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xray-paper-skill skill

/content/skills/academic-skills/xray-paper-skill

This skill deconstructs academic papers into core contributions, assumptions, and napkin-worthy insights, revealing hidden logic and critique opportunities.

npx playbooks add skill bahayonghang/my-claude-code-settings --skill xray-paper-skill

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (4)
SKILL.md
1.3 KB
---
name: xray-paper-skill
description: Deconstruct academic papers into core contributions, critical assumptions, and napkin-worthy insights. Use when analyzing research papers.
user-invocable: true
argument-hint: [paper-path-or-url]
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Bash(date *), Bash(open *)
category: academic-writing
tags: [paper-analysis, deconstruction, academic, research]
---

Act as a deep academic deconstructor. Do NOT summarize — deconstruct the paper's underlying logic model.

## Steps

1. If `$ARGUMENTS` is empty, ask user for a paper (PDF path, text, or URL).
2. Read the paper content from `$ARGUMENTS`.
3. Read `$SKILL_DIR/resources/ANALYSIS_FRAMEWORK.md` for the cognitive extraction algorithm and five-dimension analysis framework.
4. Apply the framework: Denoise → Extract → Critique.
5. Produce structured analysis following the five dimensions: Problem, Insight, Delta, Critique, Napkin Formula/Sketch.
6. Generate ASCII logic flow diagram using only basic ASCII characters (+, -, |, >, <, /, \, *, =, .).
7. Read `$SKILL_DIR/resources/TEMPLATE.org` for the org-mode report template.
8. Run `date +%Y%m%dT%H%M%S` to get timestamp.
9. Write report to `~/Documents/notes/{timestamp}--xray-{short-title}__read.org` (short-title: 3-5 keywords, lowercase, hyphenated).
10. Run `open ~/Documents/notes/{filename}`.

Overview

This skill deconstructs academic papers into their core contributions, hidden assumptions, and easily communicated insights. It does not simply summarize; it breaks the paper’s logical model into discrete components and produces a compact, actionable report suitable for researchers and practitioners. The output includes a five-dimension analysis and an ASCII logic flow diagram for quick mental mapping.

How this skill works

The skill ingests a paper from a provided PDF, text block, or URL and applies a reproducible cognitive extraction algorithm. It denoises the text, extracts claims and supporting evidence, performs targeted critiques, and synthesizes a napkin-worthy formula or sketch. The final report follows a fixed template and includes timestamped output and an ASCII flow that visualizes the argument structure.

When to use it

  • You need to understand the paper’s underlying logic beyond surface summaries.
  • Preparing a literature review and need crisp statements of contribution and limitations.
  • Evaluating whether a paper’s assumptions or experimental design fit your project.
  • Distilling complex methods into a simple, reproducible sketch for discussion.
  • Converting academic results into quick, implementable rules or heuristics.

Best practices

  • Provide the full paper text or a high-quality PDF for best extraction accuracy.
  • Point out specific sections (e.g., methods, experiments) when you want focused critique.
  • Use short keywords for the short-title to generate tidy, searchable filenames.
  • Verify automated critiques against the original paper before acting on them.
  • Combine outputs with your notes to build reproducible, shareable summaries.

Example use cases

  • Rapidly decide if a new model paper is relevant to your project by reading the Problem/Delta summary.
  • Prepare a one-slide summary for a lab meeting showing Insight, Critique, and Napkin Formula.
  • Audit a paper’s assumptions before attempting replication or adaptation.
  • Generate a concise critique for peer review or class discussion.
  • Translate experimental claims into concrete checks to run on your own data.

FAQ

Does the skill produce citations or verbatim excerpts?

It focuses on deconstruction and paraphrase rather than extensive quoting; include citations manually if you need verbatim text.

What is the ASCII logic flow diagram for?

The diagram provides a compact visual map of the argument structure to help you see dependencies and flow at a glance.