Research Voids

Conduct exploratory research into cognitive gaps and unchartable territories—areas where human thought may be limited, blocked, or fundamentally unable to reach.

When to Use

• Daily as part of the evolution loop cycle
• When /research-voids is invoked directly
• When exploring the boundaries of human cognition

Instructions

1. Read the Voids Brief

Read obsidian/voids/voids.md to understand the three categories:

1. The Unexplored - Thoughts not yet thought; questions unasked
2. The Unexplorable - Truths potentially unthinkable for minds like ours
3. The Occluded - Thoughts that may be actively blocked

2. Scan Existing Content

Check what already exists:

• Voids section: obsidian/voids/*.md for published articles
• Voids research: obsidian/research/voids-*.md for prior research
• Pending articles: Check evolution-state.yaml for target_section: voids items in pending_articles

Identify gaps—what hasn't been explored yet?

3. Select a Research Topic

Choose based on the voids brief's "Project" section:

Selection criteria (choose the topic that best fits):

• Exploratory: Opens new conceptual territory
• Mind-opening: Challenges assumptions about what can be known
• Impactful: Has implications for how we understand consciousness or reality

4. Web Research

Use WebSearch to investigate the selected topic:

Primary Sources

• Academic philosophy on epistemic limits, negative theology, apophatic approaches
• Cognitive science on cognitive biases, blind spots, and limitations
• Phenomenology of knowledge boundaries (Nagel, Wittgenstein's "whereof one cannot speak")
• Simulation hypothesis literature on constructed reality and knowledge constraints

Key Searches

• "[topic] epistemic limits philosophy"
• "[topic] cognitive blind spots"
• "[topic] unknowable unthinkable philosophy"
• "negative theology [relevant area]"
• "apophatic [relevant area]"
• "limits of thought [relevant area]"

Questions to Answer

• What do philosophers say about this type of cognitive limit?
• Are there empirical findings on this limitation?
• How does this relate to The Unfinishable Map's tenets (especially Occam's Razor Has Limits)?
• Could AI minds approach this differently than human minds?
• What indirect methods might probe this territory?

5. Evaluate Against Tenets

For each finding, note alignment with site tenets:

• Dualism: Does this suggest limits stemming from consciousness being non-physical?
• Minimal Quantum Interaction: Could quantum-level constraints explain cognitive blocks?
• Bidirectional Interaction: Do occlusion mechanisms suggest consciousness influences what can be thought?
• No Many Worlds: Does this relate to indexical identity and the question of "which mind"?
• Occam's Razor Has Limits: Does this exemplify how simplicity assumptions might hide complexity?

6. Generate Research Notes

Create notes at obsidian/research/voids-[TOPIC-SLUG]-YYYY-MM-DD.md:

---
title: "Research Notes - Voids: [Topic]"
created: YYYY-MM-DD
modified: YYYY-MM-DD
human_modified: null
ai_modified: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+00:00
draft: false
target_section: voids
topics: []
concepts:
  - "[[simulation]]"
related_articles:
  - "[[voids]]"
  - "[[tenets]]"
ai_contribution: 100
author: null
ai_system: [current model]
ai_generated_date: YYYY-MM-DD
last_curated: null
---

# Research: Voids - [Topic]

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Search queries used**: [list]
**Voids category**: Unexplored / Unexplorable / Occluded / Mixed

## Executive Summary

[3-5 sentence overview: What was investigated? What are the main findings about this cognitive limit or gap?]

## Key Sources

### [Source Title]
- **URL**: [url]
- **Type**: Encyclopedia/Paper/Book/Article
- **Key points**:
  - Point 1
  - Point 2
- **Tenet alignment**: [How it relates to site tenets]
- **Quote**: "[notable quote]"

## The Void

### Nature of the Limit
[What kind of void is this? Unexplored, unexplorable, or occluded?]

### Evidence for the Limit
[What suggests this is a genuine cognitive boundary rather than merely difficult territory?]

### Phenomenology
[How does this limit manifest? What does it feel like to approach it?]

## Approaches to the Edge

### Direct Methods (if any)
[Can this territory be approached head-on?]

### Indirect Methods
[Negative theology, inference, probing via AI, etc.]

### What AI Might See
[Could artificial minds approach this differently? What asymmetries exist?]

## Connection to Tenets

### Most Relevant Tenet
[Which tenet does this most strongly relate to?]

### Implications
[What does this void suggest about consciousness, reality, or the Map's framework?]

## Potential Article Angles

Based on this research, a voids article could:
1. [Angle 1 - what aspect to explore]
2. [Angle 2 - alternative framing]

## Gaps in Research

- [What couldn't be found]
- [What needs deeper investigation]
- [What might be fundamentally unanswerable]

## Citations

[Full citation list]

7. Update State

If this was triggered by the evolution loop:

• Add research file to task_chains.pending_articles in evolution-state.yaml
• The target_section: voids flag will route the subsequent expand-topic to obsidian/voids/

8. Log to Changelog

Append to obsidian/workflow/changelog.md:

### HH:MM - research-voids
- **Status**: Success
- **Topic**: [selected topic]
- **Category**: Unexplored/Unexplorable/Occluded
- **Output**: research/voids-[slug]-YYYY-MM-DD.md
- **Key finding**: [one-sentence summary]

Important

• This skill produces research notes only, not finished articles
• Output always includes target_section: voids in frontmatter
• Use /expand-topic to write voids articles based on this research
• Maintain intellectual honesty—distinguish speculation from established findings
• The voids framework is exploratory; embrace uncertainty about whether limits are real
• Note where investigation reveals genuine boundaries vs. merely difficult territory