Principlev1

Maintain open questions as persistent search filters that

Maintain open questions as persistent search filters that automatically detect relevant information across future encounters without conscious effort.

Why This Is a Principle

Derives from Open-Loop Cognitive Cost (Zeigarnik) (uncaptured thoughts consume working memory), Goals as Perceptual Filters (goals define relevance), and Attention as Gate to Conscious Perception (attention is capacity-limited). Feynman's twelve problems demonstrate that externalized questions redirect attention without consuming working memory. The principle prescribes externalizing questions to enable automatic pattern-matching.

Source Lessons

L-0032

Questions are atomic too

A well-formed question is as valuable an atom as a well-formed answer.

L-0072

Curiosity directs attention naturally

When genuinely curious you focus effortlessly — use this as a task design principle.

Connections

Derived From (4)

AxiomOpen-Loop Cognitive Cost (Zeigarnik)AxiomAttention as Gate to Conscious Perception AxiomGoals as Perceptual Filters AxiomAutomatic Pattern Perception

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