medicine-wheel

@medicine-wheel/importance-unit

The ImportanceUnit is the relational unit of knowledge in Wilson’s epistemology — a relationally-accountable piece of meaning that carries epistemic weight, source dimensions, accountability links, and circle depth tracking.

Overview

In Wilson’s framework, not all knowledge is equal. Dream-state and embodied knowledge may carry more epistemic authority than rational analysis. ImportanceUnits make this explicit.

What it provides

Module Description
types TypeScript types for ImportanceUnit, AccountabilityLink, CircleRefinement, and related structures
schemas Zod validation schemas for runtime data integrity
unit Core CRUD: createUnit(), updateUnit(), circleBack(), archive()
epistemic-weight Weight computation: computeWeight(), adjustForSource(), adjustForDepth()
accountability Link management: linkAccountability(), resolveLinks(), findGaps()
circle-tracking Spiral tracking: incrementCircle(), recordRefinement(), detectDeepening(), detectStagnation()

Installation

npm install @medicine-wheel/importance-unit

Or link locally:

npm link ../medicine-wheel/src/importance-unit

Usage

import {
  // Types
  type ImportanceUnit, type EpistemicSource, type AccountabilityLink,

  // CRUD
  createUnit, circleBack, archive,

  // Weight
  computeWeight, BASE_WEIGHTS,

  // Accountability
  linkAccountability, findGaps,

  // Circle tracking
  incrementCircle, detectDeepening, detectStagnation,

  // Schemas
  ImportanceUnitSchema,
} from '@medicine-wheel/importance-unit';

// Create a new unit from dream-state knowing
const unit = createUnit({
  direction: 'east',
  source: 'dream',
  summary: 'The river teaches patience through its refusal to hurry',
  createdBy: 'firekeeper-agent',
  axiologicalPillar: 'epistemology',
});

// unit.epistemicWeight === 0.85 (dream-state base)
// unit.circleDepth === 1

// Circle back with a refinement
const deepened = circleBack(unit, 'Patience is not waiting — it is attending');
// deepened.circleDepth === 2
// deepened.epistemicWeight > 0.85 (depth bonus applied)

Epistemic Weight Model

Source Base Weight Rationale
dream 0.85 Liminal/spirit-state knowing has highest authority
land 0.75 Place-grounded/embodied knowing
vision 0.65 Intentional/architectural knowing
code 0.50 Technical/implementation knowing

Weight increases with circleDepth using diminishing returns (logarithmic scaling). The first return yields more insight than the tenth, though all returns matter. Weight never exceeds 1.0.

Key Concepts

Circle Depth

Repetition is ceremony and deepening, not redundancy. Each time a topic is revisited (circleBack()), the circle depth increments and a refinement is recorded capturing “the subtle difference between the 3rd and 4th circling.”

Every ImportanceUnit must be accountable to something. Links carry responsibility, not just reference. The findGaps() function identifies relationally isolated units.

Ceremony State

Tracks progression through the four directions. When all four quadrants have been visited, the circle is complete and the unit becomes eligible for archival.

Dependencies

License

MIT — IAIP Collaborative, Shawinigan, QC