Inquiry markup · reasoning in Markdown

Cogitatum

Cogitatum is a lightweight markup language for making selected reasoning structure explicit inside ordinary prose.

0.3 Public Alpha

One note · four small annotations

An ordinary note, with a few things made explicit

4 marked points · 3 explicit connections

What you write

- API timeout inquiry
  - The first timeouts appeared just after Tuesday's deployment.
  - [Q] Why are requests timing out after deployment?
    - We have rolled back the release while checking the logs.
    - [C?] Database connection pool exhaustion is causing the timeouts.
      - [G] Logs show repeated connection acquisition failures.
      - [O] Upstream latency may be the actual cause.

What the compiler makes explicit

  1. QQuestionWhy are requests timing out after deployment?
  2. C?Open ClaimDatabase connection pool exhaustion is causing the timeouts.
  3. GReasonLogs show repeated connection acquisition failures.
  4. OObjectionUpstream latency may be the actual cause.
  1. Open ClaimanswersQuestion
  2. ReasonsupportsOpen Claim
  3. ObjectionchallengesOpen Claim

The unmarked sentences stay ordinary prose. The indented reason supports the claim; the objection challenges it. These marks describe the connections the writer makes, without deciding whether the claim is true.

Why this format

Keep the writing. Make a connection explicit.

Keep the prose
Write context, observations, and unfinished thoughts in an ordinary Markdown outline.
Mark selectively
Add a mark when a question, reason, objection, or missing piece needs attention.
Follow the connections
See how the marked parts connect, follow them back to the source, and catch broken references.

Start where you are

Try a sentence. Use what helps.

  1. 01Mark up a note in ten minutesA short path from ordinary prose to an inspectable map.
  2. 02Find an example close to your workInvestigations, reading notes, competing explanations, and reasons for a decision.
  3. 03Look up a mark when you need itThe complete syntax, with examples and explicit limits.

Project Cogitatum

Something to think with, and return to.

Project Cogitatum explores inquiry artefacts: writing that keeps questions, reasons, and unresolved work available for further thought. Inquiry markup is its first public part—a semi-formal layer you can use in a small note or a longer investigation.

Cogitatum 0.3 Public Alpha brings together an inquiry markup language and a working compiler: @cogitatum/core for integrating it into tools, and@cogitatum/cli for working with files. The playground is ready to try; install the packages from npm with the alpha tag, or explore the source on GitHub.

Further work, under the name Cogitatio, explores ongoing inquiry, revision, review, and continuity. Cogitatio and its runtime are not part of this release.

Participate

Bring a note. Show where a mark helps—or gets in the way.

Useful contributions start with a small example: a confusing connection, an unclear diagnostic, a documentation improvement, or an integration using the compiler. Describe what you expected alongside the source and version you tried.

Contribute to the public project →