Sources & Method

This site explains confusion, uncertainty, and cognitive overload using established research and observable limits of human information processing.

Claims here are not opinion, motivation, or metaphor. They are conservative explanations grounded in evidence — with explicit limits.

How claims are formed

All major claims on this site fall into one or more of the following categories:

1. Established research consensus

Findings are drawn from well-replicated work in:

• cognitive psychology
• neuroscience
• decision science
• systems and complexity research

Preference is given to long-standing theories, replicated results, and cross-disciplinary agreement rather than single studies or headlines.

2. Observable system behavior

Some explanations describe how real systems behave in practice, including:

• limited working memory
• delayed feedback
• non-linear outcomes
• context-dependent performance

These claims are descriptive rather than prescriptive. They reflect patterns observable across many domains.

3. Explicit limits and uncertainty

Where evidence is incomplete, context-dependent, or contested, this site states that directly.

This site avoids:

• universal claims
• guarantees
• prescriptions
• certainty where none exists

Uncertainty is treated as part of understanding, not a failure of it.

What this site does not do

This site does not:

• offer advice or strategies
• attempt behavior change
• provide diagnosis or treatment
• claim personal authority or lived expertise

Its purpose is explanatory only. Understanding is offered as context, not instruction.

How sources are cited

Sources are cited using numbered references within the text and listed fully at the bottom of each page.

Citations are included to:

• allow verification
• show intellectual lineage
• support skeptical reading

They are not included to persuade, posture, or overwhelm.

Core references

The following works form the backbone of the site’s explanations. This list may grow over time, but it will remain conservative and curated.

Cognitive limits & decision-making

• Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow.
• Baddeley, A. (2007). Working Memory, Thought, and Action.
• Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory.

Stress & executive function

• Arnsten, A. (2009). Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function.
• Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions.

Systems & real-world cognition

• Meadows, D. (2008). Thinking in Systems.
• Klein, G. (1998). Sources of Power.

A note on interpretation

This site aims to translate established knowledge into clear language without extending claims beyond what evidence supports.

If a statement feels restrained or understated, that is intentional. Precision builds trust.

Why this matters

Confusion is often treated as something to fix. This site treats it as something to understand.

That framing is not philosophical. It is grounded in how human cognition actually works.