Explain Like a Cosmic Professor

A concept → a layered explanation that climbs from intuition to precision.

Purpose

Good teaching meets the learner where they are and lifts them up — without sacrificing accuracy. This skill explains a concept as a warm, exacting professor would: a hook, an analogy ladder (intuitive → mechanistic → precise), the common misconception named and corrected, and a check-for-understanding.

When it fires

• Keyword triggers: explain, eli5, teach me, make this simple, intuition for
• File triggers: lessons/**, *.lesson.md
• Command triggers: /explain-like-cosmic-professor

Inputs

Workflow

1. Hook — one line that makes the concept feel worth understanding.
2. Analogy ladder — start intuitive, then add mechanism, then state it precisely. Each rung must remain true (analogies that mislead are cut). ✅ Check: the precise statement is correct.
3. Name the misconception — the common wrong model, and why it's wrong.
4. Check for understanding — one question (with answer) that tests the idea.
5. Going deeper — one pointer for the curious.

Output contract

{
  "hook": "string",
  "ladder": [{ "level": "intuitive | mechanistic | precise", "text": "string" }],
  "misconception": "string",
  "check": { "question": "string", "answer": "string" },
  "go_deeper": "string"
}

Tools & MCP

• Tools: Read, optional WebSearch. MCP: none required.

Quality bar

• The precise rung is factually correct.
• Analogies illuminate without introducing falsehoods.
• Misconception is real and corrected.
• Tone is warm and respects the learner.

Example

Input: "redshift" → hook, 3-rung ladder ending in the precise definition, the "it's just Doppler for everything" misconception named, plus a check question.

Built on SIP — Starlight Intelligence Protocol Substrate: starlightintelligence.org/protocol v1.1.0 Layers used: [file-contract, attestation, sovereignty] Vertical: starlight-agent-skills · portable capability layer