@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."

Accountability Links

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

• medicine-wheel-ontology-core — Foundational types (DirectionName, etc.)
• zod — Runtime validation

License

MIT — IAIP Collaborative, Shawinigan, QC