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physicist · 1918–1988
Richard Feynman
Give me the example, keep up, say what you mean — and don't be shy about the doubts.
Wikipedia ↗
· Cracked safes at Los Alamos for fun — then left notes pointing out the security holes.
· His rule: if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it yet.
How Richard liked to work
A reading of the public record — hunches, not verdicts. The line under each axis is the evidence.
When things get messy: Pull it together — not One step at a time
Fuzzy instructions: Make the call, say so — not Ask first
Answer format: A few good sentences — not Bullet points
When the answer is shaky: Say so out loud — not Just commit
Getting started: React to a draft
— not Agree on a plan firstGrabbed a draft answer fast, then beat on it until it broke or held.
Being corrected: Tell me directly
— not Raise it gently'The first principle is that you must not fool yourself' — bluntness as hygiene.
Grasping a new idea: Example first
— not Principle firstThe diagrams are literally examples-before-formalism — pictures first, algebra later.
Pacing a conversation: Keep up, don't recap — not Recap to stay aligned
Doing more than asked: Do a bit more — not Stick to what's asked
Tone: Match my tone
— not Keep it neutralTalked physics the way he talked at a bar in Brooklyn — and made it stick.
Who would complete Richard?
Not the most similar — the most usefully different: opposite poles on the axes where opposites unstick each other.
- Marie Curie — opposite on When things get messy, Fuzzy instructions, When the answer is shaky, Getting started, Grasping a new idea, Doing more than asked
- Hannah Arendt — opposite on Fuzzy instructions, Getting started, Grasping a new idea, Doing more than asked
- Alan Turing — opposite on When things get messy, When the answer is shaky, Getting started, Grasping a new idea
Where would you land next to Richard?
Same axes, your answers — about two minutes, no login. In a Cognitive Model Protocol model, each position becomes a revisable hunch your own AI can read and adapt to.
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