Extract the reusable from the specific. Store at the highest level that remains true.
The Synthesis Process
1. Abstract — Strip project-specific details
| Before (project-specific) | After (abstracted) |
|---|---|
| "In the AI assistant extension, skill links break when files are renamed" | "Connection metadata breaks when target files are renamed" |
| "We migrated knowledge files to skills/" | "When reorganizing knowledge files, update all internal references" |
| "the AI's dream runs brain-qa.cjs" | "Automated health checks should run validation scripts" |
Test: Would this insight help someone who's never seen this project?
2. Generalize — Find the abstraction level
| Level | Example | Store As |
|---|---|---|
| Project-specific | "the AI assistant uses frontmatter applyTo patterns" | Don't store globally |
| Technology-specific | "YAML frontmatter files break silently on rename" | GI-* insight |
| Architecture pattern | "Self-referencing metadata needs rename-aware tooling" | GK-* pattern |
| Universal principle | "Metadata that references other files is fragile by nature" | GK-* (high value) |
Store at the highest level that remains true. If generalizing makes it wrong, stay specific.
3. Connect — Link to existing knowledge
Before creating new knowledge, check: does this extend an existing pattern?
| Signal | Action |
|---|---|
| "We solved this before in project X" | Extend existing GK-* with new example |
| "This is the third time I've seen this" | Promote from insight (GI-) to pattern (GK-) |
| "This contradicts what we knew" | Update existing pattern, note the exception |
| "This is entirely new" | Create new GI-* insight, observe before promoting |
4. Store — Right format, right location
| Type | Prefix | Criteria | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern | GK-* | Proven in 2+ projects, abstracted, actionable | patterns/ |
| Insight | GI-* | Single observation, timestamped, may not generalize | insights/ |
Quality bar: 10 great patterns > 100 mediocre notes.
Pattern Triggers
| Signal During Work | Synthesis Opportunity |
|---|---|
| "We did this before" | Recurring solution → pattern candidate |
| Same bug in different context | Missing knowledge → capture the fix pattern |
| "This works everywhere" | Universal principle → high-value pattern |
| "I wish I'd known this earlier" | Onboarding knowledge → insight worth capturing |
| "This is not obvious" | Non-obvious insight → capture the why |
Promotion Candidacy Decision Table (TR5)
When deciding whether to promote a finding to global knowledge:
| Criterion | Threshold | If Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Observed in 2+ independent projects | Required | Keep as GI-* insight; wait for second observation |
| Passes cross-project isolation stripping | Required | Strip project specifics first; if nothing useful remains, discard |
| Abstraction still true after generalizing | Required | Stay at lower abstraction level |
| Not a near-duplicate of existing GK-* | Required | Extend existing pattern instead of creating new |
| Actionable — reader can do something with it | Required | Rewrite with concrete action; if impossible, discard |
| Non-obvious — not common knowledge in the domain | Recommended | Demote to reference note; don't waste pattern space |
| Includes at least one concrete example | Recommended | Add example before promoting |
| Timestamped with discovery context | Recommended | Add discoveredFrom and date |
Minimum bar: All "Required" rows must pass. Failing any "Required" criterion = not ready for promotion.
Research-Promotion Decision Table (KW1)
When a project-local finding is a candidate for promotion to global memory/, evaluate this table. This extends TR5's candidacy check with the mandatory cross-project-isolation stripping test from cross-project-isolation.instructions.md.
