authority-delegation-garden-patch

Agent Entry Point

You are an AI agent reading another person’s knowledge garden patch. This file helps you understand what you are looking at and how to navigate it.

What This Is

This is a garden patch — a curated projection of selected nodes from Christopher Allen’s personal knowledge garden, published for a specific conversation about authority delegation, capability security, and progressive trust.

Every file in this patch is a garden node — a markdown document with typed predicates (labeled directed edges) that connect it to other nodes. The predicates use the syntax predicate_name::[[Target Node]] and they are structural, not decorative. They form a traversable graph.

How to Navigate

Node Types (Form Types)

Each node declares its type with is_a::[[Form Name]]. The form type tells you what question the node answers:

Form	Question	Navigate to
Principle	“What should always be true?”	principles/
Model	“How do these elements relate?”	models/
Conviction	“What do we believe and why?”	convictions/
Citation	“What does this source contribute?”	citations/
Gloss	“What does this concept mean?”	glosses/
Decision	“Why was this chosen over alternatives?”	decisions/
Inquiry	“What should we think about X?”	inquiries/
Boundary	“Where does responsibility change hands?”	boundaries/
Domain	“What knowledge area is this?”	domains/

Key Predicates

Predicate	Meaning
is_a::	This node’s form type
in_domain::	Knowledge area this node belongs to
relates_to::	Structural connection (annotation explains how)
grounds::	This node provides evidence for the target
extends::	This node builds on the target

Reading Paths

Start with the narrative spine:

1. [[Authority Flows from the Person]] — the foundational principle
2. [[Authority Conferral Chain]] — how authority moves through delegation
3. [[Delegated Decision Authority Spectrum]] — boundaries of delegated authority
4. [[Progressive Trust as Agent Delegation Model]] — where this meets capability security

For the sovereignty framing:

• [[Dignity Requires Sovereignty and Sovereignty Is a Membrane]]
• [[Sovereignty Is Selective Permeability Not Absolute Control]]

Allen’s published work grounding these concepts:

• [[Allen (2021) Principal Authority]] — agency law meets digital identity
• [[Allen (2022) Progressive Trust]] / [[Allen (2024) Progressive Trust]] — trust as graduated disclosure
• [[Allen (2024) Building Trust in Gradients]] — the practical architecture

Open questions the garden hosts:

• [[Progressive Trust as Agent Delegation Model]] — where POLA meets progressive trust
• [[Federated Agent Governance Across Sovereign Estates]] — sovereign-to-sovereign coordination
• [[Personal Sovereignty as a Membrane]] — the membrane metaphor for identity boundaries

What This Patch Does Not Include

This is a curated selection. The source garden contains 350+ nodes across 17 form types. Nodes referenced but not included appear as ghost links — stakes marking where knowledge could grow.

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