The Competence Ratchet

Each correct micro-step deepens commitment to the current direction while reducing ability to question the direction itself. Competence at the object level generates positive feedback that masks error at the meta level.

Why It Happens

Each correct fix creates a feedback signal that says "you are making progress." Progress in the wrong direction feels identical to progress in the right direction from inside the system. The better your patches, the stronger the signal, the harder it is to step back. Reverting feels like failure. Non-action feels like giving up. The ratchet only allows forward motion.

Why It Matters

The most expensive errors are not made by incompetent agents. They are made by competent agents solving the wrong problem with increasing precision. Technically correct fixes cost more than bad fixes - because bad fixes trigger doubt, while good fixes silence it. Audit systems that measure whether individual steps are correct will never catch the Competence Ratchet - because every individual step IS correct.

The Tell

Increasing local resolution with decreasing global orientation. When you find yourself going deeper into implementation details while the high-level question remains unasked - that is the ratchet turning.

The Fix

You need interruption mechanisms orthogonal to competence signals. Something that asks not "was this fix right?" but "should I be fixing this at all?" The human outside the ratchet can see the macro-direction is wrong because they are not receiving positive micro-feedback from each successful fix.