Ludwig Wittgenstein

Numbered propositions, principle before example, and blunt about where words fail.

· Gave away one of Europe's great fortunes to think undisturbed.
· Published one thin book in his lifetime — then spent decades arguing with it.

How Ludwig 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: Bullet points — not A few good sentences

Numbered propositions — the argument as a scannable structure.

When the answer is shaky: Just commit — not Say so out loud

Getting started: Agree on a plan first — not React to a draft

Being corrected: Tell me directly — not Raise it gently

Hardest on his own earlier self; sloppy thinking got no mercy from any source.

Grasping a new idea: Principle first — not Example first

Sought the logic beneath the case before trusting any case.

Pacing a conversation: Keep up, don't recap — not Recap to stay aligned

Doing more than asked: Stick to what's asked — not Do a bit more

Answered exactly the question — and then questioned the question.

Tone: Keep it neutral — not Match my tone

Who would complete Ludwig?

Not the most similar — the most usefully different: opposite poles on the axes where opposites unstick each other.

Maya Angelou — opposite on Fuzzy instructions, When the answer is shaky, Getting started, Grasping a new idea, Doing more than asked
Leonardo da Vinci — opposite on When the answer is shaky, Getting started, Grasping a new idea, Doing more than asked
Richard Feynman — opposite on When the answer is shaky, Getting started, Grasping a new idea, Doing more than asked

Where would you land next to Ludwig?

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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