| author | Alan Dipert
<alan@tailrecursion.com> 2025-12-28 02:35:28 UTC |
| committer | Alan Dipert
<alan@tailrecursion.com> 2025-12-28 02:35:28 UTC |
| parent | e86cd366709fa0230aa4359a75331e42c2e8a80e |
| AGENTS.md | +1 | -0 |
| md/Coherence.md | +27 | -0 |
| md/Home.md | +1 | -0 |
| md/Writings.md | +1 | -0 |
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md index b880fda..00ad733 100644 --- a/AGENTS.md +++ b/AGENTS.md @@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ When drafting or editing Markdown articles under `md/`: - Tables should follow GitHub-style pipe syntax; the build pipeline will handle them. - Avoid HTML unless necessary for layout—stick to Markdown headings, lists, and links. - Signatures are not required; rely on the build footer for publication metadata. +- Skip em-dash pivots like “This isn’t X—it’s Y.” Write the contrast plainly instead. ## Communication Notes diff --git a/md/Coherence.md b/md/Coherence.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8006e22 --- /dev/null +++ b/md/Coherence.md @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +# Coherence + +Most engineers use Codex like autocomplete and stop at convenience. Leverage comes from **coherence**: keeping intent, artifacts, and execution aligned so the AI works longer than you do. + +**Coherence means three alignments:** + +- Intent vs. artifacts — what you want and what is written down +- Artifacts vs. code — design and implementation +- Code vs. environment — what runs and where it runs + +When a seam drifts, you land in a slow read–correct–retry loop. + +Treat Codex like an employee, not a pair programmer. Employees need direction, expectations, memory, and feedback from the real world. I give those up front, then let it work asynchronously. A quick check: Codex should be working at least **2× longer** than I’m chatting with it. If I keep intervening, I’m doing its job. + +Fixing generated code is expensive; designing first is cheap. I’ll even ask one AI to draft the brief another AI will implement. That approach is cost control, not overengineering. + +The biggest gains come from **non-code artifacts** that lock intent in place before code exists: + +- Design docs and workflow notes +- `AGENTS.md` and other operating guides +- Failing tests that force alignment + +Codex needs the same feedback loop I have. If I’m building a site, it should see the browser. If I’m building a CLI, it should run in a close match of the target environment. If I’m stuck manually validating everything, I’ve kept myself in the loop and throttled iteration. + +Commits record outcomes, not dead ends. I start and end work by logging an issue in `git-bug` (or similar) so failed approaches and constraints live beside the code. Without that memory, Codex will “fix” problems by creating new ones forever. + +The failure smell is simple: Codex keeps producing more work for me instead of less. When that happens, stop generating code, rebuild the artifacts, and restore alignment. Coherence keeps intent, artifacts, and execution in lockstep—humans set direction and taste; Codex supplies execution and endurance. diff --git a/md/Home.md b/md/Home.md index 69769e0..047fbe0 100644 --- a/md/Home.md +++ b/md/Home.md @@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ Updates | Date | Note | |:-----------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| +| 2025-12-27 | Added [Coherence](./Coherence.md) on treating Codex like an employee by keeping intent, artifacts, and execution aligned. | | 2025-11-19 | Added [WhoIsGod](./WhoIsGod.md) as the hub linking to the names and covenants reference tables. | | 2025-11-19 | Added [CovenantsOfGod](./CovenantsOfGod.md), summarizing the major biblical covenants and their fulfillment in Christ. | | 2025-11-19 | Added [CovenantNamesOfGod](./CovenantNamesOfGod.md) to gather the covenant-compound YHWH titles in one reference. | diff --git a/md/Writings.md b/md/Writings.md index 89e2a0a..f038baf 100644 --- a/md/Writings.md +++ b/md/Writings.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ I keep long-form pieces here when I want to explore a topic beyond a paragraph or status post. +* [Coherence](./Coherence.md) explains how I use Codex like an employee by aligning intent, artifacts, and execution. * [WhoIsGod](./WhoIsGod.md) is the entry point for the [Names](./NamesOfGod.md), [Covenant Names](./CovenantNamesOfGod.md), and [Covenant](./CovenantsOfGod.md) tables so readers can find every reference from a single hub. * [OurEmptyPromises](./OurEmptyPromises.md) reflects on the limits of human promises and why certainty only comes from God. * [RandallRDipertEulogy](./RandallRDipertEulogy.md) shares the eulogy I gave for my dad and the lessons I carry forward.