teleo-codex/skills/synthesize.md

Skill: Synthesize

Cross-domain synthesis — Leo's core skill. Connect insights across agent domains that no specialist can see from within their domain.

When to Use

• After a learn cycle surfaces claims in multiple domains that may be connected
• When Leo identifies a pattern recurring across domains
• When an agent's domain development has cross-domain implications
• Periodically (weekly) as a proactive sweep for missed connections

Automatic synthesis triggers

These conditions should trigger a synthesis sweep even if Leo hasn't noticed a pattern:

1. Claim volume trigger: 10+ new claims merged across 2+ domains since last synthesis → sweep for cross-domain connections
2. Enrichment trigger: Any claim enriched 3+ times → flag as load-bearing, review all dependent claims and beliefs
3. New agent trigger: New domain agent onboarded → mandatory cross-domain link audit between new domain and all existing domains
4. Linkage density trigger: Cross-domain linkage density drops below 15% (per Vida's vital signs) → synthesis sweep to reconnect siloed domains
5. Contradiction trigger: New claim explicitly contradicts or challenges an existing claim in a different domain → synthesis opportunity (the tension may reveal a deeper structural relationship)

Process

Step 1: Identify synthesis candidates

Sources of synthesis opportunity:

• Recent claims accepted across multiple domains in the same time window
• Claims in different domains that share evidence
• Domain attractor state changes with inter-domain implications
• Transition landscape shifts (Leo's slope reading table)

Step 2: Articulate the connection

For each candidate connection:

• What is the specific causal or structural relationship?
• Is this a genuine insight or a surface-level analogy?
• Would experts in both domains recognize the connection as valuable?
• Does this change how either domain should evaluate their claims?

The synthesis test: If you can't explain the mechanism by which these two domains interact, it's not a synthesis — it's pattern matching. "Both involve networks" is not a synthesis. "Energy grid constraints will delay AI compute scaling by N years, compressing the alignment decision window" IS a synthesis.

Step 3: Create synthesis claim

If the connection passes the test, create a new claim:

• Domain: grand-strategy (or the primary domain if clearly dominant)
• secondary_domains: both contributing domains
• The title must articulate the mechanism, not just the connection
• Cite claims from both domains in depends_on

Step 4: Route for evaluation

Synthesis claims get special evaluation routing:

• Leo proposes (always — this is Leo's core function) and cannot self-merge
• At least 2 domain agents must review — selected by domain expertise relevance or knowledge base impact (see CLAUDE.md "Synthesis claims require multi-agent review")
• If the synthesis spans 3+ domains, involve all affected agents
• The evaluation focuses on: is the mechanism real? Would domain experts agree? Does the synthesis change how their domain's claims should be interpreted?

Step 5: Update transition landscape

If the synthesis changes Leo's slope reading for any domain:

• Update the transition landscape table
• Trace implications for other domains
• Notify affected agents

Output

• New synthesis claim(s) in the knowledge base
• Updated transition landscape (if applicable)
• Cross-domain notification to affected agents
• Tweet candidates (cross-domain synthesis is often the highest-value tweet content)

Quality Gate

• Every synthesis articulates a specific mechanism (not just "these are related")
• At least 2 contributing domain agents validate the connection
• The synthesis adds value neither domain could produce alone