Task arash 20260507 222028 504938
title: "Sketch handbook outline + draft chapter 1 ("Interactivity as a research medium")" date: 2026-05-07 timestamp: 20260507-222028-504938 status: done result_note: /storage2/arash/worklog/workflow/captures/20260511-161148-0aaf31/note.md completed: 2026-05-11T16:11:52+02:00 actionable: true prompt: "" source_note: "" project_primary: "" priority: medium due: "" goal: "" blocked: false blocked_by: "" tags: [handbook, writing, chapter-1]
SCOPE UPDATE (2026-05-11)¶
This task originally bundled "sketch outline + draft chapter 1." The
outline portion is discharged: the stack-axis outline now lives at
docs/handbook/_outline.md (produced by the
stack-axis spec task on 2026-05-08). The original 7-chapter substantive
sketch below is superseded by the stack-axis chapter list (10 chapter
directories, 33 sub-chapters).
The remaining work is the prose draft of what's now 00-frame/, which
is the new home of the "frame chapter" concept. 00-frame/ is split into
three sub-chapter files (already stubbed on disk; see
docs/handbook/00-frame/):
| Original chapter-1 concept | New sub-chapter (stack-axis) |
|---|---|
| The argument (workflow as manipulable object) | 00-frame/why-this-stack.md |
| The 7-paradigm taxonomy + the gap + reusable media forms | 00-frame/why-interactivity.md |
| Honest limits + Quantomatic warning | 00-frame/single-author-fragility.md |
Do not create a 01-interactivity-as-medium/ directory. Do not
rewrite _outline.md. Do not touch the 7-chapter sketch below — it's
historical record.
Task (rescoped)¶
Replace the H1+stub content in each of the three 00-frame/ sub-chapter
files with prose drafts, using the Deep Research synthesis as the
conceptual frame.
Source PDF: docs/reference/research/Interactive Mathematics Beyond the
Static Page.pdf (lands via the prior queued task
task-arash-20260507-222003-098400.md). If the PDF is not on disk at
that path when this task runs, abort with a clear error rather than
hallucinating its content.
Per sub-chapter — what to draft¶
00-frame/why-this-stack.md (~600–900 words)
- The argument: research practice has reached a maturity threshold where the workflow itself wants to be a manipulable, inspectable object — not just the final figures or the raw data. Static prose is to research practice what static images are to complex analysis.
- The stack as a coherent open-science substrate: name the seven components (BIDS, DataLad, Snakemake, Marimo, Quarto/MkDocs, projio, agentic on top), one short paragraph each on what each contributes.
- Why projio fills the missing layer: existing tools cover individual computations; the whole workflow as a manipulable object is uncovered.
- Anchor to the rest of the handbook: this chapter's vocabulary recurs throughout (cite the outline §A chapter list).
00-frame/why-interactivity.md (~700–1000 words)
- The 7-paradigm taxonomy from the Deep Research PDF, translated from mathematics to research workflow. Reproduce the table (use the version in the idea note docs/log/idea/idea-arash-20260507-221835-382557.md §"Conceptual frame").
- The gap argument: per the PDF, operator theory is math's interactivity gap; analog here is the whole research workflow as a manipulable object.
- Reusable media forms — name three the handbook will use: workflow trace, permission scope diagram, goal critical path.
- Placeholder for the marimo-WASM explorable (E1). Leave a clearly-marked iframe placeholder div with a TODO: E1 HTML comment. The real prototype lands via task task-arash-20260507-222051-589638.md. Do not draft a fake explorable.
00-frame/single-author-fragility.md (~400–600 words)
- Quantomatic precedent (from PDF): "elegant research software can become historically important before it becomes infrastructurally stable."
- Direct application: projio + worklog are single-creator today.
- The PDF's prescription: code + docs + examples + community governance. The handbook is the docs+examples leg; the workshop is the start of community. This makes the handbook+workshop pair part of projio's survival strategy, not just outreach.
- Honest limits: don't pretend the system is stable. Cite forward to 99-honest-gaps.md (also a stub on disk).
Constraints¶
- Prose only. No new chapter files. No directory creation outside what already exists.
- Preserve each stub's existing front-matter "Sources & anchors" note (the admonition block at the top of each file). Append prose below the existing "## Frame" line and replace the "## TBD" section.
- Don't draft
99-honest-gaps.md— that's a separate task (per stack-axis roadmap §3). - Don't build marimo-WASM — E1 is task D (
task-arash-20260507-222051-589638.md). - No bibliography wiring — citing the Deep Research PDF by file path is sufficient (it's not in the formal bib).
Acceptance¶
- Three files updated:
why-this-stack.md,why-interactivity.md,single-author-fragility.md— each with prose draft per above word targets - Existing stub frontmatter / admonition / outline cross-links preserved
mkdocs build --strictpasses after edits (run withconda run -n rag python -m mkdocs build --strictper current env layout; minorINFOnotes about pre-existing notio task-note typos are not blocking)- Reference to Deep Research PDF present in each chapter
Original outline sketch (HISTORICAL — superseded by stack-axis outline)¶
Suggested outline (working draft, refine)¶
- Interactivity as a research medium — frame chapter (this task)
- Reproducible foundations — BIDS, DataLad, Snakemake (workshop day 1)
- The agentic layer — Claude Code, MCP, projio scaffolding (workshop day 2 morning)
- Working with the agent — context, routing, cost, safety, when to verify (day 2 afternoon)
- The projio ecosystem — codio, biblio, figio, notio, manuscript (day 3 morning)
- Worklog as orchestrator — goals, tasks, scheduling, dispatch, multi-project (day 3 afternoon)
- Field notes — case studies, post-mortems, evolving practice (open-ended)
Adjust as needed; the handbook isn't bound to mirror the workshop exactly.
Chapter 1 specific content¶
Anchor in the Deep Research synthesis (see idea note docs/log/idea/idea-arash-20260507-221835-382557.md). Key beats:
-
The argument: research practice is now reaching a maturity threshold where the workflow itself wants to be a manipulable, inspectable object — not just the final figures or the raw data. Static prose is to research practice what static images are to complex analysis.
-
The 7-paradigm taxonomy translated from math to research workflow (table in the idea note). Use this as vocabulary for the rest of the handbook.
-
The gap (per the Deep Research): tools exist for individual computations (Jupyter, Snakemake, DataLad), but the whole workflow as a manipulable object is uncovered. projio + worklog + this handbook are filling that gap.
-
Reusable media forms: introduce the forms the handbook will use throughout — workflow trace, permission scope diagram, goal critical path.
-
A live example: an embedded marimo-WASM cell where the reader changes a single parameter (e.g., a task graph definition) and watches the worklog scheduler dispatch them in dependency order. Prototype this in a separate task, drop into chapter 1 once it works.
-
Honest limits: the doc's caution on visual systems misleading when discretization artifacts get confused with mathematics — analog warning for our case: the agent's confident output can mislead when the underlying provenance is broken.
Acceptance¶
- Outline committed to
docs/handbook/_outline.md(or whatever projio's handbook structure becomes) - Chapter 1 first draft in
docs/handbook/01-interactivity-as-medium/index.md(or.qmd) - Reference to deep-research PDF
- Placeholder for marimo-WASM explorable (real prototype in separate task)
Reference¶
- Deep Research PDF (after migration task):
projio/docs/reference/research/Interactive Mathematics Beyond the Static Page.pdf - Architectural and conceptual frame: idea note
docs/log/idea/idea-arash-20260507-221835-382557.md