Design trigger systems to maintain signal-to-noise ratios
Design trigger systems to maintain signal-to-noise ratios above 60-80%, removing any trigger that produces useful behavior less than 60% of the time it fires.
Why This Is a Principle
This is a derived principle from multiple axioms. Working Memory Capacity Limit (working memory limit) and Directed Attention as Depletable Resource (finite attention as a resource) establish that attention is limited and depletes. Attention as Gate to Conscious Perception (attention is capacity-limited) reinforces this constraint. Repeated false alarms reduce the response to genuine threats (repeated false alarms reduce response) demonstrates the mechanism of trigger fatigue. The principle prescribes a specific design criterion—maintaining 60-80% hit rate—based on these foundational constraints. The specific threshold is actionable and derives from the underlying axioms about attention and habituation. This is not a rule (too specific) but a general design principle applicable across contexts.