01 / Collective work
Who gets the credit?
Follow each contributor through every order. What does the allocation rule recognize?
φA + φB + φC = v(ABC)
Open the investigation →Epistemologium
Questions worth working through
Visual investigations into work, technology, measurement and the rules beneath everyday systems.
Choose a question to explore
Ongoing investigations02 / The arithmetic of work
What does a subscription really cost?
Price is one number. Seats and time turn it into a commitment.
cost = price × seats × timeFor a constant per-seat price.
Explore the analysis →03 / Measurement & meaning
What the dashboard leaves out
Good metrics illuminate, but they also omit. Examine what is counted, what is missing, and why it matters.
a count ÷ a chosen denominatorStart with the definition.
Inspect the metric →04 / Selection & survivorship
Who disappeared before the story began?
Successful projects are only part of the population. Reveal who was outside the frame.
20/30 ≠ 20/80Different denominators. Different questions.
Widen the frame →05 / Preferences & rules
Who wins when we change the rules?
Keep the same ballots and inspect what each counting rule recognizes.
A / B / CThree rules. One constructed profile.
Follow the ballots →06 / Evidence & belief
When does agreement become an echo?
The opening example has twelve reports repeating one claim: “The programme shortened the wait.” How many observations sit behind them?
Reports ≠ observations
Open the investigation →07 / Measurement & framing
Can every group improve while the headline gets worse?
Two periods. Two groups. Each group has a higher success rate in Period B, yet the combined rate falls from 50% to 36% in the opening example.
Overall = Σ(weight × rate)
Open the investigation →08 / Measurement & framing
Who pays when we move the line?
Twenty fictional messages have supplied labels and scores. A cutoff turns each score into a decision: flag it as spam, or let it through.
Cost = FP × cFP + FN × cFN
Open the investigation →09 / Value & power
What happens when the score becomes the goal?
You have twenty effort units and twenty cases. Resolving a case costs two units. Closing one administratively costs one. Which action does the score reward?
2r + c = 20 effort units
Open the investigation →10 / Networks & perception
Why does everyone else seem more connected?
The opening star has eight people. One person has seven connections; each of the others has one. What changes when we enter through a connection instead of choosing a person?
Σd / n versus Σd² / Σd
Open the investigation →11 / Value & power
Who gets a familiar face?
A wedding brings four circles of friends together. Keeping familiar groups intact seems sensible. But one guest knows nobody at their table. What changes if we make room for them?
Same guests + constraints + priority → a different arrangement
Open the investigation →