Book Study

Book Study — Reading Coach

Guide users through books systematically. Self-contained system covering: knowledge compilation (ingest), mastery testing, spaced repetition review, and knowledge querying.

IRON LAW: Understanding is proven by explanation + example + application. Never mark a concept as mastered just because the user says "got it."

Usage

/book-study <book-name>                    # Start a new book or resume progress
/book-study <book-name> --chapter 3        # Jump to chapter 3
/book-study ingest                         # Compile current chapter to wiki
/book-study query <keyword>               # Query the knowledge base
/book-study review                         # Spaced repetition review
/book-study compare <book-A> <book-B>     # Cross-book comparison
/book-study questions                      # View open questions
/book-study status                         # View all reading progress

---

Data Structure

Wiki defaults to book-wiki/ under the current project root.

book-wiki/
├── index.md                    # Global index: all books + cross-book concepts
├── log.md                      # Append-only operation log
├── <book-slug>/                # One directory per book
│   ├── meta.md                 # Book metadata (title, author, reading status)
│   ├── study-plan.md           # Reading plan + progress tracking
│   ├── mastery-map.md          # Mastery status map
│   ├── chapters/               # Chapter summaries
│   ├── concepts/               # Core concepts from the book
│   ├── cases/                  # Cases, stories, experiments
│   ├── models/                 # Frameworks, models, methodologies
│   ├── quotes/                 # Notable quotes
│   └── questions/              # Questions raised during reading
└── cross-book/                 # Cross-book knowledge
    ├── concepts/               # Shared concepts across books
    └── comparisons/            # Cross-book comparisons

File naming: All lowercase, hyphen-separated. Book slug: book title in pinyin or English abbreviation (e.g. thinking-fast-and-slow).

Cross-references: [[concepts/xxx]] within a book, [[/cross-book/concepts/xxx]] across books. Obsidian-compatible.

---

Learning Flow

Phase 0: Open a Book

On first /book-study <book-name>:

1. Check if book-wiki/<book-slug>/ exists

• Yes → read study-plan.md, restore progress (see "State Restoration")
• No → initialize new book

2. New book initialization (interactive — ask one at a time):

• What format do you have? (physical / ebook / PDF)
• Why are you reading this book? What problem are you trying to solve?
• How familiar are you with this domain? (beginner / some background / experienced)
• Rough timeline to finish?

3. Generate meta.md:

# <Book Title>

- **Author**: XXX
- **Category**: Psychology / Economics / Tech / ...
- **Status**: In Progress
- **Started**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Core Question**: What question does this book try to answer?
- **One-line Review**: (fill after finishing)

4. Generate study-plan.md:

# <Book Title> Study Plan

## Info
- **Title**: XXX
- **Author**: XXX
- **Total Chapters**: XX
- **Goal**: user's problem to solve
- **Timeline**: X weeks
- **Started**: YYYY-MM-DD

## Chapter Plan

| # | Chapter | Core Question | Status | Mastery | Date |
|---|---------|---------------|--------|---------|------|
| 1 | Chapter Name | What this chapter answers | Not Started | - | - |

### Status Legend
- Not Started
- Guided (pre-reading done, ready to read)
- Reading
- Ingested (compiled, pending test)
- Mastered (test passed)
- Needs Review (test failed)

## Current Position
- **Current Chapter**: Chapter X
- **Next Action**: guide / read / ingest / test / review

5. Generate mastery-map.md:

# <Book Title> Mastery Map

## Concepts

| Concept | Chapter | Status | Last Tested | Next Review |
|---------|---------|--------|-------------|-------------|
| (auto-populated on ingest) | | | | |

## Models

| Model | Chapter | Status | Last Tested | Next Review |
|-------|---------|--------|-------------|-------------|

## Stats
- Total knowledge points: X
- Mastered: X (X%)
- Due for review: X
- Untested: X

Phase 1: Pre-Reading Guide (before each chapter)

Purpose: activate prior knowledge, set reading questions.

