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Your first session

This page takes one book through the whole loop: distill, synthesize, spar, judge, study and review. You need a working setup and a book that kb-template has converted into your vault.

Say you've read Building a Second Brain, and kb-template has turned it into chapter notes under 3.Resources/0.Raw/Books/….

1. Distill: mark what matters​

In Obsidian, or in the graph view (npm run coach -- view):

  1. Bold the sentences that matter.
  2. ==Highlight== the best of them with ==…==.
  3. Add a summary of each chapter in your own words:
> [!summary]
> Notes only pay off if future me can find their point fast, so I distill them in layers.

2. Synthesize: turn marks into ideas​

npm run coach -- synthesize

The coach lists your books, groups your marks into a few ideas and lets you pick one. For each idea:

  1. You write a summary in your own words.
  2. The coach asks up to two questions about anything your marks say that your summary leaves out, then always asks why the idea matters. /skip passes.
  3. It drafts the idea's core assertions, the key points you'll be tested on, from your summary and answers, never from the book. You keep, drop (d) or rewrite each one.
  4. It suggests buzzwords you won't be allowed to hide behind.
  5. It picks quotes from your highlights, and the vault server checks they really are in the book.
  6. You see a preview. The concept note is written to 3.Resources/Concepts/ only if you say yes.

3. Spar: explain it​

npm run coach -- spar

Pick a note. The coach asks you to explain the idea. Type your answer; an empty line sends it. The coach may then:

  • ask you to rephrase, if you used a buzzword or copied the note word for word,
  • ask follow-up questions about what's missing, up to three,
  • give a verdict: pass, or fail with the gaps it found.

At the end you see a preview of the session and confirm to record it. If you failed, the coach offers to study the gaps right away.

Sparring runs on your machine and needs no internet. How hard the coach pushes depends on the coaching style.

4. Judge: get a second opinion​

When you're online:

npm run coach -- judge

The judge checks every recorded session that is still waiting. It passes an answer only if no claim is wrong or hand-waved and nothing the question asked is missing. It never sees your notes; Privacy lists exactly what it gets.

5. Study what you missed​

npm run coach -- study <note>

You work through the gaps from the note's latest failed session. Type /hint or "teach me" for a clue and the author's own words; asking for help never costs you a try.

6. Come back when it's due​

npm run coach -- due

Every result moves the next review:

ResultNext review
Failedtomorrow
Passed sparring (Tier 1)in 3 days
Passed the judge (Tier 2)7 days, then 14, 30, 60, 120, 240 and 365 as you keep passing

You can change every number in ladder.

Why it's strict​

The rules that decide a verdict live in code, not in prompts. A model saying "pass" is overruled when flaws remain, and an answer that copies six words in a row from the note counts as reciting, not explaining.

Next​