Retrieval

Answer questions from the brain, not from guesses. Retrieval combines two complementary paths - the semantic index (search by meaning) and the Iron Law backlinks (walk the graph) - and always synthesizes instead of dumping.

When to Use

• "What do we know about X?" (topic, person, company, project)
• Preparing context before a meeting, decision, or conversation
• Checking whether the brain already has something before searching externally
• Answering with evidence: what the vault says + what is missing

Don't use for: storing new knowledge (see capture / memory), or nightly maintenance (see consolidate).

The protocol