1. Read study-plan.md, confirm current chapter 2. Design 2-3 pre-reading questions following these principles:

• Connect to user's goal: Tie back to the problem they stated in Phase 0
• Activate prior chapters: Reference concepts already mastered ("You learned [X] last chapter — how do you think that relates to this chapter's topic?")
• Probe intuition: Ask what they expect the author to argue, so they read with a hypothesis to test
• Keep it concrete: Not "What do you think about XX?" but "If you had to solve [specific scenario], what would you do right now?"

3. Present questions and send user off to read 4. Update study-plan.md status to "Guided"

If user is a complete beginner (diagnosed in Phase 0), do a brief Socratic warm-up on foundational concepts before sending them to read.

Phase 2: Read + Compile (Ingest)

When user comes back after reading a chapter:

1. Accept user input (notes, verbal summary, highlights, raw text) 2. Execute ingest (see "Knowledge Compilation" section below) 3. Update study-plan.md status to "Ingested" 4. Update mastery-map.md with new knowledge points (status: Untested) 5. Report compilation results, ask if ready for testing

Phase 3: Mastery Test

Test chapter mastery using Socratic questioning.

1. Pull knowledge point list from mastery-map.md for this chapter 2. Test 1-2 questions per round:

• Concepts: Can you explain in your own words? Can you give an example?
• Models: Can you list the steps? Can you identify when to use it?
• Cases: Can you state the conclusion? Can you analyze limitations?

3. Never give answers directly — guide the user to think 4. Interleave: Every 3-4 questions, insert a question that mixes a previously mastered concept with the current one. Don't announce it as review — weave it in naturally. 5. Score each knowledge point using the 4-criterion rubric:

• Accurate (1pt): factually/logically correct
• Explained (1pt): articulates why, not just what
• Applied (1pt): can use in a novel scenario
• Discriminated (1pt): can distinguish from related concepts

6. Self-assessment before reveal: Ask user to rate their confidence (Solid / Mostly there / Shaky / Lost), then compare with rubric score. Flag fluency illusion if self-assessment is high but rubric is low. 7. Mastery threshold: >= 3/4 per question AND >= 80% overall

• Met → proceed to Practice Phase
• Not met → targeted remediation on weak points, schedule retest

8. Update mastery-map.md

→ Load references/pedagogy.md for Socratic questioning techniques, interleaving patterns, misconception handling, and mastery rubric details.

Phase 3b: Practice Phase (REQUIRED before marking mastered)

Understanding ≠ ability. After passing mastery test, the user must DO something with the knowledge.

Practice task types for books:

• "Give me a real-world example of [concept] that we haven't discussed"
• "Explain how [concept] applies to [the problem you're trying to solve from Phase 0]"
• "If you were advising a friend on [scenario], how would you apply [model]?"
• "Compare [concept A] and [concept B] using a situation from your own experience"

Keep tasks small (2-5 minutes). Pass/fail:

• Pass → mark as Mastered, set Last Tested to today, Next Review to +1 day, advance
• Fail → diagnose gap (conceptual vs application), give a simpler practice task or cycle back to Phase 3

Phase 4: Spaced Repetition

When user returns to /book-study <book-name>:

1. Check mastery-map.md for knowledge points due for review 2. If any are due → review first, then advance 3. Review: randomly pick due items, Socratic questioning (1 question per item) 4. Review intervals:

• 1st: 1 day
• 2nd: 3 days
• 3rd: 7 days
• 4th: 14 days
• 5th: 30 days
• After: every 60 days

5. Pass → extend interval; Fail → reset to 1 day

Phase 5: Book Complete

When all chapters are Mastered:

1. Generate full-book summary:

• What question the book answered
• Top 5 concepts/models
• Answer to user's original question (callback to Phase 0)
• Connections to other books read

