Mind · Strategy
Defer
Postponing decisions until more information available
Definition
Mechanism
Strategic postponement. When facing a decision under high uncertainty, run the EpistemicROI test on waiting: what would I learn, and would it change the decision? If yes, defer with a deadline; if no, decide now. Relies on Prioritize to re-insert the task once the waiting condition is met.
Preconditions
- Task is not urgent
Postconditions
- Task queued
Invariants
- Waiting passes the EpistemicROI test: some outcome of waiting changes the decision.
- State preservation: Context is saved for resumption.
- Both a WakeUpCondition and a deadline are explicit. A condition may never fire; a deadline always does.
Risks
Failure modes
{{decision}} debt
deferred choices accumulate until the deadline forces rushed decisions.
Deferred into forgotten
the WakeUpCondition never fires and no deadline was set.
Relationships
Builds on
References
Infrastructure
Portable execution environment with inherited constraints
Infrastructure
Irrevocable selection from a set of options
Calculating the economic value of reducing uncertainty
Ordering tasks by importance and urgency
Infrastructure
System condition at time T
Infrastructure
The atomic unit of intent
Used by
References
Society
Weighted negotiation concession with deferred debt ledger
Reference