The cost of knowledge
In the world of observability, “cardinality” has become a heavy word. It is a ghost used to justify skyrocketing bills or degraded query performance. When cardinality rises, the advice is almost always the same: reduce it. Drop your labels, or reduce the dimensions. It is usually framed as “optimization.” Every label you add to a metric is a dimension of knowledge. Each one gives you a way to slice, compare, and explain the chaos of production.
