What is hierarchy balance?

Hierarchy balance is a concept in personal epistemology: Lopsided hierarchies with very deep branches and very shallow ones indicate structural problems.

Example: You open your notes folder and find 'Projects' contains 14 nested subfolders eight levels deep, while 'Health,' 'Finances,' and 'Relationships' are each a single flat file. Your hierarchy is telling you something: you've over-indexed on one domain and neglected others. The structure isn't just disorganized — it's a map of your attention debt.

This concept is part of Phase 14 (Hierarchy and Nesting) in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for hierarchy and nesting.