society-in-silico-book-structure
Auto-activates when navigating or organizing the manuscript. Knows the book's structure, chapter organization, and file conventions.
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill acts as an intelligent structural architect for complex writing projects, specifically tailored for manuscript organization and repository management. It solves the problem of maintaining consistency across large-scale documents by enforcing strict file naming conventions, chapter templates, and hierarchical outlines, ensuring that authors and contributors can navigate and expand the work without losing structural integrity.
Use Cases
- Manuscript Organization: Automatically identifying the correct placement for new content within a multi-part book structure (e.g., Origins, Building, Future).
- Standardizing File Conventions: Enforcing specific naming patterns like 'NN-title.md' for chapters and 'kebab-case.md' for research notes to maintain a clean repository.
- Cross-Referencing Research: Facilitating the integration of background research into the manuscript using standardized wiki-links and metadata tags.
- Project Navigation: Providing instant answers to structural questions such as 'Where does this concept fit?' or 'What is the current status of Part II?' based on the defined outline.
| name | Society in Silico Book Structure |
|---|---|
| description | Auto-activates when navigating or organizing the manuscript. Knows the book's structure, chapter organization, and file conventions. |
Book Structure
Repository Layout
society-in-silico/
├── manuscript/ # The book itself
│ ├── front-matter/ # Introduction, preface
│ ├── part-1-origins/ # History of microsimulation
│ ├── part-2-building/ # PolicyEngine journey
│ └── part-3-future/ # AI and what's next
├── research/ # Background research
│ ├── people/ # Key figures
│ ├── concepts/ # Technical concepts
│ ├── timeline/ # Chronology
│ └── references/ # Sources
├── assets/ # Images, diagrams
└── build/ # Compilation (Pandoc)
Book Outline
Part I: Origins
The intellectual history of microsimulation.
- Guy Orcutt's 1957 vision
- DYNASIM and early mainframe models
- IFS TAXBEN and institutional microsimulation
- NBER TAXSIM
- The closed-model era
Part II: Building
The open-source turn and PolicyEngine journey.
- OpenFisca and rules-as-code
- Tax-Calculator as gateway
- Founding PolicyEngine with Nikhil
- UK expansion
- US expansion
- The messy reality of encoding law
Part III: Future
AI implications and what's next.
- LLM limitations (67% accuracy finding)
- Why deterministic tools matter more
- Agents need reliable infrastructure
- Cosilico thesis
- Democratic vs. autocratic simulation
- The choice being made now
File Conventions
Manuscript Files
- Named:
NN-title.md(e.g.,01-introduction.md) - Start with
# Chapter Title - Use
## Sectionheaders - Wiki-links to research:
[[concept-name]]
Research Notes
- Named:
kebab-case.md - Have metadata section at top
- End with
## Linksand## Tags
Chapter Template
# Chapter Title
[Opening hook - story, question, or surprising fact]
## Section One
[Content with [[wiki-links]] to research]
## Section Two
[More content]
---
## Research Links
- [[relevant-concept]]
- [[relevant-person]]
Navigation Commands
When asked about the book:
- "Where does X fit?" → Check outline above
- "What's in Part II?" → Building section
- "Show chapter structure" → List files in manuscript/
Current Status
Check .beads/ for project issues and progress tracking.
Use bd list to see open items.
Use bd ready to see what's ready to work on.
Key Relationships
- Introduction sets up Rehoboam/Serac contrast
- Part I establishes what microsimulation IS
- Part II shows how it became OPEN
- Part III shows what's NEXT (with Cosilico launch)
- Ending returns to Serac: "What if Rehoboam were open source?"