REFINEMENT.MD — SUBSTRATE

COGNITIVE THROUGHPUT INVARIANT

I. Premise

Human working memory is finite.

Intrinsic complexity is unavoidable.

Extraneous cognitive load is not.

Unnecessary interface friction consumes available bandwidth and reduces productive comprehension.

II. Principle

All system interfaces, workflows, and communication layers must minimize extraneous cognitive load so that:

• alignment

• understanding

• durable signal

occupy available cognitive capacity.

III. Obligations

Systems governed by this invariant shall:

1. Reduce extraneous load.

Remove unnecessary steps, clutter, ambiguity, and representational overhead.

2. Preserve intrinsic complexity.

Do not distort or oversimplify domain reality.

3. Protect working memory.

Present information in structured, stable forms consistent with human cognitive limits.

4. Prioritize signal density.

Foreground essential information and maintain structural coherence.

IV. Prohibitions

Systems may not:

• introduce avoidable complexity

• require multi-step interpretation for simple operations

• overload users with parallel cognitive demands

• bury essential signal in noise

• depend on memory-heavy navigation patterns

V. Constitutional Status

No interface, workflow, or governance mechanism may be deployed without evaluation under this invariant.

Systems that increase extraneous cognitive load must be redesigned or rejected.

VI. Limitation

This invariant governs avoidance of unnecessary friction.

It does not dictate aesthetic style or eliminate intrinsic complexity.