Map Personal Knowledge

Map Personal Knowledge

Core judgment: knowledge is personal before it is formal. The question is not just "what do you know" but "what is this knowledge grounded in."

Use When

• The user wants to distinguish real understanding from fluent repetition
• A judgment sounds plausible but its basis is unclear
• The goal is to surface assumptions, confidence gaps, and boundary conditions

Start with a Concrete Claim

Do not begin from a whole field. Begin from one claim, one model, or one decision.

Examples:

• "This is a good diagnosis"
• "This product strategy will work"
• "I understand this framework"

Workflow

1. Trace the Source

For each important claim, ask where it comes from:

• direct experience
• observed examples
• formal theory
• authority or tradition
• unexamined assumption

2. Test the Boundary

Ask:

• when would this stop being true
• what counterexample would weaken it
• what hidden condition is doing most of the work

3. Separate Understanding Levels

Distinguish:

• can restate
• can explain in own words
• can apply in a live case
• can detect failure

4. Produce the Map

If you need a format, read references/knowledge-map-template.md.

Output

Return:

• claim map
• source of confidence
• assumption list
• blind spots
• next validating action

Do Not

• mistake vocabulary for understanding
• treat confidence as evidence
• keep the analysis purely abstract after finding a weak spot