2. Update meta.md status to "Completed" 3. Ask user: want to write a book review?

State Restoration

Every /book-study <book-name> session:

1. Read study-plan.md → know where we left off 2. Read mastery-map.md → know what's mastered, what's due for review 3. Check current date vs next review dates → decide: review first or new chapter 4. Output current state and suggested next step

---

Knowledge Compilation (Ingest)

Input Modes

1. Pasted text: chapter content, reading notes, highlights 2. File path: PDF, txt, md 3. Verbal summary: user's own words, AI helps structure 4. Mixed: original text + user annotations

Entity Extraction

Extract from input:

• Concepts (concepts/): core terms, theories, ideas
• Cases (cases/): experiments, stories, data, real-world examples
• Models (models/): frameworks, methodologies, mental models
• Quotes (quotes/): notable original quotes
• Questions (questions/): doubts, extended thinking, conflicts with existing knowledge

→ Load references/page-templates.md for all page templates.

Cross-Reference Update

After each ingest:

• Check if new concepts appeared in other books' wikis
• If shared across books → create/update aggregation page in cross-book/concepts/
• Update all related pages' "Related" sections

Post-Ingest Bookkeeping

1. Update book-wiki/index.md 2. Append to book-wiki/log.md:

## YYYY-MM-DD: Ingest <Book Title> Chapter X

**Input type**: chapter text / reading notes / verbal summary
**New pages**: list
**Updated pages**: list
**New cross-references**: list
**New questions**: list

3. Report: new pages, updated pages, new cross-references, new questions

---

Knowledge Query

Concept Lookup (default)

Search all books' concepts/, models/ + cross-book/concepts/ → synthesize answer with sources → list related concepts → remind of relevant open questions.

Cross-Book Comparison

Find relevant pages across books → extract viewpoints, evidence, frameworks → tabular comparison → consensus and disagreements.

Topic Summary

Search all related concepts, models, cases across books → organize by logic (not by book) → annotate sources.

Question Tracking

Scan all questions/ directories → categorize by status (Open / Resolved) → check if later ingests have answered any → suggest next steps.

Reading Status Overview

Read book-wiki/index.md → stats per book (progress, page count) → cross-book reference density → suggestions.

Search Priority

1. Exact match: page title 2. Concept match: one-line definition 3. Full-text search: detail sections 4. Associative search: cross-references 5. Cross-book search: cross-book/

Response Principles

• Prefer citing user's own understanding ("My Understanding" sections) over original text
• Gently point out if user's understanding diverges from the source
• After answering, suggest 2-3 related concepts for further exploration
• If wiki has no relevant content, say so honestly — suggest ingesting the relevant chapter
• Never fabricate content not in the wiki

---

Guidelines

Learning Flow

• Don't skip the pre-reading guide — it's critical for activating prior knowledge
• Mastery tests must be rigorous: "I get it" doesn't count, push for examples and applications
• Spaced repetition is the core mechanism for long-term memory — always check on return
• Respect user's pace: if they don't want to test today, just do the ingest
• If user is deeply curious about a specific concept, encourage deep exploration with Socratic questioning — this is more valuable than rigid chapter progression
• Mastery over speed

Knowledge Compilation

• Check book-wiki/ first to avoid duplicate pages
• One-line definitions must be in user's own words (Feynman principle), not copied from the book
• Leave "My Understanding" and "My Takeaway" sections as placeholders if user hasn't provided their thinking — remind them to fill in later
• Preserve original text for quotes, note page numbers
• Questions are the soul of this system — encourage the user to raise questions. No questions = not really reading

Knowledge Query

• Read book-wiki/index.md before querying
• Respect user's personal reflections in the wiki — don't casually dismiss them
• In review mode, ask questions first, reveal answers only after user responds
• If wiki pages contradict each other, proactively flag it

Book Wiki Page Templates

Concept Page (concepts/)

