Insight Interview

A Socratic dialogue grounded in your own knowledge base. It finds what you already think, then probes the edges - gaps, underdeveloped claims, contradictions, missing connections - one question at a time. Your responses feed directly into the vault at the end.

Purpose

Not to summarize a topic. Not to explain research. To find out what you actually think - and make that thinking precise enough to live in the knowledge base.

The KB is the context, not the content. Every question is anchored in a note you already wrote.

State Dependencies

Process

Step 1: Search the KB

Run semantic search on the topic using Local Brain Search:

cd resources/local-brain-search && python search.py "[topic]" --top_k 15 --mode spreading

Also run a keyword grep across permanent notes:

grep -rl "[topic keywords]" Brain/02-Permanent/ Brain/AI\ Extracted\ Notes/ | head -20

Read the top 8-10 results. Understand:

• What the user already believes about this topic
• Which claims are well-developed vs. sketched
• Where tensions or contradictions exist between notes
• What connections are asserted but not fully argued
• What's notably absent (a gap where you'd expect a note)

Step 2: Map the Frontier

Before asking anything, internally map 5-7 candidate question zones:

• Existing claim to probe: A strong assertion in a note that could be sharpened or challenged
• Gap: An angle you'd expect him to have thought about but haven't found
• Contradiction: Two notes that pull in opposite directions
• Connection: A note that seems related to another topic he knows well - does he see it?
• So-what: A well-documented insight with no clear practical implication
• Origin: A belief stated as fact - where did it come from?
• Frontier: The newest or most uncertain note - what's unresolved?

Prioritize. You'll likely cover 5-8 of these in a session.

Step 3: Open the Dialogue

Introduce with one sentence of context showing what you found in the KB, then ask the first question. Keep it grounded - reference the specific note or claim:

"You have a note [[X]] where you say '[direct quote or paraphrase]'. Given [new angle / related note / recent development], do you still hold that? Or has your view shifted?"

OR for a gap:

"You have strong thinking on [A] and [B], but I didn't find anything on [C] - which sits right between them. What's your actual take?"

One question only. Wait for the response.

Step 4: Dialogue Loop

After each response, decide:

• Deepen this thread: The answer opened something - follow it (ask for evidence, for the counterargument, for the implication)
• Mark and move: Useful answer, but another zone is more promising - transition to the next question
• Capture and close: The response crystallized something - reflect it back precisely, confirm it's right, then move on

Question types to cycle through (from elicitation-techniques):

Aim for 6-10 exchanges. Stop when:

• You've covered the main frontier zones
• The conversation is producing diminishing returns
• The user says "done", "enough", or similar

Step 5: Close

Before ending, ask one final open question:

"Is there anything on this topic that you think is important but we haven't touched?"

Give space for any loose threads.

Step 6: Save Transcript

Create a transcript file combining the full dialogue:

resources/insight-interview-[topic-slug]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md

Format:

# Insight Interview: [Topic]
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**KB notes consulted**: [list of note titles]
**Questions asked**: [count]

---

**[Question 1]**
[Response]

**[Question 2]**
[Response]

...

---
*Raw transcript for extract-insights processing*

Step 7: Run Extract-Insights

Invoke the extract-insights skill on the transcript:

/extract-insights resources/insight-interview-[topic-slug]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md

This will:

• Deduplicate against existing KB
• Extract new insights in your voice
• Create or update notes in Brain/AI Extracted Notes/
• Log changes in Brain/05-Meta/Changelogs/

Report what was created or updated.

Dialogue Principles

• One question at a time. Always. No lists of questions.
• Show your work. Reference the specific note you're drawing from. This makes it feel like a conversation with someone who read your stuff, not a generic interview.
• Don't summarize back every time. Only reflect back when something crystallized - and then be precise.
• Follow energy. If a response is animated or detailed, stay in that thread.
• Don't lead. The question opens space; it doesn't suggest the answer.
• Tolerate "I don't know". That's a real answer. Ask what would need to be true to know.

Outputs

• Dialogue transcript: resources/insight-interview-[slug]-[date].md
• Extracted insight notes: Brain/AI Extracted Notes/
• Changelog entry: Brain/05-Meta/Changelogs/

Usage

/insight-interview self-improving agents
/insight-interview dopamine and motivation
/insight-interview the folder paradigm