Mental Models

Chesterton's Fence

Don't remove what you don't understand

Best for: pausing before the rewrite
Time: 15–30 min
Difficulty: Beginner

Example

New manager wants to remove a weird-looking approval step

Pause before the rewrite

Existing rule — every export to PDF needs second approval
Tempting move — "obviously useless; cut it"
Chesterton check — why was it added? Talk to whoever introduced it
Reason — a 2019 GDPR incident triggered a regulator visit
Decision — keep step but make it 1-click; preserve audit trail

Related frameworks

Hanlon's Razor

Don't attribute to malice what stupidity explains

Occam's Razor

Prefer the simplest explanation

First Principles

Reduce to atomic truths, rebuild up

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