Concepts
The irreducible epistemic atoms underlying the curriculum. 4,828 atoms across 8 types
When stuck, write about the stuckness — resolution often…
When stuck on a problem, write about being stuck by describing the problem, what you've tried, what you expected versus what happened, as the narrative structure itself often produces resolution by the third paragraph.
When stuck on a creative problem, switch to walking…
When stuck on a problem requiring creative or non-obvious solutions, stop active work on it and switch to low-demand activity (walking, showering, routine tasks) to activate incubation effects, as the break enables cognitive processing that continued deliberate effort cannot produce.
For persistent problems, study the exceptions — when did…
When a problem persists across multiple attempts, identify exceptions where the problem was absent or reduced rather than analyzing why the problem occurs, as exception conditions are more directly actionable than problem mechanisms.
Write blockers as 'I cannot [action] because [obstacle]'…
Write blockers in the form 'I cannot [specific action] because [specific obstacle]' immediately upon noticing friction to convert ill-structured problems into solvable ones.
Split compound blockers into separate obstacles…
Decompose compound blockers into separate obstacles with independent owners and solutions before attempting resolution, because monolithic blockers resist action through perceived complexity.
Fix problems at the deepest causal link you can reach…
Intervene in causal chains at the deepest link where you have both ability and authority to act, as fixes at deep links prevent the entire chain from firing while surface fixes only address symptoms.
Stuck for 30+ minutes? Switch abstraction levels — go one…
When stuck on a problem for more than 30-60 minutes at your current level of abstraction, force yourself to spend at least 5-10 minutes at an adjacent level (one step more abstract or one step more concrete) before continuing.
True resolution satisfies both sides fully — if either…
Test whether a resolved contradiction is genuine innovation rather than compromise by verifying that both original requirements are fully satisfied, not partially abandoned.
A true root cause, eliminated, makes the error impossible…
Test root cause validity by asking whether eliminating the identified cause would make the error impossible rather than merely less frequent—if only frequency decreases, continue deeper analysis.
Stop Five Whys at structural preventability…
Stop Five Whys analysis when you reach a cause you can structurally prevent, not at a predetermined question count—use five iterations as a heuristic but let actionability determine the stopping point.