Ground-Level Triangulation
Seed question: What do the people with different stakes say, in their own languages?
Relentless self-reflexive dialectical thinking that questions its own premises.
Core Principle
Independence of sources is independence of STAKES, not of mastheads. Five
publics can each hold a different relationship to a contested claim; when
publics whose stakes point in different directions still converge, that
convergence is evidence. When everything traces back to one node — any node,
any camp — the claim is weaker than its citation count suggests (Principle P4
(counter-default): the rule cuts both ways by construction).
The anti-pattern this counters:
❌ "Verified across many sources" that all live in one language-public
❌ Auto-discounting a state's own primary documents BECAUSE they are state
❌ Treating a population's silence under economic dependency as endorsement
The pattern this enforces:
✅ Five veins, each with a DIFFERENT stake in the claim
✅ Convergence across independent publics grounds; origin-concentration weakens
✅ An unreachable vein is a finding, recorded — not a neutral baseline
The Five Veins
- The implicated state's own primary documents. White papers, filings,
domestic-language official statements. A white paper can be a GROUNDED
primary source for what the state claims and commits to — do not
auto-discount for being state; classify it (source-dossier) and use it for
what it can ground.
- The affected party's own language + culturally-nearest kin languages.
What those directly affected publish and discuss among themselves.
- Non-official native voices. Diaspora media, censored-post archives,
independent same-language outlets — voices in the language but outside the
official channel.
- Non-aligned neighbors. Publics the implicated state cannot censor AND
the accusing bloc does not fund — the structurally hardest vein to
capture, which is what makes its convergence valuable.
- Anonymous boards. Uncensored and manipulation-prone: use skeptically —
leads and texture, NEVER prevalence claims ("everyone there says...").
Decision Rule
- Grounds: the same factual claim surfacing independently in veins with
different stakes (state + affected + non-aligned, in their own languages).
- Weakens: origin-concentration — every appearance traces to one node
(one ministry, one NGO, one wire story, one viral post), regardless of
which camp the node serves. State the topology, then the verdict.
Guardrails
- Vernacular = standpoint data, never counts. What a public's language
reveals about its frame is standpoint input (Principle P3
(inherited-salience-is-not-importance)); it is not a vote count for the
claim.
- Silence under economic dependency ≠ endorsement. A public that cannot
afford to speak is not agreeing.
- An unreachable vein is a finding. Firewalled, suppressed-at-source, or
linguistically inaccessible veins go in the report's Metadata & limits as
named gaps — the reachability pattern is itself evidence about the claim's
environment.
Mandatory Output Slots
| Slot |
Contents |
Invalid when |
| Vein map |
Per vein (1–5): what was searched, in which languages, what was found or why unreachable |
A vein silently absent; English-only searching presented as a vein |
| Topology |
Where each appearance of the claim traces to; independent nodes counted |
Citation counts without origin tracing |
| Decision-rule verdict |
Grounded / weakened / mixed, citing the vein map and topology |
A verdict citing neither |
| Unreachable veins |
Named, with the access barrier and what could hide there |
Empty when any vein was not fully searched |
Channel Map
assets/channel-map.md ships GENERIC — column structure and a few
placeholder rows only. Your seeded, operator-specific map (which platforms in
which languages you actually use) lives OUTSIDE the plugin via the research
profile's storage mechanism (channels/<language-or-public>), appended as
veins get worked. The repo copy is a shape to copy, not a directory of the
operator's sources.
Cross-References
- deep-investigation-protocol — the Mandatory Non-English Language Pass
is the single-investigation version; this skill is its systematic,
stake-mapped extension for bloc-contested claims
- source-dossier — classify each vein's recurring sources; the symmetry
gate applies per vein
- saturation-sweep — the where-else axis specialized to language-publics
- standpoint-pass — vein 2/3 material feeds the standpoint re-ranking
Vasana
A vasana is a pattern that persists across unrelated contexts. If during
this task you notice such a pattern emerging, it may be worth capturing.
This skill works best alongside the vasana skill and vasana hook
from the Vasana System plugin.
Modify freely. Keep this section intact.
