Avoid opinion content on a topic until you've formed your own initial position.
⏱ N/A⚡ low
Trace Integrity
Log Confidence Before Comparisonfoundation

Log Confidence Before Comparison

Rate your certainty on each observation before seeing any reference or expected outcome.
⏱ 2m⚡ low
Trace Integrity
Practice Linear Sequential Unmaskinggrowth

Practice Linear Sequential Unmasking

Analyze evidence in strict sequence: trace first, then reference, then comparison.
⏱ 20m⚡ high
Trace Integrity
Sequence Information by Bias Powergrowth

Sequence Information by Bias Power

Review objective data first, subjective opinions last, emotional content never first.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Trace Integrity
Document Revision Justificationsgrowth

Document Revision Justifications

When changing an interpretation after seeing new data, write exactly why you changed.
⏱ 3m⚡ low
Trace Integrity
Run Adversarial Verificationmastery

Run Adversarial Verification

Have a partner analyze the same trace blind, then compare independent conclusions.
⏱ 30m⚡ high
Trace Integrity
Apply the Crystal Ball Techniquemastery

Apply the Crystal Ball Technique

Imagine your conclusion is wrong and the worst outcome occurred; ask what you missed.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Trace Integrity
Conduct a Cognitive M&M Reviewtitan

Conduct a Cognitive M&M Review

After a failed prediction, walk through the timeline to find the cognitive break point.
⏱ 30m⚡ high
Trace Integrity
Ask What's Missingfoundation

Ask What's Missing

Before concluding, explicitly list what data you expected to see but didn't.
⏱ 3m⚡ low
Negative Space Reasoning
Identify the Selection Filterfoundation

Identify the Selection Filter

Before trusting data, name the process that determined what survived to reach you.
⏱ 2m⚡ low
Negative Space Reasoning
Seek the Graveyard Datafoundation

Seek the Graveyard Data

Actively hunt for failed cases, churned users, or non-respondents related to your analysis.
⏱ 15m⚡ medium
Negative Space Reasoning
Map Temporal Lacunaegrowth

Map Temporal Lacunae

In any narrative, highlight time gaps and bridging phrases that skip over periods.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Negative Space Reasoning
Detect Pronoun Dropsgrowth

Detect Pronoun Drops

Notice when speakers remove 'I' from their statements to distance from actions.
⏱ N/A⚡ low
Negative Space Reasoning
Flag Passive Voice Evasiongrowth

Flag Passive Voice Evasion

Identify when passive voice removes the agent from an action to obscure responsibility.
⏱ N/A⚡ low
Negative Space Reasoning
Run Analysis of Competing Hypothesesgrowth

Run Analysis of Competing Hypotheses

List all possible explanations and look for evidence to refute each, not confirm one.
⏱ 20m⚡ high
Negative Space Reasoning
Apply Benford's Law Checkmastery

Apply Benford's Law Check

On financial or numerical data, check if leading digit distribution matches expected curve.
⏱ 10m⚡ medium
Negative Space Reasoning
Evaluate for Denial and Deceptionmastery

Evaluate for Denial and Deception

Ask if the data stream is too clean or perfectly aligned with a preferred narrative.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Negative Space Reasoning
Invert the Survivor Maptitan

Invert the Survivor Map

Take a success pattern and deliberately study the failures that shared the same traits.
⏱ 30m⚡ high
Negative Space Reasoning
Start a Decision Journalfoundation

Start a Decision Journal

Before major decisions, log the context, variables, and your probabilistic forecast.
⏱ 10m⚡ medium
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Tag Every Belief with a Sourcefoundation

Tag Every Belief with a Source

For each distinct claim you hold, note whether it's verified personally or accepted from others.
⏱ 2m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Assign Probabilistic Confidencefoundation

Assign Probabilistic Confidence

Express predictions as percentages, not vague words like 'likely' or 'probably.'
⏱ 1m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Apply the True Rejection Testgrowth

Apply the True Rejection Test

Before arguing a point, ask if disproving this specific fact would change your mind.
⏱ 2m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Practice Scope Matchinggrowth

Practice Scope Matching

Ensure the scope of your evidence matches the scope of your conclusion.
⏱ 2m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Steel-Man Opposing Argumentsgrowth

Steel-Man Opposing Arguments

Before critiquing a position, construct the strongest possible version of it.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Log Your Mental Stategrowth

Log Your Mental State

Before important decisions, note fatigue, stress, time pressure, or emotional state.
⏱ 1m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Calculate Your Brier Scoremastery

Calculate Your Brier Score

Periodically score your probabilistic predictions against actual outcomes.
⏱ 20m⚡ medium
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Run a Double Crux Sessionmastery

Run a Double Crux Session

In disagreement, find the specific belief that, if changed, would change both minds.
⏱ 30m⚡ high
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Reward Reasoned Opinion Changemastery

Reward Reasoned Opinion Change

When you change your mind due to evidence, explicitly celebrate it as a win.
⏱ 1m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Audit Your Belief Provenancetitan

Audit Your Belief Provenance

Review your major beliefs and trace each back to its original source and evidence.
⏱ 45m⚡ high
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Create Information Triage Zonesfoundation

Create Information Triage Zones

Designate separate physical or digital spaces for facts, opinions, and hypotheses.
⏱ 15m⚡ medium
Trace Integrity
Apply the Rule of Threegrowth

Apply the Rule of Three

Generate at least three alternative explanations before settling on any single diagnosis.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Trace Integrity
Detect Non-Prompted Negationgrowth

Detect Non-Prompted Negation

Notice when someone tells you what they didn't do when asked what they did do.
⏱ N/A⚡ low
Negative Space Reasoning
Detect Vocabulary Shiftsmastery

Detect Vocabulary Shifts

Track when a speaker suddenly changes how they refer to a person or object.
⏱ N/A⚡ medium
Negative Space Reasoning
Quarantine Unsourced Claimsfoundation

Quarantine Unsourced Claims

When you can't remember where you learned something, label it as unverified.
⏱ 1m⚡ low
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Take a Diagnostic Timeoutgrowth

Take a Diagnostic Timeout

Before finalizing any high-stakes conclusion, pause to review a must-not-miss checklist.
⏱ 5m⚡ medium
Chain-of-Custody Memory
Design a Personal LSU Protocoltitan

Design a Personal LSU Protocol

Create a written protocol for your domain specifying what to analyze blind and when to unmask.
⏱ 1h⚡ high
Trace Integrity
Build a Failure Librarytitan

Build a Failure Library

Curate a personal collection of case studies where you or others missed critical signals.
⏱ 30m⚡ medium
Negative Space Reasoning
Publish a Prediction Track Recordtitan

Publish a Prediction Track Record

Make your logged predictions and outcomes visible to others for accountability.
⏱ 30m⚡ high
Chain-of-Custody Memory

Sources & References

External reading that informed this stack.

8 links

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