Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 1287 answers
Errors teach you more about your systems than successes do.
Errors teach you more about your systems than successes do.
The best systems detect and correct their own errors without manual intervention.
When you run several cognitive agents they need to work together not interfere with each other.
When you run several cognitive agents they need to work together not interfere with each other.
Some agents must run in a specific order — define the sequence explicitly.
Some agents must run in a specific order — define the sequence explicitly.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
Common patterns like pipeline fan-out and consensus for coordinating multiple agents.
Coordination itself costs effort — keep the coordination cost proportional to the benefit.
Coordination itself costs effort — keep the coordination cost proportional to the benefit.
Sometimes combined agent behavior produces results none of the individual agents intended.
Sometimes combined agent behavior produces results none of the individual agents intended.
Your set of agents is an ecosystem — it needs balance and periodic assessment.
Use clear criteria to decide what to delegate, what to automate, and what to keep.
Vague delegation produces vague results. Specify the outcome, constraints, and success criteria before handing anything off.
Delegation ranges from "do exactly this" to "handle it entirely" — know which level you are using.
Monitor too rarely and you miss problems; monitor too often and you create noise. Find the right cadence.
Monitor too rarely and you miss problems; monitor too often and you create noise. Find the right cadence.
A dashboard gives you a single view of all your agents' health and performance.
An agent that fails to fire when it should leaves you exposed to undetected problems — the silence feels like safety, but it is blindness.
Agents degrade over time unless actively maintained — monitoring catches drift before it becomes failure.
Agents degrade over time unless actively maintained — monitoring catches drift before it becomes failure.