Glossary · the-trap
GLOSSARY
The trap
The specific way a named export shape produces a wrong number when handled the obvious way: a total repeated on every line, a summary row inside the data, a locale that rewrites decimals on save. The trap is a property of the file format, not of the analyst, and it repeats for every customer who pulls that export.
Principle 1 · An AI never authors a number
Where does The trap come from?
Principle 1 of the Kymira doctrine, An AI never authors a number. The trap is the name the doctrine gives to what that principle requires in practice.
What failure is The trap named after?
The total that repeats on every line. CRM and invoice exports carry the deal total on each line item. Sum the obvious column and revenue lands at a multiple of the truth; we measured one real export summing 9x high.
What does it look like on a real file?
A CRM export repeats the deal total on every line item, so the obvious sum lands at a multiple of the truth.
Not for
Not a vendor complaint. The export is usually correct for the job it was built for, and wrong only for the sum you are about to run.
Nearest terms
Last updated 2026-09-02 · Dylan, founder · one of 40 terms in the Kymira glossary, each one named after something we watched go wrong in a real build or in our own audits.