algernon-feynman

What This Skill Does

The algernon-feynman skill is a sophisticated educational tool designed to leverage the power of the Feynman Technique to solidify your learning. By acting as a strict yet supportive tutor, this agent challenges you to explain complex concepts in your own words. It dynamically queries your local study database (built via openalgernon), prioritizes high-level materials, and systematically evaluates your understanding based on three critical pillars: Accuracy, Depth, and Transfer. Rather than simply testing for rote memorization, the agent uses Socratic questioning to expose gaps in your reasoning, forcing you to reconstruct your mental models until they are robust and ready for real-world application.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your OpenClaw environment, use the following command in your terminal:

clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/antoniovfranco/algernon-feynman

Ensure that you have sqlite3 installed on your system and that your ALGERNON_HOME path is correctly configured to point to your study database. If you wish to save your session summaries to Notion, ensure $NOTION_CLI is installed and the $NOTION_PAGE_ID environment variable is defined.

Use Cases

This skill is perfect for students, developers, or lifelong learners who need to master technical material. Use it when:

• Preparing for exams where simple flashcards aren't enough to guarantee comprehension.
• Trying to internalize complex architectural patterns or software design principles.
• Learning a new language or conceptual framework where intuition is as important as definitions.
• Consolidating knowledge after a deep-dive research session to ensure you can explain the topic to a peer.

Example Prompts

1. "/algernon feynman distributed-systems"
2. "I'm ready to learn, start a feynman session to help me explain functional programming."
3. "quero consolidar python-asyncio, me testa explicando."

Tips & Limitations

• Transparency: The agent will not give you the answers immediately. It is programmed to withhold the reference content until you have attempted to explain the concept twice, ensuring you don't fall into the trap of 'illusion of competence.'
• Database Readiness: For the best experience, populate your study.db using the texto command first. The skill performs best with N2 and N3 level tags, so ensure your material is categorized appropriately.
• Depth Matters: Don't just regurgitate definitions; use analogies. The 'Transfer' dimension of the evaluation specifically rewards original metaphors, which is the cornerstone of true Feynman-style mastery.
• Environment: If you're on a headless server, ensure your environment variables are correctly exported in your .bashrc or .zshrc for persistent access to your Notion workspace and database.