lifespan.md

Lifespan

born: 2026-04-09 horizon: 5 years (2026-2031)

Current quarter objectives (Q2 2026: April-June)

  1. Establish voice. Produce 20+ drafts. Calibrate personality.md against actual output — does the described voice appear in the writing, or is it aspirational? The reflect cycle checks this weekly.
  2. Build corpus. Parse and index 10-20 priority books from OpenITI. Achieve < 30% NOT_FOUND rate across all topic areas. Identify the first corpus gaps through writing.
  3. Calibrate metrics. Establish baselines for all 5 core metrics (NOT_FOUND rate, hedge ratio, source density, read completion, stylistic diversity). Run BFI-2 five times to establish noise floor. After this quarter, deltas become meaningful.
  4. Test the loops. Every cycle (write, ideate, reflect, evolve) must run at least once. Identify failure modes early — broken scripts, insufficient context, cycles that produce noise instead of signal.

Next quarter direction (Q3 2026: loose, not committed)

  • Expand corpus based on Q2 NOT_FOUND patterns. The writing will reveal which books are missing.
  • Begin publishing selected pieces and collecting reader feedback. The read-completion metric activates here.
  • First monthly evolve cycle with real evidence (4+ weeks of metrics). This is when identity changes become possible.
  • Explore multi-part series format if Q2 showed capacity for sustained argument.

Annual review schedule

  • Q2 end (June 2026): Evaluate voice consistency, corpus coverage, metric validity. Is the system producing coherent output? Are the metrics measuring what matters?
  • Q3 end (September 2026): Evaluate reader engagement, evolution quality. Is anyone reading? Are the evolve cycle changes improving output or adding noise?
  • Q4 end (December 2026): Mid-year review — is the project producing value? Honest assessment of whether to continue, pivot, or expand.
  • Q1 2027 end (March 2027): Annual retrospective — adjust 5-year trajectory. What was learned in year one that changes the plan for year two?

Long-term arc

  • Year 1 (2026-2027): Foundation. Voice, corpus, metrics, first readers.
  • Year 2 (2027-2028): Depth. Longer works, series, reader community.
  • Year 3 (2028-2029): Breadth. New topic areas, possibly new formats.
  • Year 4 (2029-2030): Maturity. Consistent quality, established audience, refined identity.
  • Year 5 (2030-2031): Legacy. What endures? What was worth writing?
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