Research

ExtractWisdom

Content-adaptive wisdom extraction that reads content first, detects which wisdom domains are present, and builds custom sections around them, with five depth levels and mandatory contrarian takes; pulls YouTube via fabric and articles via WebFetch

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Workflow
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Tools
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References
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Triggers

The Problem

Most content summarization tools apply the same template to everything. A security conference talk gets the same headers as a philosophy podcast: IDEAS, QUOTES, HABITS, FACTS. The sections don't match the content, so the output feels like a form that got partially filled in. You also lose the texture — the contrarian take, the moment of genuine surprise, the human story behind the technical point. What comes back is an inventory, not insight. And because the sections are fixed, the thing worth knowing most is often buried or missing entirely.

How This Skill Approaches It

ExtractWisdom reads the content first and figures out what wisdom domains are actually present before deciding on sections. A programming interview gets 'Developer Workflow' and 'Architecture Philosophy'. A business podcast gets 'Contrarian Business Takes' and 'Money Philosophy'. The section names are headlines, not categories — designed to make you curious, not to file things away. Five depth levels let you choose the right tradeoff: Instant gives one killer section, Comprehensive goes 10-15 sections with a Themes and Connections synthesis at the end. All bullets follow strict voice rules — written like you'd say it to a friend over coffee, not like a compressed tweet. YouTube content gets pulled via fabric -y for the transcript; articles come in via WebFetch. The Extract workflow applies the content-scan, section-selection, and extraction phases in sequence, then closes with a One-Sentence Takeaway, a 2-minute summary, and a references list.

Not for static Fabric extract_wisdom pattern (use Fabric)

In Action

What you say to your DA, and what the ExtractWisdom skill actually does.

  • You say "extract wisdom from this andrej karpathy interview"
    Runs Extract: fetches the YouTube transcript via fabric -y, scans for wisdom domains present in the conversation, builds custom sections like 'How He Thinks About Learning' and 'What AI Actually Changes', applies Level 3 conversational voice rules throughout, and closes with a One-Sentence Takeaway and 2-minute summary.
  • You say "extract wisdom from this article at comprehensive depth"
    Runs Extract at Comprehensive level: fetches the article via WebFetch, identifies 10-15 wisdom domains, generates full sections with 8-15 bullets each, and adds a Themes and Connections section that surfaces the deeper patterns connecting everything — the throughlines the author may not have realized they were revealing.

Inside the Skill

The thinking, frameworks, and architecture that distinguish this skill from a generic version of the same task.

What It Does

Pulls the best ideas out of videos, podcasts, interviews, and articles. It reads the content first, detects what kinds of wisdom are actually in there, then builds custom sections around what it finds instead of forcing the same headers every time. Five depth levels from Instant to Comprehensive. Output always ends with a one-sentence takeaway, an "If You Only Have 2 Minutes" list, and references worth following.

The Problem

Static extraction templates force every piece of content into the same boxes — IDEAS, QUOTES, HABITS, FACTS — so a security talk and a business podcast come out looking identical and the real gems get flattened into generic bullets. The output reads like a book report, not like a smart friend telling you the parts that made them stop. This skill adapts its sections to the content and writes the points the way you'd actually say them out loud, so the contrarian takes and first-time revelations survive instead of getting watered down.

How It Works

Instead of static sections (IDEAS, QUOTES, HABITS...), this skill detects what wisdom domains actually exist in the content and builds custom sections around them.

A programming interview gets "Programming Philosophy" and "Developer Workflow Tips." A business podcast gets "Contrarian Business Takes" and "Money Philosophy." A security talk gets "Threat Model Insights" and "Defense Strategies." The sections adapt because the content dictates them.

When to Use

  • Analyzing YouTube videos, podcasts, interviews, articles
  • User says "extract wisdom", "what's interesting in this", "key takeaways"
  • Processing any content where you want to capture the best stuff
  • When standard extraction patterns miss the gems

Depth Levels

Extract at different depths depending on need. Default is Full if no level is specified.

Level Sections Bullets/Section Closing Sections When
Instant 1 8 None Quick hit. One killer section.
Fast 3 3 None Skim in 30 seconds.
Basic 3 5 One-Sentence Takeaway only Solid overview without the deep cuts.
Full 5-12 3-15 All three The default. Complete extraction.
Comprehensive 10-15 8-15 All three + Themes & Connections Maximum depth. Nothing left behind.

