Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 9738 answers
Some agents must run in a specific order — define the sequence explicitly.
Some agents can run simultaneously while others must wait for previous results.
Some agents can run simultaneously while others must wait for previous results.
Some agents can run simultaneously while others must wait for previous results.
Some agents can run simultaneously while others must wait for previous results.
Pick a complex project you are currently working on or planning — a product launch, a career transition, a home renovation, a research paper. List every task involved. For each task, answer one question: 'Does this task require the output of another task before it can begin?' Draw arrows from each.
Defaulting to one mode for everything. Sequential thinkers line up every task in a single queue, creating artificial bottlenecks where none need to exist — they will not start the insurance research until the neighborhood research is 'done,' even though the two are completely independent. Parallel.
Some agents can run simultaneously while others must wait for previous results.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
Identify two or three agents — cognitive routines, tools, or processes — that you run regularly and that should inform each other but currently do not. Write down what each agent produces as output and what each agent would need as input to perform better. Then design a shared state artifact: a.
Assuming shared state means every agent sees everything. Unrestricted shared state creates noise, not coordination. When every agent dumps its full output into a common pool, agents drown in irrelevant information and slow down. The failure is conflating access with design. Effective shared state.
When agents need to share information define clearly how that information flows.
Define how the output of one agent becomes the input of another.
Define how the output of one agent becomes the input of another.
Define how the output of one agent becomes the input of another.
Define how the output of one agent becomes the input of another.
Define how the output of one agent becomes the input of another.
Identify two agents in your cognitive system that must hand off work to each other — for example, your research process handing off to your writing process, or your brainstorming agent handing off to your decision-making agent. Write down the current 'protocol' between them: what information does.
Assuming agents will figure out how to talk to each other. This is the most common coordination failure in both human and artificial multi-agent systems. You build capable individual agents — strong research skills, strong writing skills, strong analysis skills — and then connect them with nothing.
Define how the output of one agent becomes the input of another.
A meta-agent that coordinates other agents by deciding which should run when.