pow, even, odd, min, max

AGENTS.md

@@ -16,6 +16,26 @@ nix build .#
 
 > **Rule of thumb:** if it builds, links, or tests, it goes through `nix`.
 
+### Write and test, don't mentally trace
+
+`nix flake check` finishes quickly. Use it.
+
+tricu's minimalism makes it easy to build a confident-sounding but wrong
+mental model of evaluation order, branch selection (`matchBool` arg order),
+or number encoding. A quick test replaces many minutes of uncertain reasoning.
+
+Prefer:
+
+1. Write a candidate implementation.
+2. Run the tests or a probe.
+3. Fix what's wrong.
+
+Over:
+
+1. Reason about semantics across multiple files.
+2. Build up a chain of inference.
+3. Write code that assumes the chain was correct.
+
 ## Project Overview
 
 **tricu** (pronounced "tree-shoe") is a programming-language experiment written primarily in Haskell.