The Algorithm (Musk's 5-step framework) — see Forced Reduction
This page is a redirect. The Obsidian source card at Digital Mind/Cards/The Algorithm.md is preserved for wikilink integrity, but the canonical brain content lives at forced reduction (9K, full synthesis with both Vance 2015 and Isaacson 2023 versions, the 10% re-add rule, and the Rubin-vs-Elon-deletion original at 2026 06 17 forced reduction rubin vs elon deletion).
Why this is a redirect, not a page
The Algorithm (Musk's 5-step engineering framework) is fully captured in the existing brain:
forced reduction — the synthesis page, with both Vance 2015 and Isaacson 2023 versions of the 5-step doctrine, the 10% re-add rule, and the deletion-first principle
people/elon musk — the person page with the operating principles, including the Algorithm as a 5-step manual from the Isaacson biography
2026 06 17 forced reduction rubin vs elon deletion — the user's own synthesis (2026-06-17) comparing Rubin's "100 → 40 → 70" forced-reduction with Musk's "delete delete delete" doctrine
A separate concepts/the-algorithm page would duplicate content the user already has at higher quality.
What was on the Obsidian source (preserved here for completeness)
The Obsidian card articulates the Vance 2015 version of the algorithm (per the source citation):
Question every requirement
Delete any part that doesn't directly contribute to the goal
Optimize the whole
Accelerate cycle times
Automate last (counterintuitive — automate only after the system is right)
The Isaacson 2023 version (per people/elon musk) refines the language: "Make your requirements less dumb" / "Try very hard to delete" / "Simplify" / "Accelerate" / "Automate" — with the 10% re-add rule ("if you don't end up adding back at least 10%, you didn't delete enough").
Both versions are the same doctrine with different words. See forced reduction for the full synthesis.
Cross-references
Wikilinks extracted from source: Strategy (up), Physics Is Law Everything Else Is Recommendation (jump), First Principles Thinking (jump), Engineering Excellence (jump)
Canonical brain content: forced reduction (synthesis), people/elon musk (source), books/elon musk (Vance 2015), books/the book of elon (Jorgenson 2026)
Reference
@vance2015ElonMusk Elon Musk (Ashlee Vance, 2015) — the source citation from the Obsidian card