// instruments · the ceiling

the ceiling

Self-explanation mixes two kinds of language. Cause-claims say why — because, that's why, must have been. Observations say what — i noticed, i felt, at the time. Paste a paragraph of why you did or felt something and this tints both. It marks language, not truth. Deterministic, browser-only, keeps nothing.

// your explanation

// what this marks

Language, not truth. A cause-claim can be right — introspection just can't certify it; people report causes for their own behavior confidently and wrongly (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). Observations are where your authority is: what appeared in awareness, and when. A cause-claim deserves the confidence of a guess. The marker is a regex — a fixed phrase list, case-insensitive. It reads "since" in both senses and misses paraphrase. The paper: the introspection ceiling — a working note. Kin: auto-psychoanalysis.