tag > Praxis
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The universe has a tax on deliberation.
Rationality collapses into "just do things" quickly. In a live environment, thinking is not free; every extra second spent optimizing carries opportunity cost, the cost of delay. So while additional reflection has marginal benefits in an abstract, costless world, once you factor in delay, the net value of further thinking peaks—and then drops—quickly. Figure 2B captures this as a direct order with an exclamation mark; there is a moment when the right move is to "Stop thinking and act now!". - Source
The diagram is from the paper: "Computational rationality: A converging paradigm for intelligence in brains, minds, and machines". Gershman, S. J., Horvitz, E. J., & Tenenbaum, J. B. (2015). Science, 349(6245), 273–278.
"Imagine driving down the highway on your way to give an important presentation, when suddenly you see a traffic jam looming ahead. In the next few seconds, you have to decide whether to stay on your current route or take the upcoming exit—the last one for several miles— all while your head is swimming with thoughts about your forthcoming event. In one sense, this problem is simple: Choose the path with the highest probability of getting you to your event on time. However, at best you can implement this solution only approximately: Evaluating the full branching tree of possible futures with high uncertainty about what lies ahead is likely to be infeasible, and you may consider only a few of the vast space of possibilities, given the urgency of the decision and your divided attention. How best to make this calculation? Should you make a snap decision on the basis of what you see right now, or explicitly try to imagine the next several miles of each route? Perhaps you should stop thinking about your presentation to focus more on this choice, or maybe even pull over so you can think without having to worry about your driving? The decision about whether to exit has spawned a set of internal decision problems: how much to think, how far should you plan ahead, and even what to think about.
This example highlights several central themes in the study of intelligence. First, maximizing some measure of expected utility provides a general-purpose ideal for decision-making under uncertainty. Second, maximizing expected utility is nontrivial for most real-world problems, necessitating the use of approximations. Third, the choice of how best to approximate may itself be a decision subject to the expected utility calculus—thinking is costly in time and other resources, and sometimes intelligence comes most in knowing how best to allocate these scarce resources."
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Recent developments in Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD)
In 2026, the Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model has evolved from a tool for emergency responders into a cross-disciplinary framework for high-stakes decision-making in digital and automated environments. The current evolution focuses on the following key areas:
1. Integration with Artificial Intelligence (AI): As of 2026, RPD is increasingly used to design and evaluate AI systems, moving beyond simple automation to "Human-AI Teaming".
- AI Explainability: Researchers are using RPD to help AI systems explain their "decisions" in ways that align with human mental models, making it easier for human operators to trust or override AI recommendations.
- AIQ (Artificial Intelligence Quotient): Gary Klein and colleagues have developed the AIQ toolkit to help humans better understand and manage the specific AI systems they interact with, applying NDM principles to complex tech stacks.
2. Computational & Probabilistic Models: Advancements in 2025 and 2026 have led to the creation of Probabilistic Memory-Enhanced RPD (PRPD) models.
- Dynamic Information Processing: These newer models, such as those used in mid-air collision avoidance for pilots, can process continuous real-time data automatically without human-defined categories.
- Pattern Maturity: PRPD models show how "prototypes" or mental patterns automatically strengthen as an agent (human or machine) gains more experience.
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“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ― Theodore Roosevel
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"You don't need to do everything. Do what calls your heart; effective action comes from love. It is unstoppable, and it is enough." ~ Joanna Macy
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✳️ THE OFFLOAD PRACTICE
This is not a ritual. Not a tool. Not a habit. It’s a bodily unloading process, done in ~5 minutes, that’s designed to stop running the unnecessary parts of you — without having to “heal” or explain them first. Think of it like drag-and-dropping internal files into cold storage before bed. Or clearing RAM. You don’t destroy the parts of you — you just offload them for now. Do it at night. Right before sleep. No tech, no notes. Just you, stillness, presence.
🧠 STEP 1 — Say this to yourself (out loud or silently):
“I allow parts of me to rest that don’t need to solve tonight.”
“The parts of me that were alert all day can close their eyes now.”
You don’t need to list them. Just point awareness toward them —
— and just signal: You can stand down now.
👣 STEP 2 — Sit or lie down. Let your body speak instead of your mind.
Drop your weight into gravity. Notice what resists it.
You’re not scanning. You’re letting awareness sink into any part of your body that still feels like it’s bracing.
Common zones:
- Upper chest (performer role)
- Solar plexus (protector role)
- Forearms / wrists (builder role)
- Neck / jaw (explainer role)
Each time you feel tension:
→ Don't fix it. Just say thank you to that part for protecting you.
→ Then invite it: “You can melt. You don’t have to hold this for me right now.”
🫀 STEP 3 — Breathe like your nervous system is your child.
Not “deep” breathing. Not “technique.”
Just breathe like you would if a child you love was asleep on your chest.
That’s your nervous system right now.
Let your exhale carry the day out of your body.
🌑 STEP 4 — End with this phrase:
“The system is shutting down. I can carry what matters tomorrow.”
Then sleep. That’s it.
No journaling. No optimizing. No summoning.
Just trust that your deeper self knows what to discard — and what to keep.
⚠️ WHY THIS WORKS
- This isn’t about belief or ritual fidelity. It works because:
- You're not naming parts, which can re-trigger their scripts
- You’re not solving — you’re offloading without shame
- Your body leads — not your brain
- You don’t need to remember it all — your system recognizes safety by sensation, not concept
If you practice this just a few times — not as a rule, but as a gift to your nervous system —
you’ll begin to notice:
- Less tension during transitions
- Less cognitive noise before sleep
- Shorter reboots from burnout
- A clearer sense of which parts of you actually need to be online
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Talent and intelligence are abundant. What’s rare is agency: the motivation to act, the courage to risk, the will to shape the world.
Agency is a powerful force that separates those who create change from those who merely possess potential.
Agency is a function of several key elements:
- Internal locus of control - Believing your actions determine outcomes rather than external forces controlling your fate
- Self-efficacy - The confidence that you can successfully execute behaviors needed to produce specific results
- Intrinsic motivation - Being driven by personal interest, enjoyment, and meaning rather than external rewards
- Action bias - The tendency to act rather than remain passive when faced with uncertainty
- Comfort with risk - Willingness to move forward despite the possibility of failure
Or simpler: Agency = (Clarity × Self-Trust) + Reps × Discomfort Tolerance
Nothing is impossible with sufficient agency. Ask your favorite LLM how to build it.
To build agency practically:
Start small and build momentum. Take on achievable challenges that stretch you slightly. Each successful action builds confidence for the next, larger step.
Develop decision-making muscles. Practice making choices quickly and accepting the consequences, good or bad. The skill of decision-making improves with use.
Cultivate accountability structures. Find mentors, peers, or communities that expect action from you and hold you to your commitments.
Analyze and learn from failure. Treat setbacks as data, not personal indictments. Extract lessons that improve future attempts.
Identify and address limiting beliefs. Our narratives about what's possible often constrain our actions more than external reality.
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The LLM Assisted Comprehensions Revolution is upon us.
Reading science papers with an LLM as your infinitely patient sidekick, explaining unfamiliar concepts in real-time, feels like an underrated revolution in learning
The ability to take any concept you encounter, and tell an LLM “Explain it to me like I’m 16,” and if needed, say “Even simpler, please”—is a total game-changer for interdisciplinary learning and research.
