Reason Commons
Real commonsRufus Pollock and David Joseph

Reason Commons · The goal

Think together.
Find a way forward.

We’re building a way for shared thinking to accumulate: a goal people can inspect, question and improve, with AI helping keep the record.

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The Logical Thinking Process, made accessible through AI, is used in the world to help people think and act better together.

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Help this commons move forward

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Bring an exampleDescribe one activity or situation you know. What happened, and what would this map need to explain?

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Contribution to Reason Commons: bring an example.

Question to explore: What would make this useful enough for a group to try?

Describe one activity or situation you know. What happened, and what would this map need to explain?

I'm reading a commons on the Reason Commons demonstration site and want to develop a contribution about one statement.

Commons: Reason Commons: Rufus and David’s collaboration
Release: 2026-10-22.1, published 22 October 2026
Question: What stands in the way?
Item: r-e-david-willing-test-coherent-demo (Observation)
Standing in this release: accepted for now by David Joseph

David would want to test with a potential user if he had a demo he felt was coherent.

Public page: https://reasoncommons.com/demos/reason-commons-in-use/reason-commons/items.html#r-e-david-willing-test-coherent-demo

Use the reason-commons skill if you have it. First establish who I am and whether I can reach the current working record, and check whether this item has changed since this release before proposing anything. Help me work out a question, an observation or a challenge; don't assume I endorse the item. If I can't reach the shared record, help me keep a draft. Copying this brief submits nothing.

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Question an assumptionPoint to something that does not hold, a missing condition or another explanation.

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Contribution to Reason Commons: question an assumption.

Question to explore: What would make this useful enough for a group to try?

Point to something that does not hold, a missing condition or another explanation.

I'm reading a commons on the Reason Commons demonstration site and want to develop a contribution about one statement.

Commons: Reason Commons: Rufus and David’s collaboration
Release: 2026-10-22.1, published 22 October 2026
Question: What stands in the way?
Item: r-e-david-willing-test-coherent-demo (Observation)
Standing in this release: accepted for now by David Joseph

David would want to test with a potential user if he had a demo he felt was coherent.

Public page: https://reasoncommons.com/demos/reason-commons-in-use/reason-commons/items.html#r-e-david-willing-test-coherent-demo

Use the reason-commons skill if you have it. First establish who I am and whether I can reach the current working record, and check whether this item has changed since this release before proposing anything. Help me work out a question, an observation or a challenge; don't assume I endorse the item. If I can't reach the shared record, help me keep a draft. Copying this brief submits nothing.

You review and post it on GitHub. It reaches the project for review; it is not automatically added to the reasoning.

Help with interpretationCompare a statement with its source, or suggest wording that better captures its meaning.

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Read or copy the brief by hand
Contribution to Reason Commons: help with interpretation.

Question to explore: What would make this useful enough for a group to try?

Compare a statement with its source, or suggest wording that better captures its meaning.

I'm reading a commons on the Reason Commons demonstration site and want to develop a contribution about one statement.

Commons: Reason Commons: Rufus and David’s collaboration
Release: 2026-10-22.1, published 22 October 2026
Question: What stands in the way?
Item: r-e-david-willing-test-coherent-demo (Observation)
Standing in this release: accepted for now by David Joseph

David would want to test with a potential user if he had a demo he felt was coherent.

Public page: https://reasoncommons.com/demos/reason-commons-in-use/reason-commons/items.html#r-e-david-willing-test-coherent-demo

Use the reason-commons skill if you have it. First establish who I am and whether I can reach the current working record, and check whether this item has changed since this release before proposing anything. Help me work out a question, an observation or a challenge; don't assume I endorse the item. If I can't reach the shared record, help me keep a draft. Copying this brief submits nothing.

You review and post it on GitHub. It reaches the project for review; it is not automatically added to the reasoning.

Find your way into the reasoning

See the map →
01What are we trying to achieve?02What stands in the way?03Where do needs pull two ways?04What will we change?05What has to happen first?06Who does what?
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The goal

The Logical Thinking Process, made accessible through AI, is used in the world to help people think and act better together.

