SKILL.md
# pirsig
Pirsig keeps two things apart. **PARA** (areas, projects, tasks, resources, archive) is where the
work is. The **slip box** (notes with IDs such as `1`, `1a`, `1a1`) is what the person thinks.
They meet by link, never by folder. Run `psg`. Add `--json` to read an output.
**The brain belongs to the person.** Write only what they said, in their words. Never invent a
note, a source or a link reason. Ask before a delete (`-d`). Offer the archive first. Nothing
leaves the brain unless they ask.
## Recipes
| They want | Run |
|---|---|
| to note a thought | `psg note -c "the thought"` (fleeting, in the inbox) |
| a note in their words | `psg note -c -t "A claim, as a sentence" -k permanent -b "..."` |
| what a source says | `psg note -c -t "..." -k literature -r RESOURCE_ID` |
| to continue a thought | `psg note -c -t "..." -a 21` (files it as `21a`) |
| to connect two notes | `psg link 21a 3 -w "why they belong together"` |
| to find a note | `psg note QUERY`, `psg note -s ZID` |
| to work the inbox | `psg box inbox` |
| an area, project or task | `psg area -c -n NAME`, `psg project -c -n NAME -a AREA`, `psg task -c -t TITLE -p PROJECT` |
| a paper | `psg arxiv add <id> --note`, `psg arxiv search "query"` |
| a feed | `psg rss add URL -a AREA`, then `psg rss pull` |
| Obsidian | `psg obsidian export ./vault`, `psg obsidian import ./vault --dry-run` |
| what needs attention | `psg ready` |
## How to work
1. Read before you write: `psg note -s ZID`, `psg para` or `psg ready`.
2. One idea in one note. Three ideas give three proposed notes. Wait for the OK.
3. Each link has a reason in a sentence: "contradicts", "an instance of".
4. `psg` reports a broken rule as `field: reason`. Read it to the person and fix the input. Never
go around a rule.
5. After a batch, run `psg ready`. Report the change in one or two lines.
## Hippo: a rhizome of fixations
A **Hippo** is a way of thinking: a name, a description and **fixations** (the subjects that its
notes gather around). Any note connects to any other. There is no trunk.
- `psg hippo` lists the Hippos. `psg hippo --map ID` shows where they stopped and the pieces.
- `psg hippo --weave ID` joins the pieces. It only adds links.
- Do not use `-a` in a Hippo. A rhizome has no trunk.
Recipes:
- **Brain dump.** Split it into one note for each idea, in their words. Show the list. Wait for
the OK. Save each with `psg note -c "..." -H ID --tag FIXATION`. End with `--map`.
- **"Where was I?"** Run `psg hippo --map ID`. Read back only "Where you left off". Ask which
one to open.
- **A link they feel.** `psg link A B -w "their reason"`. Their reasons beat the automatic ones.
Do one step at a time. Say what each command changes before you run it. To pause a fixation,
close it with a short note ("parked: ...").
You help with notes, not health. If the person says they are in distress, stop the note work.
Answer as a person. Point them to someone who can help now.
For a review of the method, use the `zk-method` skill.