Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 1287 answers
Define clear thresholds that distinguish normal operation from problems requiring your attention.
Define clear thresholds that distinguish normal operation from problems requiring your attention.
Too much monitoring data overwhelms attention and leads to ignoring signals that matter. The solution is not more data — it is fewer, sharper signals routed to the right layer of attention.
Monitoring without action is observation theater — data must drive decisions.
Use monitoring data to make targeted improvements to your agents.
Improving anything other than the bottleneck is wasted effort.
Change one thing at a time so you can attribute improvements to specific changes.
A reliable agent works every time, not just when conditions are perfect.
A reliable agent works every time, not just when conditions are perfect.
An agent that tries to do too much does nothing well. Optimize by narrowing scope to what matters.
An agent that tries to do too much does nothing well. Optimize by narrowing scope to what matters.
Optimize how agents connect and hand off to each other, not just how each agent performs in isolation.
Record what you changed, why, and what happened — optimization without documentation is gambling.
Creating an agent is a deliberate design act — not something that just happens.
New agents are most fragile in their first month — they need extra attention and support to survive.
Track versions of your agents so you can compare, rollback, and learn from changes.
Track versions of your agents so you can compare, rollback, and learn from changes.
Periodically review and rebalance your agent portfolio — retire underperformers, invest in high-value agents.
Documentation should evolve with the agent — outdated docs are worse than no docs.
Documentation should evolve with the agent — outdated docs are worse than no docs.
The way you create, maintain, and retire agents mirrors how you learn, practice, and let go of knowledge. Recognizing this parallel turns agent management into a form of self-directed development.
Cognitive agents are repeatable processes you design to handle recurring decisions.
Cognitive agents are repeatable processes you design to handle recurring decisions.
Cognitive agents are repeatable processes you design to handle recurring decisions.