idea-lineage - Single-Idea Evolution Through the Brain

Convention: see conventions/quality.md for citation rules, quote fidelity, and source-backed claims.

Boundary: see docs/takes-vs-facts.md for the distinction between holder-attributed takes and the brain owner's hot facts. Do not collapse those layers when summarizing lineage.

What this solves

Users often want to understand how one idea changed across time: when it first appeared, when it became sharp, what it displaced, what it contradicted, and what version is alive now. That is different from building a whole concept map and different from charting an entity's metric trajectory.

Use this skill when the user asks about one idea, topic, phrase, or concept page and wants its evolution through the brain.

Canonical examples:

• "Run idea lineage on founder-led sales."
• "How has my thinking about compounding trust changed?"
• "What is my current version of this idea?"
• "Where did this idea come from, and what did I abandon along the way?"

What this is not

• Not concept-synthesis: that skill deduplicates many concept stubs, tiers them, writes concept pages, and builds a broad intellectual map.
• Not find_trajectory: that operation charts typed facts or event rows for an entity, such as MRR, role, location, or status over time.
• Not a contradiction-probe runner: this skill may read cached contradiction findings when available, but it does not launch expensive probes.
• Not a writing mode by default: do not write a lineage page unless the user explicitly asks for a saved artifact after seeing the read-only answer.

Contract

This skill guarantees: