play-learn-lift
Start Playing. Keep Learning. Lift Others.
When & Why to Use This Skill
The Play-Learn-Lift (PLL) skill is a foundational learning methodology designed to transform curiosity into mastery through a structured three-stage cycle. By prioritizing hands-on exploration ('Play'), pattern recognition ('Learn'), and knowledge sharing ('Lift'), this skill provides a failure-friendly framework for rapid skill acquisition, effective documentation, and collaborative growth. It serves as a meta-framework for navigating complex technical landscapes and building sustainable knowledge bases.
Use Cases
- Rapid Technical Onboarding: Use the 'Play' phase to explore new codebases or tools without prerequisites, capturing initial discoveries to lower the barrier to entry.
- Structured Knowledge Synthesis: Transition from exploration to the 'Learn' phase by identifying recurring patterns and documenting 'aha!' moments in research notebooks.
- Team Mentorship and Documentation: Execute the 'Lift' phase by converting personal insights into tutorials, templates, or READMEs to accelerate the learning curve for others.
- Iterative Problem Solving: Apply the cycle to complex debugging or research tasks, treating mistakes as valuable data points that inform future standardized workflows.
| name | play-learn-lift |
|---|---|
| description | "Start Playing. Keep Learning. Lift Others." |
| license | MIT |
| tier | 1 |
| related | [moollm, bootstrap, sister-script, sniffable-python, constructionism, adventure, debugging, scratchpad, research-notebook, skill, plain-text] |
| tags | [moollm, methodology, pedagogy, workflow, learning] |
Play Learn Lift
Start Playing. Keep Learning. Lift Others.
The three-stage journey from curiosity to mastery to teaching. The core MOOLLM methodology.
[!TIP] This IS the methodology. Every other skill is an expression of
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT. Start here.
The Cycle
flowchart LR
P["🎮 PLAY"] --> L["📚 LEARN"]
L --> LI["🚀 LIFT"]
LI -->|inspire| P
| Stage | Motto | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| 🎮 PLAY | Jump in! | No prerequisites, can't break anything, curiosity drives discovery |
| 📚 LEARN | Patterns emerge | Connections make sense, confidence builds naturally, "I noticed..." |
| 🚀 LIFT | Help others play | Teaching solidifies learning, sharing multiplies impact |
Why This Matters
Most learning is backwards:
- ❌ Study first, then do
- ❌ Master before sharing
- ❌ Fear mistakes
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT inverts it:
- ✅ Do first, understand emerges
- ✅ Share while learning, teaching accelerates mastery
- ✅ Mistakes are features, not bugs
Philosophy
"Low floor, high ceiling, wide walls" — Seymour Papert / Mitch Resnick
| Principle | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Low floor | Easy to start. No prerequisites. |
| High ceiling | No limit to growth. Experts stay engaged. |
| Wide walls | Many paths to explore. Your way is valid. |
Failure-Friendly
You can't break MOOLLM. Files are inspectable. State is recoverable. Experiments are encouraged.
Each Stage in Detail
🎮 PLAY
"What if I just..."
- No prerequisites required
- Curiosity drives discovery
- Fun comes first
- "Oops" is learning data
- Everything is reversible (git, append-only logs)
Capture everything: Even dead ends teach something.
📚 LEARN
"I noticed you do this often..."
- Patterns become visible through repetition
- Connections make sense
- Confidence builds naturally
- Knowledge deepens organically
- The "aha!" moments
Document patterns: Future-you will thank present-you.
🚀 LIFT
"Here's what I learned..."
- Teaching solidifies understanding
- Sharing multiplies impact
- Create tutorials from your journey
- Community grows stronger
- Everyone rises together
Share the journey: The path matters, not just the destination.
The Cycle Continues
"Start with jazz, end with standards."
After LIFT, you discover new areas to PLAY in:
PLAY → LEARN → LIFT → (inspire) → PLAY → ...
The pun is deliberate: jazz is free exploration (PLAY), and standards are both jazz classics everyone knows AND the reusable patterns you crystallize (LIFT). The learning happens in between!
- Teaching reveals gaps in your own understanding
- Helping others sparks new questions
- The cycle accelerates with practice
In Practice
Solo
- PLAY: Try something new, log what happens
- LEARN: Review logs, find patterns, update notes
- LIFT: Write a README, create a template, share with future-self
With Others
- PLAY: Pair explore, capture together
- LEARN: Compare notes, synthesize insights
- LIFT: Write shared docs, teach newcomers
Related Skills
| Skill | Connection |
|---|---|
| sister-script/ | LIFT stage: automate proven patterns |
| research-notebook/ | LEARN stage: structured capture |
| session-log/ | PLAY stage: append-only exploration |
| summarize/ | LEARN → LIFT: distill insights |
Contents
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SKILL.md | Full methodology documentation |
| CYCLE.yml.tmpl | Cycle template |
| PLAY_LOG.md.tmpl | Play log template |
Protocol Symbol
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT (alias: PLL)
# PROTOCOLS.yml
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT:
meaning: "Explore freely → find patterns → share wisdom"
invoke_when: "Starting any new exploration, learning, or teaching"
motto: "Start Playing. Keep Learning. Lift Others."
See: PROTOCOLS.yml#PLAY-LEARN-LIFT
The Intertwingularity
PLL is the methodology. Other skills are its expressions.
graph TD
PLL[🎮📚🚀 play-learn-lift] -->|PLAY captures| SL[📜 session-log]
PLL -->|LEARN structures| RN[📓 research-notebook]
PLL -->|LIFT automates| SS[👯 sister-script]
PLL -->|LIFT shares| SUM[📝 summarize]
AP[⚔️ adventure] -->|IS| PLAY
DB[🔧 debugging] -->|IS| PLAY
TC[🎴 card] -->|created via| LIFT
Navigation
| Direction | Destination |
|---|---|
| ⬆️ Up | skills/ |
| ⬆️⬆️ Root | Project Root |
| 👯 Sister | sister-script/ |
| 📓 Sister | research-notebook/ |
| 📜 Sister | session-log/ |
| 📋 Symbols | PROTOCOLS.yml |
Start playing. The rest follows.