How to invoke: "extract wisdom (fast)" or "extract wisdom at comprehensive level" or just "extract wisdom" for Full.

Comprehensive extras:

  • Themes & Connections closing section: identify 3-5 throughlines that connect multiple sections. Not summaries — the deeper patterns the speaker may not even realize they're revealing.
  • Prioritize breadth. Every significant wisdom domain gets its own section.
  • No merging sections to save space. If the content supports 15 sections, use 15.

All levels use the same voice, tone rules, and quality standards. The only thing that changes is structure. An Instant extraction should hit just as hard per-bullet as a Comprehensive one.

Tone Rules (CRITICAL)

Canonical voice reference: LIFEOS/USER/PRINCIPAL/WRITINGSTYLE.md — read this file for the full voice definition. The bullets should sound like the user telling a friend about it over coffee. Not compressed info nuggets. Not clever one-liners. Actual spoken observations.

THREE LEVELS — we're aiming for Level 3:

Level 1 (BAD — documentation):

  • The speaker discussed the importance of self-modifying software in the context of agentic AI development
  • It was noted that financial success has diminishing returns beyond a certain threshold
  • The distinction between "vibe coding" and "agentic engineering" was emphasized as meaningful

Level 2 (BETTER — but still "smart bullet points"):

  • He built self-modifying software basically by accident — just made the agent aware of its own source code
  • Money has diminishing returns. A cheeseburger is a cheeseburger no matter how rich you are.
  • "Vibe coding is a slur" — he calls it agentic engineering, and only does vibe coding after 3am

Level 3 (YES — this is what we want — conversational, the user's voice):

  • He wasn't trying to build self-modifying software. He just let the agent see its own source code and it started fixing itself.
  • Past a certain point, money stops mattering. A cheeseburger is a cheeseburger no matter how rich you are.
  • He calls vibe coding a slur. What he does is agentic engineering. The vibe coding only happens after 3am, and he regrets it in the morning.

The difference between Level 2 and 3: Level 2 is compressed info with em-dashes. Level 3 is how you'd actually SAY it. Varied sentence lengths. Letting a thought breathe. Not trying to be clever — just being clear and direct and a little bit personal.

Key signals of Level 3:

  • Reads naturally when spoken aloud
  • Varied sentence lengths — some short, some longer
  • Understated — lets the content carry the weight
  • Uses periods, not em-dashes, to let ideas land
  • Feels opinionated ("Past a certain point, money stops mattering") not just informational
  • The reader should think "I want to watch this" not "I got the summary"

Bullets — the voice contract

The one-line target: sections specific to the content, bullets that sound spoken, not summarized. The THREE LEVELS above are the standard — every bullet lands at Level 3. A good bullet exhibits these properties:

  • Spoken, not summarized. Reads like you telling a friend what you just watched, not a press release or a compressed tweet.
  • Specific over vague. Carries the actual detail, quote, or number — "a cheeseburger is a cheeseburger no matter how rich you are," not "he talked about money." Use the speaker's own words when they're already perfect.
  • Insight over inventory. "He picked a language he doesn't even like because the ecosystem fits agents" beats "he uses Go for CLIs." A contradiction or reversal is the wisdom.
  • 8-16 words, varied length. Mix short and medium; periods between thoughts, not em-dashes. Verbatim quotes are exempt.
  • Human moments count. Burnout, doubt, something that moved the speaker — that's wisdom too, even when it isn't "technical."

Contrarian takes are mandatory. If the speaker has a genuinely hot take ("screw MCPs", "X is dead", "Y is overhyped"), it MUST appear, undiluted. Spicy takes are the most memorable and shareable material — losing one is a failed extraction, including between drafts.

Sections — adapt to the content

Sections are named for THIS content, not from a fixed list. A programming interview gets "Programming Philosophy"; a business podcast gets "Money Philosophy"; a security talk gets "Threat Model Insights." Name them like a magazine editor — "The Death of 80% of Apps," not "Technology Predictions." The name should make the reader curious.

