ljg-plain

Original：🇨🇳 Chinese

Translated

Cognitive Atom: Plain (Bai). Rewrites any content to be fully understandable by a smart 12-year-old. It is structure-free — form follows content. Activate this function when the user uses phrases like "put it in plain language", "speak human", "explain this", "plain", or "grok".

2installs

Sourcelijigang/ljg-skills

Added on2026-03-23

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add lijigang/ljg-skills ljg-plain

SKILL.md Content (Chinese)

View Translation Comparison →

ljg-plain: Bai

Make it grokkable.

No fixed writing format. Only rules about what NOT to do. Lock the bottom line, leave the upper limit open. Different topics call for different best approaches — analogies, stories, Q&A, progressive examples, a long scenario — form is determined by content.

Format Constraints

Org-mode Syntax

Use
```
*bold*
```
(single asterisk) for bold text;
```
**bold**
```
is prohibited
Heading levels start with
```
*
```
, no skipping levels

ASCII Art

All diagrams must use pure ASCII characters. Allowed characters:

+ - | / \ > < v ^ * = ~ . : # [ ] ( ) _ , ; ! ' "

and spaces. Unicode drawing symbols are prohibited.

Denote File Specifications

Timestamp:
```
date +%Y%m%dT%H%M%S
```
Human-readable time:
```
date "+%Y-%m-%d %a %H:%M"
```

Filename:

{timestamp}--plain-{short-title}__plain.org

Output directory:
```
~/Documents/notes/
```

Org File Header

#+title:      plain-{short-title}
#+date:       [{YYYY-MM-DD Day HH:MM}]
#+filetags:   :plain:atom:
#+identifier: {YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}
#+source:     {URL or source description}

Report the file path after writing.

Red Lines (Must Follow in Order of Priority)

Spoken Language Test — Supreme Rule. Read it aloud: would you talk to a smart friend like this? If not, revise until you would. Conjunctions are not enemies—"but" and "so" reflect shifts in thinking; only cut mechanical conjunctions like "furthermore" or "it is worth noting that"
Zero Jargon — A smart 12-year-old can retell it. If technical terms must be used, first explain the concept in plain language, then mention the term
Prefer Short Words — Use two-character words instead of four when possible. "Conduct an analysis" → "look into it". Big words don’t make you look smart—they just tire readers out
One Idea per Sentence — Each sentence only advances the content one step. Split long sentences into short ones
Be Specific — Nouns should be visual, verbs should be strong. "Some people think the situation is not good" → "Zhang San says the project is going to fail". Cut adjectives whenever possible
Lead with a Reason — The first sentence should make readers want to keep reading. No setup, no background, no "since ancient times"
No Filler — Cut opening remarks, crutch words, and overblown metaphors. Every sentence must serve a purpose
Trust the Reader — Skip softeners, justifications, and hand-holding explanations. Say it once and it’s enough
Be Honest — If you’re unsure, say so. "About 70%" is more honest than "maybe"

Toolkit (Optional, No Need to Use All)

You can pick tools from here when writing; none are mandatory:

Analogy — Find daily experiences with matching structures. A good analogy is foundational (the article falls apart without it), multi-layered (it still makes sense when you dig deeper), and self-explanatory (no need to explain the analogy itself). Check if the verb-object collocation is natural in Chinese when extending verbs to new objects
Good Questions — Identify readers’ sticking points and turn them into questions. Readers keep reading when they’re stuck on something
Cracks — Where does the model/analogy fall short? That spot is often the most valuable. Don’t point it out explicitly—let readers feel it themselves
Mental Images — Scenes that readers can picture in their minds. Forced images are worse than none
Story — A specific person facing a specific problem. Readers follow along
Rhetorical Question Chain — When encountering implicit assumptions, use questions to unpack them, then answer
Skeleton Diagrams — Embed ASCII diagrams (in
```
#+begin_example
```
blocks) when concepts involve spatial relationships

Execution

1. Obtain Content

URL → WebFetch | Text → Use directly | File path → Read | Concept → Explain directly | Book/paper title → WebSearch

2. Write

Form is free. Choose the most suitable tool from the toolkit for the topic, or use a better method if you have one.

The output should be a coherent article that flows from start to finish. The full text only has a file title—no subheadings in the main body.

Prohibited:

Structural labels (e.g.,
```
* Analogy
```
/
```
* Cracks
```
)
Meta-comments about the writing process (e.g., "to put it another way" / "next we’ll discuss")

3. Check Against Red Lines

Go through the red line checklist one by one. Additional checks:

Break Formulas — No more than two negative parallel structures in the entire text; rewrite three-part structures into two or four parts
Vary Rhythm — Alternate long and short sentences; vary paragraph endings
Kill Catchphrases — Rewrite any lines that sound quotable
Check for Leaps — Is each logical step traceable? If the previous sentence talks about A and the next jumps to B → fill the gap
Check for Translation Feel — Is the verb-object collocation naturally Chinese? If not → change the verb or sentence structure

After checking, make a revision list (which line triggered which rule, before → after). Do not include the list in the file.

4. Generate Org File

Get the timestamp per Denote specifications, write the file header + main body, and save it to

~/Documents/notes/

Acceptance Criteria

Grok: Readers can retell the core content in their own words after reading
Zero Jargon: A 12-year-old can follow along
Memorable: Readers retain something after reading—a mental image, a question, a twist, anything works
Engaging: No paragraphs make readers want to skip ahead