Idea Capture: Originals, Depth, and Distribution

Goal

Capture the user's original thinking with exact phrasing, deep context, and cross-links so the originals folder becomes the highest-value content in the brain.

What the User Gets

Without this: brilliant ideas said in conversation disappear. The agent heard "the ambition-to-lifespan ratio has never been more broken" and forgot it.

With this: every original observation is captured verbatim, cross-linked to the people and ideas that shaped it, and rated for publishing potential. Your intellectual archive grows with every conversation.

Implementation

capture_idea(message_text, source_context):

  // 1. AUTHORSHIP TEST — where does this idea belong?
  if user_generated_the_idea(message_text):
    destination = "brain/originals/{slug}.md"
  elif user_synthesis_of_others(message_text):
    destination = "brain/originals/{slug}.md"  // synthesis IS original
  elif world_concept(message_text):
    destination = "brain/concepts/{slug}.md"
  elif product_or_business_idea(message_text):
    destination = "brain/ideas/{slug}.md"
  elif ghostwritten_by_user(message_text):
    destination = "brain/originals/{slug}.md"  // note ghostwriter in metadata
  elif article_about_user(message_text):
    destination = "brain/media/writings/{slug}.md"

  // 2. CAPTURE WITH EXACT PHRASING — never paraphrase
  page = create_or_update(destination, {
    content: message_text,          // verbatim, not summarized
    source: source_context,         // conversation, meeting, moment
    reasoning_path: influences,     // what led to the insight
    depth_context: emotional_nuance // the WHY behind the WHAT
  })

  // 3. ORIGINALITY RATING (for notable ideas)
  if is_notable(message_text):
    rate_originality(page, populations=[
      "general_population", "tech_industry",
      "intellectual_media", "political_establishment"
    ])

  // 4. CROSS-LINK (mandatory — an original without links is dead)
  link_to_people(page, mentioned_people)
  link_to_companies(page, mentioned_companies)
  link_to_meetings(page, source_meeting)
  link_to_media(page, influences)
  link_to_other_originals(page, related_ideas)
  link_to_concepts(page, referenced_concepts)

  // 5. SYNC
  gbrain sync --no-pull --no-embed

The Authorship Test

Who authored the idea determines where it files: user-generated ideas, syntheses, and ghostwritten work go to brain/originals/; borrowed world concepts to brain/concepts/; product ideas to brain/ideas/; articles ABOUT the user to brain/media/writings/. The full filing-rules table (and the what-counts-as-original-thinking criteria) lives in entity-detection.md — the single home for the capture taxonomy.

Capture Standards

Use the user's EXACT phrasing. The language IS the insight.

"The ambition-to-lifespan ratio has never been more broken" captures something that "tension between ambition and mortality" doesn't. Don't clean it up. Don't paraphrase. The vivid version is the real version.

The Depth Test

Could someone unfamiliar with the user read this page and understand not just WHAT they think but WHY and HOW they got there?

If the answer is no, it needs more depth. Include:

The reasoning path (what led to the insight)
The influences (what they were reading/watching/experiencing)
The context (conversation, meeting, moment)
The emotional or psychological nuance

Originality Distribution Rating

For notable ideas, rate originality 0-100 across different populations:

## Originality Distribution

- **General population:** 72/100 — most people haven't encountered this framework
- **Tech industry:** 45/100 — common in startup circles but novel to most
- **Intellectual/media class:** 68/100 — would resonate, not yet articulated
- **Political establishment:** 82/100 — completely foreign to policy thinking

**Publish signal:** Strong essay candidate. Best audience: founders, builders.

This tells the user which ideas are worth turning into essays, talks, or videos, and which audience would find them most novel.

Deep Cross-Linking Mandate

An original without cross-links is a dead original. The connections ARE the intelligence.

Every original MUST link to:

People who shaped the thinking
Companies where the idea played out
Meetings where it was discussed
Books and media that influenced it
Other originals it connects to (ideas form clusters)
Concepts it builds on or challenges

Notability Filtering

Before creating any entity page, check notability — the full create/skip criteria live in entity-detection.md. The decision rule: if notable AND no page exists, create a FULL page with web search enrichment. No stubs. If you make a page, make it good.

Tricky Spots

Synthesis IS original. When the user connects two existing ideas in a new way, that synthesis belongs in brain/originals/, not brain/concepts/. The novel combination is the insight, even if the component ideas aren't new.
Exact phrasing is non-negotiable. Never paraphrase, summarize, or "clean up" the user's language. "The ambition-to-lifespan ratio has never been more broken" is the insight. "Tension between ambition and mortality" is a corpse. Capture the first version.
Cross-links are mandatory, not optional. An original without links to the people, companies, meetings, and concepts that shaped it is a dead original. The connections ARE the intelligence. Check every original for at least 2 cross-links before considering it captured.

How to Verify

Generate an idea and check the page. Say something original in conversation (e.g., "What if markdown files are actually distributed software?"). Verify that brain/originals/{slug}.md was created with your exact phrasing, not a paraphrase.
Check cross-links exist. Open the newly created original page. It should link to at least the people or concepts mentioned. Open those linked pages and verify they back-link to the original.
Verify the depth test passes. Read the captured page as if you were a stranger. Can you understand not just WHAT the user thinks but WHY? If the reasoning path and context are missing, the capture is incomplete.

Part of the GBrain Skillpack. The bundled idea-ingest skill (skills/idea-ingest/) ships this workflow. See also: Entity Detection.

idea capture