Standards

Standards are a magical thing, cutting across both atoms and bits.

The Control System

Standards are the GAUGE in any P&ID (Process & Instrumentation Diagram). Without standards, you cannot measure. Without measurement, you cannot close the feedback loop:

▽ HOPPER → ▷ PUMP → ● GAUGE → ? CONTROLLER
                       ▲
                   STANDARDS
                   (the ruler)

World	Material	Standards Measure	Control Question
Atoms	Physical matter	Temperature, pressure, quality	"Is the milk pasteurized?"
Bits	Information	Latency, accuracy, completion	"Does the code pass tests?"
Ideas	Thoughts	Clarity, truth, impact	"Is this ready to ship?"

See Thought Audit for the ideas factory, Factory Design for the atoms factory.

Standards are protocols that have been formally adopted and enforced. In the knowledge stack, standards enable the platform layer by making capability consistent, composable, and scalable. Without consistency, improvement is guesswork.

📄️ AI Standards

Who is setting standards the will develop the platform that sets the legacy for all of us?

📄️ Benchmarks

What does good progress look like?

Mantra

The greatest potential value of blockchain to humanity is an immutable single source of truth

Definition

Protocols and standards are closely related but distinct concepts.

• Protocols are specific sets of rules for making progress in specific field
• Standards are formally recognized and widely adopted protocols or specifications

Standards are the Glue. They are the Ontology that transforms specific Protocols into a "Context Graph" of Decision Traces. This allows reasoning to be traced across different systems and time.

See VVFL: The Tight Five of Value Creation for how standards compound through feedback loops.

Protocols and Constraints

Standards emerge from two forces working together:

Force	Function	P&ID Symbol	Question
Protocol	Creates movement	▷ PUMP	How do we proceed?
Constraint	Sets boundaries	● GAUGE	What's acceptable?

Protocols = Rules for making progress (steps, sequences, triggers) Constraints = Limits that shape behavior (thresholds, permissions, policies)

Together they produce decision traces — the record of why something was allowed to happen.

Constraint Types

Type	What It Is	Where It Lives
Threshold	Numeric limit	Benchmarks
Permission	Role-based access	Access control systems
Policy	Rule statement	Documentation
Precedent	Past decision	Context graph
Exception	Approved deviation	Decision trace

Current systems capture thresholds, permissions, and some policies. Precedent and exceptions usually die in Slack.

The Non-Expert Problem

The expert knows which exceptions apply. The non-expert doesn't.

Without captured decision traces:

• New hires re-solve problems the team solved last quarter
• AI agents hit walls of tacit knowledge
• Auditors can't verify why something was allowed

With captured decision traces:

• Exceptions become searchable precedent
• Precedent informs future decisions
• The loop compounds instead of repeats

See Matrix Thinking for the test. See Context Graphs for the technical implementation.

Evolution

Science discovers what is possible, technology converts that knowledge into know-how while standards set expectations for quality control.

• The Lindy Effect (Time) and Metcalfe's Law (Adoption)
• Successful protocols often become standards through industry adoption and formal recognition
• Standards organizations (e.g., ISO, IEEE, IETF) play a crucial role in formalizing and maintaining protocols as standards
• Standards ensure interoperability, consistency, and quality across different implementations
• The standardization process involves rigorous review, testing, and consensus-building among experts and stakeholders

People:

• William S. Knudsen
• Dr. W. Edwards Deming

Scalability

Standards enable scalability by driving consistency, without consistency improvement is guesswork.

1. Stable
2. Consistent
3. Composable
4. Interoperable
5. Reliable

The HTTP standard for example catapulted the internet to ubiquity by creating a uniform way to exchange information.

ISO Standards

ISO standards are agreed internationally by experts. Key examples: ISO-9001 (Quality), ISO-69315 (Innovation), plus standards for energy, environment, food safety, workplace safety, and IT security.

Crypto Standards

Regulation happens when good standards fail to evolve.

Newer protocols can establish better standards from inception. The opportunity: prove crypto provides greater capital efficiency through transparency and self-regulation.

What's emerging:

• Self-regulatory organizations (industry FINRA equivalent)
• Crypto-specific GAAP accounting principles
• Standardized disclosure of team wallets and allocations
• Quarterly financial reporting

tip

Eat your own dog food

Financial Standards

ISO-20022 will support 80% of transaction volumes and 87% of transaction value worldwide. See also CESR for Ethereum staking yield benchmarks.

Web Standards

Verifiable Credentials enable portable online identity—the foundation for decision trace ownership.