1) Pick the closest template
Accuracy is not the goal. Legibility is. If the template is “close enough,” it will surface the risk shape.
PanoSight · clarity instruments · decision legibility
Clarity Check
Pick a scenario. Get a Decision Clarity Label. Share it. It scores the decision environment — not you.
🔒 Not therapy. Not coaching. Not crisis support. A quick mirror for hidden consequences.
Tip: Press S to share, R to reset, D to surprise me.
Mini-challenge: pick a scenario you once regretted, generate a label, and share it with one sentence: “This was a low-clarity environment, not a low-intelligence moment.”
Try: Budget airline · Free trial · Lease in a rush · Mixed signals.
This is the fastest way to turn regret into a map.
Scenario library
Choose the closest match. The goal is not accuracy — it’s legibility.
Quick tweak (optional)
Is this scenario more forgiving or more punishing than typical?
Classic traps
cheap entry · strict rules · hidden edges
Real life
social + institutional ambiguity
Legible baseline
clear pricing · reversible choices
Advanced: customize the label Optional sliders (power users only) Closed
Use this if you want precision for your exact situation. Otherwise: pick a template and share.
How to use this (without overthinking)
This is a weather report for optionality. It doesn’t tell you what to do — it tells you how much the environment is likely to hide consequences until after you commit.
2) Use the “Quick tweak” honestly
If your situation is unusually forgiving or unusually punishing, nudge the whole label. This captures the “my version is worse than typical” effect.
3) Share the label
People share these when it reduces shame and restores agency: “I didn’t fail — I entered a foggy system.”
What your score means
Low clarity doesn’t mean “don’t proceed.” It means “you’re missing a map.”
Clear (18–25)
Legible environment. Costs and rules are visible, mistakes are survivable, and you retain leverage.
- Proceed normally
- Still read the “exit door” once
Mixed (11–17)
Some edges are unclear. You can proceed — but only after naming the top 1–2 failure modes.
- Identify the single worst-case outcome
- Ask one clarifying question per weak dimension
High Fog (5–10)
Consequences are delayed or stacked. Small mistakes can become expensive. Systems like this punish speed.
- Slow down
- Get terms in writing
- Find the “exit door” before you enter
The five dimensions (translated)
The label is built from five “fog generators” that show up across contracts, relationships, purchases, and institutions.
Cost visibility
Do you understand the full cost, including edge fees, time cost, friction cost, and penalties?
If low: ask “What does this cost if everything goes slightly wrong?”
Rule load
How many conditions must you remember to avoid accidental failure?
If low: ask “What are the top 3 rules that would burn me?”
Penalty sensitivity
If you make a small mistake, how harsh is the consequence?
If low: ask “What’s the penalty for being late / wrong / canceling?”
Reversibility
Can you change your mind later without humiliation, major loss, or prolonged friction?
If low: ask “What does exit actually require?”
Power balance
After you say yes, who holds leverage — you, them, or a third-party system?
If low: ask “What can they do that I can’t?”
Micro-examples: what fog looks like in real life
These aren’t moral failures. They’re consequence shapes. If a vignette stings, run the closest template and share the label instead of self-blaming.
“It was cheap… until it wasn’t.”
Ticket looks like $49. After bag rules, seat fee, check-in window, and a missed condition — the “cheap” choice becomes the most expensive.
- Weak dimensions: Cost visibility, Rule load, Penalty sensitivity
- One question: “What does this cost if I make one small mistake?”
“Free trial” that becomes a trap
You forget the cancel date. The cancellation path is buried. You get charged and feel stupid — but the system is optimized for forgetting.
- Weak dimensions: Reversibility, Rule load
- One question: “Where is the exit door, exactly?”
The “high prestige” job offer
Comp is clear. Scope isn’t. You say yes, then discover invisible expectations, unclear authority, and shifting rules. You’re paying with nervous system bandwidth.
- Weak dimensions: Rule load, Power balance, Reversibility
- One question: “What does success mean here in month 2?”
A lease signed under time pressure
You’re rushing. Fine print hides fees, deposits, and maintenance responsibilities. Later you realize you signed into a rules maze.
- Weak dimensions: Rule load, Cost visibility
- One question: “What are the top 3 clauses people regret?”
Mixed signals (dating / friendship)
Ambiguity isn’t always malicious — but it shifts power. If one person controls clarity, the other person pays with anxiety.
- Weak dimensions: Power balance, Cost visibility (emotional cost)
- One question: “What happens if I ask for clarity directly?”
The clean baseline (legible environment)
Policies are visible. Mistakes are survivable. Exit is real. You can decide without carrying a defensive cognitive load.
- Strong dimensions: Reversibility, Cost visibility, Penalty gentleness
- One check: “Can I leave without drama or loss?”
If you recognize a vignette: run the closest template → share the label.
The label is a “regret translation layer”: it turns shame into legibility, and legibility into better moves.
This instrument is designed to remove self-blame and increase consequence legibility — especially after regret.
Why fog happens
Fog isn’t stupidity. It’s structural: many environments delay information and front-load commitment. Humans are bad at simulating edge cases under time pressure — so we confuse momentum with clarity.
Not “good vs bad”
It’s a weather report. Low clarity means “slow down and gather info.”
Not self-blame
It scores the environment, not your worth or intelligence.
Speed matters
One click is enough to interrupt a bad momentum loop.