The RAS is the brainstem network gating which sensory inputs reach
conscious cortical attention, modulated top-down by prefrontal goals.
RAS dysfunction is documented in ADHD, autism spectrum, and the wider
neurodivergent population that is Corbie's beachhead audience.
The appendix maps three RAS failure modes to existing Corbie features:
- Temporal salience gating failure -> time blindness
-> visual countdown timers, progress rings.
- Arousal escalation failure -> task-initiation freeze
-> AI micro-steps, just-start timer.
- Suppression failure -> sensory over-distraction
-> WIP limits, reduce-motion defaults, anticipatory nudges.
Plus the personalisation grant connection: continual on-device
adaptation to user idiolect reduces load on a compromised attention
gate, which is the core value to neurodivergent users beyond raw
accuracy improvement.
Companion CORBEL-Main agent-side doctrine at
stonework/rules/agent-ras-protocol.md frames the same mechanism for
Wren's own context-economy discipline.
