Plain Language Self-Check V1 (Feynman-Orwellian Test)

Idea Search related

Captured 2026-07-02 from Telegram, after Nathan pushed back on technical phrasing in Europe Relocation Brainstorm V1 (2026).

The signal

"Please explain this in a simpler manner. Think more Orwellian or Feynman-y, just bringing it down to the simple ideas."

The rule

Before asking a question, run the Feynman test: could you explain this question to someone who's never heard the terms? If not, rewrite it.

And the Orwellian test: could you explain this question using only words a 12-year-old could read? If not, rewrite it.

Before / after

Before (v1): "12+ months of foreign tax residency feasible?"

After (plain English): "Can you stay in Europe for 12+ months at a time, or do you need to come back to Australia regularly?"

The general principle

The user is signalling class-level preference: when a question is technical, the LLM should pre-translate it into the simple version before asking. The user shouldn't have to ask for the simpler version; the simpler version should be the default.

When this applies

When this does NOT apply

See also