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Concept Explainer Template

What makes a concept page reusable?

A concept page explains one idea well enough that a reader can reuse it.

Use this when the page job is concept.

Frontmatter​

type: concept
template: concept-explainer-template
template_url: /playbook/standards/templates/concept-explainer-template
claim_state: REALITY | DREAM | CONSUMED
retrieval_trigger: "When should a future human or agent pull this page?"
loop_phase: evolution
level: working

Shape​

  1. Open with the problem.
  2. Ask the question the page answers.
  3. Name the decision this idea improves.
  4. Explain the core move in one plain sentence.
  5. Say what it replaces.
  6. Show how to apply it.
  7. Name where it breaks.
  8. End with the falsifier and next question.

Skill Reference Use​

Operational skills may cite a concept page as source doctrine. Make that useful by naming the capability, human edge, boundary, and proof signal in public language.

Do not link public pages to private skill paths. Let skills reference the playbook, not the other way around.

Skeleton​

TITLE

Problem: WHAT IS STUCK?

Question: WHAT MUST THE READER UNDERSTAND?

Decision: WHAT CHOICE GETS BETTER?

ONE-SENTENCE IDEA.

## Core Move

What changes when the reader understands this idea?

## Why It Matters

What does this make easier, safer, faster, or clearer?

## How to Use

What should the reader do with it?

## Limits

Where does the idea fail or need context?

Changes my mind: What would make this idea wrong, obsolete, or too weak to keep?

## Retrieval

When should a future human or agent pull this page?

Version delta: What belief, route, or knowledge changed in this update?

## Context

- [Related page](/playbook/)

## Questions

Next question: What constraint should the next loop inspect?

Checks​

  • The page teaches one model, not a list of facts.
  • The first screen names the problem, question, decision, and one-sentence idea.
  • Every section advances the same concept.
  • claim_state, retrieval_trigger, Changes my mind, and Next question are visible.
  • Links add context instead of replacing the explanation.
  • A skill author could extract the capability, human edge, boundary, and proof signal without inventing new doctrine.

Failure Modes​

  • The page becomes a hub and routes before it explains.
  • It acts like a playbook and gives steps before meaning.
  • Definitions pile up without showing why the idea matters.

Context​

Questions​

What must the reader understand after this page?

  • Can the reader restate the idea in one sentence?
  • Does the page explain one model, or does it hide a list?
  • What evidence would change this page?
  • When should an agent retrieve this page?
  • Which linked page should handle action, evidence, or routing?