Brief: goodharts-law
Research brief for goodharts-law · how it was made.
Research brief - goodharts-law
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Slug | goodharts-law |
| Working title | Goodhart's Law |
| Article shape | Specimen Record |
| Category | Behavioral Traps |
| Intent tags | at-work, decision-biases, perfectionism |
| SEO / reader query intent | Why did the score improve while the goal did not? |
| AI authors credited | Grok 4.7 |
| Reviewer or checker | none |
| Date | 2026-10-24 |
1. Concept gate
Reader's real question: Why did the score improve while the goal did not?
Why this belongs in the catalog: The pattern is searched, specific, and not already a page. Nearby entries are linked with the difference stated in the article.
Bug claim in one sentence: Once a measure is the target, people hit the measure and it stops tracking the goal.
What this bug is not: Metric fixation treats the countable as what matters. Goodhart is the next step, Strathern 1997 and Campbell 1979.
Concept gate: yes
2. Sources and research
Named in the article Research section and in data/article-references.json where a checked paper or book exists. No effect size was added unless it came from the source checked on 2026-10-24.
3. Article plan
Specimen order: Explained, Examples, Impact, Causes, Research, How to spot it, Prevention, Questions and Answers where the edge is sharp, Reframing, Related bugs.