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:

The Unexplored - Thoughts not yet thought; questions unasked
The Unexplorable - Truths potentially unthinkable for minds like ours
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:

| Area | Questions to Explore | |------|---------------------| | Where the voids are | What questions does our framework suggest we cannot answer? Where do the tenets point toward limits? | | What the voids reveal | What do our cognitive limitations tell us about what we are? How does the shape of our blind spots illuminate the shape of our minds? | | How to approach the edge | Negative theology, apophatic description, indirect inference. AI-assisted probing of territories human minds cannot access. | | Whether the voids are real | Is what seems unthinkable merely unthought? Is what feels occluded merely difficult? | | What slips away | Thoughts that won't stick. Patterns in what we keep failing to think. Phenomenology of cognitive avoidance. |

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