Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 193 answers
Pick a word you use constantly in your work or thinking — something like 'quality,' 'success,' 'productive,' or 'fair.' Write down your operational definition: what specific, observable conditions must be true for that word to apply? Then ask a colleague or partner to do the same for the same.
Find a belief you have held for at least three years — about management, about a technology choice, about how relationships work. Write down what you believed three years ago as Version 1. Write your current position as Version 2. Then write one sentence describing what evidence or experience.
Pick a topic you've been thinking about for weeks. Gather every atomic note you have on it — even tangential ones. Spread them out (physically or digitally) and start arranging them into a linear sequence. Don't force an outline. Move the atoms around until you find an order that produces a 'train.
Find the longest or most tangled note in your system — the one that tries to say too many things. Read it once. Then decompose it into 2-4 separate atomic notes, each expressing a single idea. Rewrite the connections between them. Notice what you understand now that you didn't before the split..
Write three versions of the same idea at three different granularities: (1) A rough capture — the idea as it first occurs to you, messy and unstructured. (2) A first atomic attempt — one idea, one title, one container. (3) A refined atom — precise title, sourced claim, explicit link to at least.
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Open your primary inbox — email, notes app, whatever accumulates the most unprocessed items. For each item, ask only three questions: (1) What is this? (2) Is it actionable? (3) If yes, what is the very next physical action? Write the answer next to each item. Do not.
Pick five notes you captured in the last two weeks — quick highlights, bookmarks, meeting jottings, anything. For each one, add three context fields right now: (1) Source — where exactly this came from, (2) Spark — what problem or question made you capture it, (3) Forward link — one other note or.
Identify three existing habits you do daily without thinking (brushing teeth, sitting down at your desk, putting on headphones). For each one, write a capture trigger recipe: 'After I [existing habit], I will capture [one specific type of thought].' Run all three for one week. At the end, keep the.
Set a 24-hour capture watch. For one day, notice every moment you have a thought worth capturing and don't capture it. Don't try to fix the behavior — just observe. At the end of the day, write down as many skipped captures as you can remember. For each one, answer: 'What would have become true if.
Run a 7-day capture audit. For days 1-3, capture exclusively with your analog tool (notebook, index cards, whatever you own). For days 4-6, capture exclusively with your digital tool (phone app, voice memo, desktop note). On day 7, count: total captures per medium, captures you actually returned.
For the next 48 hours, carry a capture tool and tag every surprise with the prefix 'S:' — even tiny ones. 'S: The coffee shop I assumed closed on Mondays was open.' 'S: That API call returned in 20ms when I expected 200ms.' 'S: My partner remembered a detail from a conversation I forgot we had.'.
Run an environment audit right now. Sit at your primary workspace and count: (1) the number of objects within arm's reach that are unrelated to your current work, (2) the number of open browser tabs, (3) the number of visible notification badges on your screen. Write these three numbers down. Then.
Open your phone's notification settings right now. Scroll through every app that has notification permissions enabled. For each one, ask: 'In the last 30 days, has a notification from this app caused me to take an action I'm glad I took?' If the answer is no, disable notifications for that app.
Pick one task you've been avoiding or finding dull. Before you start, write down three genuine questions the task could answer — not questions about whether you'll finish, but questions about what you'll discover. Examples: 'What pattern will I notice in this data?' or 'Why was this process.
Choose a task you have been avoiding or that typically expands beyond its value — a report, an email chain, a planning session, a creative project. Estimate how long it should take if you worked with full focus. Now set a timer for that duration. Before you start, write down the one outcome that.
Today, during your next focused work session, set a timer for 50 minutes. When it fires, stop — even if you're mid-sentence. Leave your workspace for 10 minutes. Walk outside if possible. Do not check your phone. Let your gaze rest on distant objects, greenery, or sky. When you return, notice the.
Run a three-day attention audit. Choose three consecutive workdays. Use two tracking methods simultaneously: (1) Install an automated tracker — RescueTime, Toggl Track, or a similar tool — that logs your digital activity passively. (2) Keep a manual log in 30-minute increments, noting what you are.
Conduct a Phase 4 integration audit. Review the twenty primitives from L-0061 through L-0080 (listed in the synthesis section of this lesson). For each one, rate yourself honestly on a 1-5 scale: 1 = I understand the concept but do not practice it, 3 = I practice it inconsistently, 5 = this is an.
Pick one judgment you made today — about a person, a decision, or an outcome. Write the evaluative version first (the label you applied). Then rewrite it as pure description: only what a camera and microphone would have recorded. Compare the two sentences. Notice what the evaluative version added.
Choose a routine environment — your commute, a work meeting, a meal. Before entering, write down one sentence about your current mood and one expectation you hold about what will happen. After, write down what you noticed. Compare the two lists. Where did your mood or expectation direct your.
Choose something you interact with daily — your morning routine, a codebase you maintain, a recurring meeting. Set a timer for ten minutes and describe it in writing as if you have never encountered it before. Do not use any evaluative language (good, bad, efficient, broken). Only describe what.
Set three random timers throughout your workday. When each one fires, pause for 30 seconds and scan: jaw, shoulders, chest, stomach, hands. Rate tension on a 1-5 scale. Write one sentence about what you were doing or thinking. After five days, review the log. Look for patterns — which activities.
Pick one situation from the past 24 hours that bothered you. Write two columns on a page. Left column: 'What a camera would record' — only observable, verifiable data (words said, actions taken, timestamps, measurable outcomes). Right column: 'The story I told about it' — every interpretation,.
Pick a decision you've recently made or a design you've recently shipped. Write down your perspective in two sentences. Then ask three people with different roles, experiences, or stakes to describe what they see. Write each perspective on a separate card. Compare them side by side and mark.