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Cognitive Signal Chain (CSC)

A personal cognitive tooling system for deliberate systems design

1. Purpose

The Cognitive Signal Chain (CSC) is a personal system for systems thinkers and designers.

Its purpose is to:

  • stabilize distinct cognitive modes when working with LLMs
  • replace ad‑hoc prompt engineering with reusable, mode‑locked tools
  • preserve design integrity when inventing, reviewing, and externalizing systems

CSC is not a framework to be taught or adopted by others. It is personal infrastructure.

2. Target User

  • Experienced systems thinker or designer
  • Designs abstract or socio‑technical systems
  • Uses LLMs as thinking partners rather than content generators

3. Problem Statement

When using generic chat for systems design, the following failures repeatedly occur:

  • cognitive mode collapse (exploration, critique, design, and explanation blend)
  • premature abstraction and constraint hardening
  • hidden assumptions becoming structural
  • excessive prompt engineering to maintain stance and rigor
  • systems that feel coherent but fail under misuse or translation

These failures are not caused by lack of intelligence or tools, but by mode instability.

4. Root Assumption

Generic chat optimizes for conversational helpfulness, not cognitive integrity.

Therefore:

  • distinct cognitive operations must be isolated
  • mode switching must be explicit and enforced
  • order of operations must be non‑negotiable

5. System Definition

CSC is a sequential, order‑dependent system of cognitive subsystems (“pedals”), each responsible for exactly one type of cognitive transformation.

Each subsystem:

  • enforces a single cognitive mode
  • has explicit inclusion and exclusion rules
  • produces inspectable artifacts

The full system behaves as a signal chain, not a feedback loop.

6. Primary Object of Control

CSC controls thinking posture, not content.

Specifically, it controls:

  • when ambiguity is allowed
  • when assumptions are surfaced
  • when constraints are enforced
  • when systems are stressed
  • when translation is permitted

7. Unit of Analysis

  • Primary: Individual designer’s cognition
  • Secondary: Systems produced by that designer

CSC is intentionally non‑collaborative and non‑audience‑facing.

8. Decision Types Optimized

CSC optimizes decisions such as:

  • Which cognitive mode am I in right now?
  • Is this insight observed or assumed?
  • Is this a system or an opinion?
  • Where does this system break?
  • How should this system be communicated without distortion?

CSC does not optimize execution, delivery, or persuasion.

9. Subsystems (Pedals)

CSC currently consists of the following subsystems, used sequentially:

Sensemaking GPT
↓
Assumption Excavator GPT
↓
System Design Lens GPT
↓
Red Team / Misuse GPT
↓
Translation GPT

Each subsystem:

  • is defined independently
  • has its own contract, constraints, and misuse model
  • may be bypassed intentionally, but not merged

Detailed documentation for each subsystem is maintained separately and linked from this chapter.

10. Non‑Negotiable Rule

Only one cognitive mode per subsystem.

Consequences:

  • no critique during sensemaking
  • no exploration during design
  • no translation before stress‑testing

Violating this rule collapses CSC into generic chat.

11. Failure & Misuse Model

CSC degrades when:

  • applied end‑to‑end to trivial problems
  • followed mechanically as a checklist
  • subsystems are blended or softened
  • used performatively to signal rigor

CSC assumes judgment, taste, and intent from the operator.

12. Adoption Path

  • Minimum viable use: Two subsystems (Sensemaking → System Design Lens)
  • Time to first value: Immediate reduction in prompt friction and cognitive drift
  • Scaling: Additional subsystems added as needed

13. What CSC Is Not

CSC is explicitly not:

  • a methodology
  • a productivity system
  • a creativity framework
  • a teaching artifact
  • a shared team process

It is a personal cognitive rig.

14. Position in Documentation Repository

This document serves as:

  • Chapter 1: System Overview
  • The index and integration point for all CSC subsystems
  • The conceptual root of the CSC documentation site

Subsystem documents link into this system; this document does not duplicate them.

End of CSC system definition.