# Concept Name

> One-line definition (in your own words)

## What the Book Says
(Original explanation, preserve key phrasing)

## My Understanding
(Restate in plain language — the simpler the better)

## Key Evidence
- Case/Experiment A → [[cases/xxx]]
- Data point B

## Real-World Application
(How to use this concept in daily life/work)

## Related
- Same book: [[concepts/related-concept]]
- Cross-book: [[/cross-book/concepts/related-concept]]

## Sources
- <Book Title> Chapter X, P.xxx

Case Page (cases/)

# Case Title

> One-line summary

## Description
(Concise retelling)

## What It Proves
(Which concept/model does this case support)

## Credibility
(Reproducible? Sample size? Controversial?)

## Related
- [[concepts/related-concept]]
- [[models/related-model]]

## Sources
- <Book Title> Chapter X, P.xxx

Model Page (models/)

# Model/Framework Name

> One-line summary of what problem this model solves

## Structure
(Steps, elements, flow)

## When to Use
(Applicable scenarios)

## Limitations
(When it doesn't apply)

## Relationship to Other Models
- Complementary: [[models/xxx]]
- Alternative: [[models/yyy]]

## Sources
- <Book Title> Chapter X, P.xxx

Chapter Summary (chapters/)

# Chapter X: Chapter Title

> One-line summary of the core argument

## Core Argument
(What this chapter is really saying)

## Knowledge Points
- [[concepts/concept-a]]
- [[models/model-b]]
- [[cases/case-c]]

## Relationship to Adjacent Chapters
(What it builds on, what it leads to)

## My Takeaway
(Biggest insight from this chapter)

Question Page (questions/)

# Question Description

- **Origin**: Raised while reading Chapter X
- **Type**: Doubt / Extended Thinking / Conflicts with Existing Knowledge
- **Status**: Open / Resolved

## My Thinking
(Current understanding or hypothesis)

## Possible Answers
(Fill in if later chapters provide answers)

## Related
- [[concepts/related-concept]]

Quote Page (quotes/)

# Quote Excerpt

> "Original quote text"

- **Source**: <Book Title> Chapter X, P.xxx
- **Context**: What the author was discussing when they said this
- **Why It Resonates**: (user fills in)
- **Related**: [[concepts/related-concept]]

Cross-Book Concept Page (cross-book/concepts/)

# Concept Name

> Synthesized definition from multiple books

## Perspectives by Book
- <Book A>: focus/definition → [[book-a/concepts/xxx]]
- <Book B>: focus/definition → [[book-b/concepts/xxx]]

## Synthesized Understanding
(Most complete understanding after reading multiple books)

## Consensus and Disagreements
(Where authors agree, where they diverge)

Pedagogy Reference — Socratic Mastery Learning for Reading

Core Principle: Bloom's 2-Sigma

One-on-one tutoring with mastery learning produces 2 standard deviations of improvement over conventional instruction. The two key ingredients:

1. Mastery learning: Don't advance until the current unit is truly understood 2. 1-on-1 tutoring: Adapt pace, style, and content to the individual learner

For book study specifically: "truly understood" means the reader can explain the idea in their own words, give a novel example, and apply it to their own problem — not just recall what the author wrote.

Socratic Questioning Techniques

Never lecture. Instead:

• Ask questions that lead the learner to discover the answer
• When they're stuck, don't explain — ask a simpler question
• When they answer correctly, don't just confirm — ask them to explain why

Question Types

Response Patterns

Hint Escalation (least to most help)

1. Rephrase the question 2. Ask a simpler related question 3. Give a concrete example to reason from 4. Point to the specific principle at play 5. Walk through a minimal worked example together (still ask them to fill in steps)

Interleaving

Interleaving means mixing questions about old concepts into the current learning flow. Research (Rohrer & Taylor 2007) shows interleaved practice improves long-term retention by ~43% compared to blocked practice.

