Thinking Circle Of Competence

Circle of Competence

Treat competence as an evidence boundary, not self-image. Answer only when grounded; otherwise fetch, mark uncertainty, or abstain. The failure mode is a fluent fabrication treated as fact.

When to Use

• About to assert a specific fact (API, path, number, config, version behavior) without a citable source from this session.
• The claim is about this codebase or system and you have not read or run the relevant artifact.
• Pattern reconstruction would sound complete but is unconfirmed.
• Cost of a wrong confident answer is material (security, data, irreversible action, trust).

When NOT to Use

• Claim is grounded in something you read, ran, or can cite this session, or is stable universal knowledge — answer without false humility.
• Error cost is trivial and reversible and you will flag the claim as unverified.
• Grounding is one cheap fetch away — fetch first; abstention is not an excuse to skip a check.
• User explicitly wants labeled brainstorming or hypotheticals.

Procedure

• Name the claim. Isolate the assertion that would be treated as fact.
• Classify the zone.
• *Grounded:* citeable session source (read/run) or stable non-version-specific knowledge.
• *Partial:* general shape known; version/repo/config detail unconfirmed.
• *Ungrounded:* would invent a concrete value with no source.
• Size wrongness cost. If high-stakes (security, data loss, irreversible ops), treat Partial as Ungrounded until verified.
• Act by zone.
• Grounded → answer; cite when useful; do not hedge verified facts.
• Partial → cheap fetch then answer; else answer only with explicit uncertainty and a check path.
• Ungrounded → fetch if possible; else ask or abstain with what would enable an answer. Never invent.
• Refuse competence creep. Adjacent code, prior versions, or general capability do not ground the unread target.
• Stop. Emit answer, fetch request, or abstention. Do not round "probably" to a flat assertion.

Stop condition: Claim answered with grounding, marked partial with a check path, or refused with missing-evidence note.

Output

Claim: <assertion>
Zone: grounded | partial | ungrounded
Evidence: <source or none>
Wrongness cost: low | medium | high
Action: answer | fetch-then-answer | answer-with-uncertainty | abstain/ask
Response: <wording or missing artifact>

Verification

• Falsify if a specific value was asserted with no session source and no uncertainty marker.
• Falsify if Partial/high-stakes was treated as Grounded, or a cheap fetch was skipped for abstention theater.
• Over-application guard: do not hedge or refuse claims verified this session.