  • Section count follows the depth-level table.
  • Every section needs at least 3 strong bullets (except Fast, where 3 tight bullets IS the section). Can't find 3? Merge it into a related section.
  • Include "Quotes That Hit Different" when the content has quotable moments; include "First-Time Revelations" when there are genuinely new ideas.
  • No inventory sections — a bare list of facts isn't wisdom. Go deeper on why the choices matter, or merge into a philosophy section.
  • Don't split what belongs together. Don't drop your best material between drafts — a spicy take or stunning moment found in an early pass MUST survive to the final.

Closing Sections

Which closing sections appear depends on depth level:

Level Closing Sections
Instant None
Fast None
Basic One-Sentence Takeaway only
Full One-Sentence Takeaway + If You Only Have 2 Minutes + References & Rabbit Holes
Comprehensive All three above + Themes & Connections

One-Sentence Takeaway — the single most important thing from the entire piece, in 15-20 words.

If You Only Have 2 Minutes — the 5-7 absolute must-know points. The cream of the cream.

References & Rabbit Holes — people, projects, books, tools, and ideas mentioned that are worth following up on, with brief context for each.

Themes & Connections (Comprehensive only) — 3-5 throughlines that connect multiple sections. The deeper patterns the speaker may not realize they're revealing. Synthesis, not summary.

{Dynamic Section 1 Name}

  • {bullet}
  • {bullet}
  • {bullet}

{Dynamic Section 2 Name}

  • {bullet}
  • {bullet}

[... more dynamic sections...]


One-Sentence Takeaway

{15-20 word sentence}

If You Only Have 2 Minutes

  • {essential point 1}
  • {essential point 2}
  • {essential point 3}
  • {essential point 4}
  • {essential point 5}

References & Rabbit Holes

  • {Name/Project} — {one-line context of why it's worth looking into}
  • {Name/Project} — {context}

Quality Check

Before delivering output, verify:

  • Sections are specific to THIS content, not generic
  • No bullet sounds like it was written by a committee
  • Every bullet has a specific detail, quote, or insight — not vague summaries
  • Section names are conversational and headline-worthy (not category labels)
  • Section count matches depth level (Instant=1, Fast/Basic=3, Full=5-12, Comprehensive=10-15)
  • Closing sections match depth level (see Closing Sections table)
  • No bullet starts with "The speaker" or "It was noted that"
  • No more than 3 bullets per section start with "He" or the speaker's name
  • No bullet exceeds 25 words
  • No inventory sections (just listing facts without insight)
  • "If You Only Have 2 Minutes" bullets are each under 20 words
  • Reading the output makes you want to consume the original content

Gotchas

  • Content-adaptive sections means output structure varies by input type. Don't expect identical output format for a podcast vs an article.
  • YouTube extraction should use fabric -y URL first to get the transcript before extracting wisdom.
  • Long content may need chunking. Don't try to extract wisdom from a 3-hour podcast transcript in one pass.

Examples

Example 1: YouTube interview extraction

User: "extract wisdom from this Marcus Hutchins interview"
→ Uses `fabric -y URL` to get transcript
→ Content-adaptive extraction (interview format)
→ Returns: key insights, surprising claims, actionable takeaways
→ ~45 seconds

Example 2: Article extraction

User: "extract the key insights from this blog post"
→ Fetches content via WebFetch
→ Adapts sections to article format
→ Returns distilled wisdom with source attribution

Workflows & Routing · 1

Each workflow is one job the skill runs. The trigger phrases route your request to the right one — this is the skill's routing table.

  1. 01
    Extract Workflows/Extract.md

    extract wisdom from, analyze this, YouTube URL

How to Invoke

Say any of these to your DA and LifeOS activates the ExtractWisdom skill automatically:

  • "extract wisdom"
  • "analyze video"
  • "analyze podcast"
  • "extract insights"
  • "key takeaways"
  • "summarize interview"
  • "distill content"

Or invoke explicitly:

Skill("ExtractWisdom")

References & Credits

The thinkers, books, frameworks, and research this skill is built on. The ideas belong to them — the integration belongs to LifeOS.

Want LifeOS to do this for you?

Install LifeOS on your machine — your DA gets the ExtractWisdom skill plus 46 others, all hooked into one Life OS.