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Translation

Translated from the Spanish source, which is the normative text. Status: draft pending human review. Differences are resolved in the Spanish text.

MILPA: a library where knowledge can be found and reviewed

MILPA helps knowledge have an identifiable place, responsible person, provenance and status. It distinguishes what is known from what is assumed and preserves contradictions until resolved.

An everyday situation

In a shared library, each item has a card: title, origin, location and responsible person. A draft does not become an approved rule by sitting on the main shelf. Two conflicting books remain available while their difference is investigated.

Library Method
Identification card A manifest stating purpose, scope and responsibility.
Catalogue and signs An entry point and index for finding knowledge.
Source and edition Identified provenance and version.
Distinguishing a draft from approved text Explicit document authority.
Comparing claims with sources Certainty and evidence with limits.

The library is an analogy for organisation. Organising folders does not verify a claim, accept a rule or restrict data access.

From a source to reusable knowledge

flowchart LR
  accTitle: MILPA: from source to knowledge
  accDescr: A left-to-right cycle: an identified source gives rise to a bounded claim; fact, inference and hypothesis are distinguished; a responsible person, status and evidence are assigned; the claim is reused with visible limits and any contradiction or change is recorded. That record returns to the bounded claim.
  F["Identified source"] --> A["Bounded claim"]
  A --> C["Distinguish fact, inference and hypothesis"]
  C --> R["Responsible person, status and evidence"]
  R --> U["Reuse with visible limits"]
  U --> D["Record a contradiction or change"]
  D --> A

SVG diagram: MILPA: from source to knowledge · Editable Mermaid source.

Identify a source and bound the claim. Distinguish fact, inference and hypothesis, then record responsibility, status and evidence. If a contradiction appears, review the claim without erasing its provenance.

Three different questions

  • Authority: who may establish or change this rule?
  • Certainty: what evidence supports this claim?
  • Exposure: what harm could disclosure cause?

An approved rule may contain a claim awaiting a test. Public data may be uncertain. These classifications do not convert into one another.

The agricultural milpa is also an analogy for relationships and care. Its crops do not assign roles to people, agents or products.

Start with the manifest and structure. See the eight requirements and the glossary.

The Mesoamerican polyculture analogy complements the library: it explains structure, relationships and care with an SVG illustration and a Mermaid diagram.

The library is a supporting image for explaining organization. MILPA's main reference is Mesoamerican polyculture; the analogy map maintains its correspondences and limits.