- ELI5
- Deep Dive
Creating a BrainLift (Quick Take)
In a nutshell
A BrainLift is like a custom knowledge filter for mastering any topic.
It’s your personal AI assistant trained on curated insights, experts, and perspectives — making you smarter every time you use it.
Why It Matters
BrainLifts transform scattered research into structured expertise. Instead of drowning in information, you build focused knowledge that compounds over time.Example
What is a BrainLift?
What is a BrainLift?
A BrainLift is living knowledge structure that evolves with your understanding. It combines curated facts (DOK1), synthesized summaries (DOK2), and spiky points of view (SPOVs) to augment AI conversations with domain expertise.
Why It Matters
BrainLifts solve the expertise problem:- Focused learning — Build deep knowledge in specific domains
- Compounding insights — Each addition makes the whole stronger
- Augmented conversations — AI becomes an expert in your area
- Evolving understanding — Knowledge grows and refines over time
BrainLifts aren’t static documents — they’re dynamic knowledge systems that improve through interrogation and refinement.
Creating Your First BrainLift
Define Your Purpose
Transform broad interest into sharp focus with clear scope boundaries.Example Prompt:Target Output:
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I'm exploring CloudFlare's AI infrastructure. Help me narrow this down.
What are the clear lines between what should be In Scope and Out of Scope?
The obvious line I see is between CloudFlare's offerings directly applicable
to AI work (Workers, DO, AI gateway etc.) and their core networking/security
offerings. Are there any other clear lines we can draw?
Let's narrow this down to one or two sentences total.
One for the clear In Scope and another for the Out Scope.
- In Scope: CloudFlare’s integrated developer platform for AI agents using edge computing
- Out of Scope: Traditional CDN offerings, ML training workflows, Python-first patterns
Identify Domain Experts
Find thought leaders with skin in the game.Expert Template:
- Name: Title and affiliation
- Focus: Specific area of expertise relevant to your BrainLift
- Why Follow: Relevance to your goals (Why their perspective matters for your learning goals)
- Where: Social media and web presence
Source Initial Content
Find content exploring different perspectives on key tensions.Selection Criteria:
- Recent (within last year unless foundational)
- Takes strong positions (not marketing fluff)
- Mix of supporting, critical, and pragmatic views
- From your identified experts when possible
Extract Knowledge (DOK1 & DOK2)
Transform raw content into structured knowledge.DOK1 (Facts):DOK2 (Summaries):
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Durable Objects as Stateful Computers: Each Durable Object acts as
an Erlang-style actor at the infrastructure layer, maintaining state
with zero cold starts.
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Durable Objects Solve the Stateful Agent Problem: Traditional VMs
are slow and costly - Durable Objects provide persistent state,
global distribution, and automatic scaling in one abstraction.
Develop Initial Insights (DOK3)
Connect patterns across sources to form insights beyond individual articles.Example Insight:
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The JavaScript constraint isn't a limitation but an accelerator -
it forces architectural decisions that align with edge computing's
strengths while eliminating language context switching.
Session Starter Template
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I want to create a BrainLift about [topic].
Here's my initial interest: [2-3 sentences about what you want to learn and why].
Step 1: Help me define clear In Scope and Out of Scope sentences.
Step 2: Identify 5 experts using the format provided.
Step 3: Find me 3 recent articles taking different positions.
Once we have sources, I'll ask you to extract DOK1 facts and DOK2 summaries following the specific format I'll provide.
Pro Tips from Real Sessions
Use AI as Research Partner
Use AI as Research Partner
Don’t just ask for extractions — discuss what you’re finding. “This article argues X, but earlier we saw Y. What’s the tension here?”
Build Incrementally
Build Incrementally
Start with one strong source, extract DOKs, then find contrasting sources. Each iteration sharpens focus.
Keep Purpose Visible
Keep Purpose Visible
Paste your In Scope/Out of Scope at the start of each session to keep extractions aligned.
Look for Killer Hooks
Look for Killer Hooks
Often there’s one insight that changes everything. When you find it, dig deep.