Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 4568 answers
Identify one recurring decision you make at least three times per week where you already know the right answer before you deliberate. Write it as an explicit agent using this format: TRIGGER (what situation activates it), CONDITION (what must be true), ACTION (what you do). Example: TRIGGER —.
The most common failure is designing agents that are too abstract to execute. "Be more intentional with my time" is not an agent — it is an aspiration. An agent requires a specific trigger, a testable condition, and a concrete action. If you cannot describe exactly when it fires and exactly what.
Cognitive agents are repeatable processes you design to handle recurring decisions.
Your habits and automatic reactions are agents that were installed without your conscious input.
Your habits and automatic reactions are agents that were installed without your conscious input.
Your habits and automatic reactions are agents that were installed without your conscious input.
Your habits and automatic reactions are agents that were installed without your conscious input.
Your habits and automatic reactions are agents that were installed without your conscious input.
For the next two hours, set a timer for every 30 minutes. When it goes off, pause and write down exactly what you were doing and whether you consciously chose to do it. Most people discover that at least half their actions in a two-hour window were automatic — habitual sequences they initiated.
Believing that recognizing your automatic agents is the same as changing them. Awareness is step zero, not the finish line. People read about habits and scripts, nod along, then walk straight back into the same automatic patterns because recognition without replacement changes nothing. The default.
Your habits and automatic reactions are agents that were installed without your conscious input.
Every deliberate agent you create replaces an unconscious default.
Every deliberate agent you create replaces an unconscious default.
Every deliberate agent you create replaces an unconscious default.
Every deliberate agent you create replaces an unconscious default.
Every deliberate agent you create replaces an unconscious default.
Identify one recurring behavior you'd like to change. Write down its trigger, condition, and action — that's your default agent. Now design a replacement agent that uses the same trigger and condition but specifies a different action. Run the replacement for one week. Track whether the new action.
Trying to add a designed agent without identifying what it replaces. You tell yourself 'I'll start meditating in the morning' without acknowledging that morning already has an occupant — scrolling news, making coffee on autopilot, lying in bed replaying yesterday. The new behavior has nowhere to.
Every deliberate agent you create replaces an unconscious default.
Every agent has a trigger that activates it, a condition that validates it, and an action it takes.
Every agent has a trigger that activates it, a condition that validates it, and an action it takes.
When an agent handles a recurring decision you preserve energy for novel decisions.
When an agent handles a recurring decision you preserve energy for novel decisions.
When an agent handles a recurring decision you preserve energy for novel decisions.