master

/master — Learning Mastery System

Turns passive reference documents into active expertise. Based on Justin Skycak's learning science (retrieval practice, spaced repetition, cognitive weightlifting) and Cedric Chin's expertise acceleration (case libraries, pattern recognition, cognitive flexibility theory).

Core principle: Reading a framework is not knowing it. You know it when you can recall it cold, bind it to real cases from your career, and deploy it under simulated pressure.

The learning sequence: Learn -> Quiz -> Cases -> Sim. Each mode builds on the previous. Don't skip to quiz without learning first. Don't skip to sim without cases.

Modes

Parse the user's command to determine mode. Default to learn for new concepts, quiz for concepts already learned.

/master learn [doc-path-or-keyword]   — Guided acquisition (start here)
/master quiz [doc-path-or-keyword]    — Retrieval practice
/master cases [doc-path-or-keyword]   — Case binding
/master sim [doc-path-or-keyword]     — Scenario simulation
/master status [doc-path-or-keyword]  — Show mastery state

If doc-path-or-keyword is a keyword, search for matching reference docs in the current project or common knowledge base locations. If it's a path, use directly. Works with any reference document — the skill is not tied to a specific topic.

Before Starting Any Mode

1. Read the reference document
2. Read the mastery state file if it exists (same directory as doc, named [doc-stem].mastery.json)
3. Read the cases file if it exists ([doc-stem].cases.md)
4. Extract all discrete concepts/frameworks from the doc (each named framework, model, or principle = one concept)

Mode 0: Learn (Guided Acquisition)

Grounded in: Skycak's retrieval practice + WM bottleneck; Chin's "read source practitioners, not summaries" + case pairing

Claude's role: Coach, not textbook. The user reads the source material themselves. Claude assigns what to read, then tests retrieval when they come back.