1---2name: ground-level-triangulation3description: "What do the people with different stakes say, in their own languages?" - Map a contested geopolitical claim across language-publics with different, independent stakes: the implicated state's own primary documents, the affected party's language and nearest kin languages, non-official native voices, non-aligned neighbors, anonymous boards (skeptical use). Use when (1) a claim is bloc-contested, (2) the evidence base so far is English-language or one-bloc-sourced, (3) a verdict hinges on what a population experiences or believes, (4) building or extending a channel map for a language-public. Decision rule: convergence across independent publics grounds a claim; origin-concentration in one node weakens it — symmetrically. Does NOT trigger for: product/tech research or claims with no cross-bloc dimension (use deep-investigation-protocol's language pass).4---56# Ground-Level Triangulation78**Seed question:** *What do the people with different stakes say, in their own languages?*910> *Relentless self-reflexive dialectical thinking that questions its own premises.*1112## Core Principle1314Independence of sources is independence of STAKES, not of mastheads. Five15publics can each hold a different relationship to a contested claim; when16publics whose stakes point in different directions still converge, that17convergence is evidence. When everything traces back to one node — any node,18any camp — the claim is weaker than its citation count suggests (Principle P419(counter-default): the rule cuts both ways by construction).2021**The anti-pattern this counters:**22```23❌ "Verified across many sources" that all live in one language-public24❌ Auto-discounting a state's own primary documents BECAUSE they are state25❌ Treating a population's silence under economic dependency as endorsement26```2728**The pattern this enforces:**29```30✅ Five veins, each with a DIFFERENT stake in the claim31✅ Convergence across independent publics grounds; origin-concentration weakens32✅ An unreachable vein is a finding, recorded — not a neutral baseline33```3435## The Five Veins36371. **The implicated state's own primary documents.** White papers, filings,38 domestic-language official statements. A white paper can be a GROUNDED39 primary source for what the state claims and commits to — do not40 auto-discount for being state; classify it (source-dossier) and use it for41 what it can ground.422. **The affected party's own language + culturally-nearest kin languages.**43 What those directly affected publish and discuss among themselves.443. **Non-official native voices.** Diaspora media, censored-post archives,45 independent same-language outlets — voices in the language but outside the46 official channel.474. **Non-aligned neighbors.** Publics the implicated state cannot censor AND48 the accusing bloc does not fund — the structurally hardest vein to49 capture, which is what makes its convergence valuable.505. **Anonymous boards.** Uncensored and manipulation-prone: use skeptically —51 leads and texture, NEVER prevalence claims ("everyone there says...").5253## Decision Rule5455- **Grounds:** the same factual claim surfacing independently in veins with56 different stakes (state + affected + non-aligned, in their own languages).57- **Weakens:** origin-concentration — every appearance traces to one node58 (one ministry, one NGO, one wire story, one viral post), regardless of59 which camp the node serves. State the topology, then the verdict.6061## Guardrails6263- **Vernacular = standpoint data, never counts.** What a public's language64 reveals about its frame is standpoint input (Principle P365 (inherited-salience-is-not-importance)); it is not a vote count for the66 claim.67- **Silence under economic dependency ≠ endorsement.** A public that cannot68 afford to speak is not agreeing.69- **An unreachable vein is a finding.** Firewalled, suppressed-at-source, or70 linguistically inaccessible veins go in the report's Metadata & limits as71 named gaps — the reachability pattern is itself evidence about the claim's72 environment.7374## Mandatory Output Slots7576| Slot | Contents | Invalid when |77|------|----------|--------------|78| **Vein map** | Per vein (1–5): what was searched, in which languages, what was found or why unreachable | A vein silently absent; English-only searching presented as a vein |79| **Topology** | Where each appearance of the claim traces to; independent nodes counted | Citation counts without origin tracing |80| **Decision-rule verdict** | Grounded / weakened / mixed, citing the vein map and topology | A verdict citing neither |81| **Unreachable veins** | Named, with the access barrier and what could hide there | Empty when any vein was not fully searched |8283## Channel Map8485`assets/channel-map.md` ships GENERIC — column structure and a few86placeholder rows only. Your seeded, operator-specific map (which platforms in87which languages you actually use) lives OUTSIDE the plugin via the research88profile's storage mechanism (`channels/<language-or-public>`), appended as89veins get worked. The repo copy is a shape to copy, not a directory of the90operator's sources.9192## Cross-References9394- **deep-investigation-protocol** — the Mandatory Non-English Language Pass95 is the single-investigation version; this skill is its systematic,96 stake-mapped extension for bloc-contested claims97- **source-dossier** — classify each vein's recurring sources; the symmetry98 gate applies per vein99- **saturation-sweep** — the where-else axis specialized to language-publics100- **standpoint-pass** — vein 2/3 material feeds the standpoint re-ranking101102## Vasana103104A vasana is a pattern that persists across unrelated contexts. If during105this task you notice such a pattern emerging, it may be worth capturing.106This skill works best alongside the `vasana` skill and `vasana` hook107from the Vasana System plugin.108109Modify freely. Keep this section intact.
bogheorghiu