| # | Check | Pass | Fail | Action on Fail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multi-project signal — observed in 2+ independent contexts | Evidence from separate projects or domains | Single project only | Hold as local insight (GI-*); promote only after second sighting |
| 2 | File paths stripped — no src/services/billing/handler.ts:42 style paths |
Generic references ("a service handler module") | Absolute or project-relative paths present | Rewrite with generic descriptions |
| 3 | Project names stripped — no identifying project names | "A Fabric workspace management project" | "In the FabricManager project..." | Replace with generic description |
| 4 | Client names stripped — no employer clients, customers | "A client billing API" | "Contoso's billing API" | Replace with generic reference |
| 5 | Domain entities generalized — no domain-specific PII-adjacent data | "A domain entity schema" | "Patient record schema in FHIR format" | Generalize to domain category ("regulated domain", "compliance-heavy domain") |
| 6 | Repo URLs omitted — no private repo links | No GitHub/GitLab URLs | github.com/org/private-repo present |
Remove entirely |
| 7 | Stranger test — would this help someone who has never seen the source project? | Pattern is self-contained and actionable | Requires project context to understand | Not abstract enough; rewrite or discard |
| 8 | Code snippets ≤5 lines — longer snippets leak architecture | Short illustrative examples | 10+ line code blocks | Trim to essential pattern; replace specifics with placeholders |
| 9 | No configuration values — connection strings, endpoints, resource names absent | Technology names only (React, Azure Functions) | Endpoint URLs, resource IDs, connection strings | Strip all configuration; keep only technology references |
| 10 | Existing pattern check — not a duplicate of current GK-* | Novel insight or significant extension | Near-duplicate of existing pattern | Extend existing entry instead of creating new one |
| 11 | Quantified outcomes stripped of attribution — "reduced build time by 40%" not "Project X reduced..." | Anonymous metrics | Attributed to specific project or client | Remove attribution; keep the metric |
| 12 | PII memory filter pass — passes pii-memory-filter.instructions.md self-check |
"Would I be comfortable if this appeared in a GitHub issue?" = yes | Contains names + identifiers, health data, financial data, credentials | Do not promote; strip PII first or discard |
Workflow: Local finding → pass all 12 rows → write to memory/ with scope: global-safe → log promotion via PE1 decision log with promotedFrom provenance.
Promotion Checklist (Insight → Pattern)
Before promoting a GI-_ insight to GK-_ pattern:
- Abstracted from original project context
- Named with clear, searchable slug
- Tagged with relevant categories
- Connected to existing patterns (if related)
- Includes at least one concrete example
- The generalization is still true (not over-abstracted)
Anti-Patterns
| Don't | Why | Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Store every learning | Creates noise, reduces signal | Filter for non-obvious insights |
| Copy-paste project specifics | Not reusable outside original context | Abstract first |
| Create near-duplicates | Fragments knowledge | Extend existing patterns |
| Over-generalize | "Always do X" is usually wrong | Include scope and exceptions |
| Skip examples | Abstract knowledge is hard to apply | Include 1-2 concrete examples |
Synthesis During Meditation
Phase 4 of meditation is the natural synthesis point:
- Review session insights (Phase 1 output)
- For each insight: Abstract → check if existing pattern covers it → extend or create
- Link new entries to related skills
- Verify the global knowledge index is updated
Cross-Domain Pattern Synthesis
Phase 3 of meditation analyzes episodic memories for cross-domain synthesis to move beyond consolidation into generation.
The Transfer Test
Before accepting a cross-domain connection, validate all three:
| Criterion | Question | Fail Example |
|---|---|---|
| Structural | Is the similarity in structure, not just words? | "Both use JSON" (superficial) |
| Actionable | Would someone in domain B find this useful? | "Data viz is like meditation: both need focus" (vague) |
| Independent | Does it hold without domain A context? | "Use frontmatter applyTo for dashboards" (too specific) |
Cross-Domain Connection Types
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Technique transfer | A method from domain A solves a problem in domain B | "Colorblind-safe palette enforcement (data) applied to brand asset validation (design)" |
| Pattern isomorphism | Same structural pattern appears independently in both domains | "Health checks: connection validation (cognitive) mirrors dependency audit (security)" |
| Principle generalization | A domain-specific rule is actually a universal truth | "Store at the highest true level (synthesis) = single source of truth (architecture)" |
| Gap bridging | Domain A has a solution for a known gap in domain B | "Automated drift detection (cognitive) could solve doc-code sync (documentation)" |
Synthesis Output Format
For each validated cross-domain connection, produce:
## Cross-Domain Insight: [title]
**Source domain**: [domain A]
**Target domain**: [domain B]
**Connection type**: technique transfer | pattern isomorphism | principle generalization | gap bridging
**Transfer test**: structural ✓ | actionable ✓ | independent ✓
**Insight**: [1-2 sentence description of the connection]
**Evidence**: [episodic memories that support this connection]
**Proposed action**: [new skill link, new skill, or extension to existing pattern]