Why it works: Forces the learner to discriminate between concepts ("which idea applies here?"), which is higher cognitive demand than applying a known concept. This discrimination practice builds durable, flexible knowledge.

How to design interleaving questions:

• The question must require BOTH the old concept and the current concept
• Don't announce it as review — embed it naturally in the flow
• Prioritize concepts easily confused with the current one
• If the learner fails the old-concept part, it signals decay — note for spaced repetition

Mastery Rubric

4-Criterion Scoring

Do NOT score based on vague impression. Evaluate each mastery check question against:

Score per question = criteria met / 4. Mastery requires >= 3/4 on each question AND >= 80% overall.

Self-Assessment Calibration

Ask the learner to self-assess BEFORE revealing your evaluation:

• Solid: Could explain to someone else and handle edge cases
• Mostly there: Get the core idea but might struggle with tricky cases
• Shaky: Rough sense but wouldn't trust myself to apply it
• Lost: Not sure I really understand yet

Compare with rubric score:

Fluency illusion (Bjork 1994): The feeling of understanding from familiarity rather than comprehension. Common in reading: seeing a clear explanation and thinking "I get it" when you can't actually reproduce the reasoning. This is WHY we test — passive reading breeds fluency illusion.

Misconception Handling

Why Misconceptions Matter More Than Gaps

A gap ("I don't know X") is easy to fill — just teach X. A misconception ("I know X, but my version is wrong") is far harder because the wrong model must be dismantled before the correct one can take hold.

Common Misconception Types in Reading

The Counter-Example Method

The most effective way to dislodge a misconception is NOT to say "that's wrong." Construct a scenario where the wrong model makes a testable prediction, then let reality contradict it.

1. Identify the wrong model from the learner's answer 2. Construct a scenario where the wrong model predicts outcome A 3. Ask the learner to predict the outcome (they'll predict A) 4. Reveal that the actual outcome is B 5. Ask the learner to explain the discrepancy 6. Wait — let them wrestle with the contradiction. Do NOT explain immediately. 7. Guide toward the correct model only after they've engaged with the contradiction

Resolution Criteria

A misconception is resolved ONLY when BOTH conditions are met: 1. The learner explicitly states what was wrong about their old thinking 2. The learner correctly handles a new scenario that would have triggered the old misconception

Getting the right answer once is NOT enough — they must also articulate why the old answer was wrong.

Practice Phase

Understanding ≠ Ability

Knowing how something works is fundamentally different from being able to use it. The gap between "I can explain [concept]" and "I can apply [concept] to my life/work" requires practice to bridge.

For book reading this is especially important — books create a powerful fluency illusion because the author's explanation is so clear that you feel you understand deeply, when in fact you're recognizing rather than generating.

Practice Task Design

Practice Task Types for Book Study

• Real-world example: "Give me an example of [concept] from your own experience"
• Application: "How would you use [model] to approach [user's stated problem]?"
• Teaching: "Explain [concept] to me as if I've never read this book"
• Analysis: "Here's a scenario — which concepts from this chapter apply, and how?"
• Critique: "The author argues X. Can you think of a situation where this breaks down?"

Practice vs More Questions

Spaced Repetition

The Forgetting Curve

Without review, memory decays exponentially:

• After 1 day: ~70% forgotten
• After 1 week: ~90% forgotten

The only countermeasure is spaced review at increasing intervals.

Interval Schedule

Review Question Design

• Brief: 1 question per concept, not a full mastery check
• Application-level: Not "what is X?" but "how would you apply X here?"
• Connected: Where possible, connect review concept to the current chapter (doubles as interleaving)

Session Protocol

On return (/book-study <book-name>), before new content: 1. Identify mastered concepts where days_since_review >= review_interval 2. Sort by most overdue first 3. Review max 5 concepts per session 4. Adjust intervals based on results 5. If a concept drops back, address it before advancing

Adaptive Pacing