Accepted for now Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph

Inspect the goal →

At a glance

50 statements
14 connections

1 The goal5 · 42 In the way18 · 103 Pulling apart5 · 04 The change1 · 05 First steps15 · 06 Actions6 · 0

Rufus and David are building Reason Commons, and using it on their own collaboration. This is the reasoning they have accepted for now: what they are aiming for, what stands in the way, the dilemma they faced and what they decided to do.

1 · The goal

What it depends on

Four conditions are recorded as necessary for the goal.

GOALThe Logical Thinking Process, madeaccessible through AI, is used in theworld to help people think and actbetter together.SUCCESS FACTORThe work is resourced beyondRufus and David's spare time.SUCCESS FACTORReal people use the tool, withSecond Renaissance as the firstuser and testbed.SUCCESS FACTORThe product is somethingpeople can picture themselvesusing.SUCCESS FACTORRufus and David have a clearagreement on ownership,licensing and commitment.
The goal and its conditions →

2 · In the way

What stands in the way

The largest connected part reads from the bottom up. An unclear product contributes, step by step, to having nothing but their own time to work with.

PROBLEMRufus and David have noresources for the work otherthan their own time.PROBLEMRufus and David have notapplied for funding.PROBLEMRufus and David have nocustomers.PROBLEMRufus and David are not clearwhat the product should looklike.PROBLEMRufus and David cannot yetshow an average user a clearpicture of how they would usethe product.PROBLEMRufus and David have seen nosign of product-market fit.OBSERVATIONRufus judges that selling thetool to companies is hard,because it needs teams to work,has to be sold at a senior leveland is not a small subscriptionan individual buys.PROBLEMNo one other than Rufus andDavid uses any app they havebuilt.
All 18 statements about what stands in the way, 10 more than shown →

3 and 4 · Pulling apart, and the change

Where needs pulled two ways, and what they chose

Rufus confirmed this conflict in September and proposed its resolution himself: use the tool now, while it keeps being built. The connections between these statements have not been accepted, so no arrows are drawn.

SHARED OBJECTIVEReal people use the tool, withRufus and David as the firstusers.NEEDRufus and David learn what thetool must do by using it on theirown real work.NEEDThe tool Rufus and David put infront of people is good enoughto be worth using.POSITIONRufus and David use thecurrent app on their real worknow, rough as it is.POSITIONRufus and David keep buildingand redesigning the tool beforerelying on it.
The conflict →

The change chosen

What they decided to do about it.

The change and its effects →
ChangeAccepted for nowRufus and David use the tool on their real work now while they keep building and redesigning it.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock

6 · Actions

What they plan to do

Six actions, accepted by Rufus in September. Accepting a plan doesn't record whether it was carried out.

ActionAccepted for nowRufus and David together run the choice of near-term focus, grant applications or the product and customers, through the tool, from notes to a tree to a decision.Accepted for now by Rufus PollockActionAccepted for nowRufus and David together run their agreement on ownership, licensing and commitment through the tool.Accepted for now by Rufus PollockActionAccepted for nowRufus starts a friction log, and Rufus and David record in it each place the tool falls short while they use it.Accepted for now by Rufus PollockActionAccepted for nowDavid uses the tool on a real question of his own outside this collaboration, and Rufus may do the same.Accepted for now by Rufus PollockActionAccepted for nowRufus and David shortlist funders, starting with Coefficient Giving and the Survival and Flourishing Fund and adding others found by research or by asking around.Accepted for now by Rufus PollockActionAccepted for nowRufus and David apply to the shortlisted funders through Life Itself, using the one-page pitch.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock
Actions and what they should achieve →

People

Who contributed, and who accepted

Contributing an idea and accepting it are recorded separately.

WhoContributed
statements · connections		Accepted for now
statements · connections
David Joseph4 · 231 · 6
Rufus Pollock10 · 146 · 12
Original contributor not identifiedImported before contributors were recorded31 · 4—
AI assistantSuggestions from the AI; it cannot accept anything5 · 7—
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