git:20260908.2ec1bf8 to v1.0.0

- description: >-

- Have the second brain ask the owner five hard questions about their own long-held beliefs and

- codex entries that have not been revisited, so assumptions stop fossilizing. Monthly or on

- demand. Triggers: "/five-hard", "challenge my beliefs", "pressure-test my views".

- license: MIT

- # /five-hard — five hard questions

- > 🧒 When reporting to a non-technical operator, end with a child-simple "In plain words" recap in their language.

- **Why:** the identity layer (`belief-*` + `concept-bible-*`, ~24 notes) is "how I think".

- That gets dangerous once part of it is wrong and nobody has checked. Here the brain itself starts the pressure-test.

- `python "$IMPORTS_ROOT/five_hard_pick.py"` -> the 5 most stagnant notes (oldest mtime)

- -> `$IMPORTS_ROOT/_five_hard_pick.json`. Override: env `FIVE_HARD_N=7`.

- ## The questions (top-model quality — identity synthesis, not grunt work)

- Read each note IN FULL and give ONE hard question per note:

- N. **[<stem>]** — <the owner's thesis in your own words>

- Question: <sharp, Socratic, capable of forcing a rethink>

- Why it is hard: <which counter-fact or trend could flip it>

- Style: Socratic — not "you are wrong" but "what makes you sure today?"; lean on CONCRETE recent

- signals; `epistemic-neutrality`; aim at the UNTESTED edge (the "tension / nuance" section),

- not at the part already reflected on. "The rule still stands" is a valid answer (`bible-as-prompt`).

- ## Recording the answer (long memory; backup-first: vault_backup.py)

- -> `$OBSIDIAN_VAULT/04-Coach/_Five-Hard/five-hard-YYYY-MM-DD.md`

- `tags: [five-hard, coach, identity-layer]`. Body: the questions + the owner's answers verbatim;

- if they changed position, propose a diff to the belief/bible note with `supersedes:` (via `/intake`). NO 🧒 block inside the note.

- Cron `five-hard-monthly`: 1st of the month, 05:25 Lisbon (the briefing window, `routines-run-at-night`).

- Picker -> questions (top-model subagent) -> **the fleet log chat** via `python $USERPROFILE/.claude/scripts/bus_ping.py --post "..."`

- (canon: alerts go to the fleet log chat, never to Saved Messages) + "answer by voice or text, I will file it into the vault".

- The manual twin is this skill; the single source of truth is the picker.

-

- ## Related

- [[self-bible-identity-layer]] · [[bible-as-prompt]] · [[epistemic-neutrality]] · /coach (daily) vs

- /five-hard (monthly). Active-brain map A-E: item B. ⚠️ Restored 2026-07-04 after the 2026-06-24 migration wipe.

-

-

- ---

-

-

- <!--kit-footer-->

-

- ---

-

- **Like this skill?** It is one of 100 in [second-brain-starter-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit): the second brain we built for ourselves and run every day at Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Install the whole set with `npx skills add tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit`. Everything is open source and free, so take what you need.

-

- Flagships worth a look on their own: [secondop-panel](https://github.com/tonydzi/secondop-panel) (a second opinion from a panel of external models), [claude-memory-tidy](https://github.com/tonydzi/claude-memory-tidy) (stop your agent's memory from rotting), [telegram-mcp-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/telegram-mcp-kit) (your own Telegram over MCP in about 15 minutes).

-

- Author: **Anton Dziatkovskii**, Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Telegram [@tonydzi](https://t.me/tonydzi) - WhatsApp [+1 341 222 9178](https://wa.me/13412229178) - X [@Tony_Stef_](https://x.com/Tony_Stef_)

- **Engineers: want to test-drive this setup?** Message me. I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back, and custom skill requests are welcome.