Typed Thinking · Any text field
Typed
thinking.
Stop reading words to find meaning.
Start scanning structure to make decisions.
=Typed Thinking
*Small set of symbols tells brain line meaning before reading
+Works in any text field
+No tools required
10×
Faster risk
detection
detection
−40%
Cognitive load
per document
per document
<200ms
To classify any
line — pre-attentive
line — pre-attentive
The Problem
Prose is untyped.
!Prose is untyped
~Every sentence looks identical to your brain
~Risk, action, outcome, question share same texture
−Must read every word to classify
→CLN ends that
Standard Prose
SERIAL · SLOW
The product launch is planned for Q3. There are some concerns about the readiness of the onboarding flow, which is still being revised by the design team. We need to align with marketing on the campaign timeline. It's not entirely clear whether we'll hit the feature freeze deadline. The team is recommending we consider a soft launch first to reduce risk.
Brain must read every word to find the risk. Average scan: 25–40 seconds.
CLN · Typed Thinking
PRE-ATTENTIVE · FAST
! jumps out before reading begins. Risk found in <2 seconds.
Your Path
How will you use Typed Thinking?
=Your Entry Point
.CLN is universal
~But your entry point is unique
.Choose the door that matches your role
Latest Release
What's new in v2.10.
=Three additions — zero breaking changes to existing CLN
*everything you wrote before still works exactly the same
✏
§25 — Inline Formatting NEW
=standard tokens inside content slots
!mid-line only — never at line-start
*
* at start = Note operator, not italic**bold **
*italic *
`code `
~~strike ~~
==highlight ==
$E = mc² $
%
§23 — Directives++ EXTENDED
=6 new directives in v2.8
.meta-layer above the document
*fully optional — start with none
%version: 2.8
%const: author = "…" → %%author
%alias: medical = domain:medicine …
%include: ./glossary.cln
%export: html | pdf | pptx | plain
%presentation: true → slide mode
>>
§24 — Visual Sections v2.7
=named containers — wrap CLN content
*plain text: section header
→HTML: styled <section> with attrs
>> ##risks Blockers | accent:#d4654a
collapse:true
>> ##kpis Metrics | viz:bar
>> ##slide1 | type:title align:center
The Notation
The notation.
Zero ambiguity.
Zero ambiguity.
=Each operator is a distinct visual shape
*pre-attentively different — your brain classifies before you finish reading the line
=
= — Definition
=Names a concept
=Names a state
=Section header
=Project: Atlas redesign
=Status: in review
.
. — Task / Action
.Next step
.Action item
*Someone does this
.Book the dentist
.Send Q3 report to Sarah
→
→ — Result / Decision
→What happened
→What was decided
→What was concluded
→Went with Option B
→Launch moved to November
!
! — Warning / Risk
!Catches the eye first
!Problem · Blocker
!Critical alert
!Budget approval missing
!API key exposed in logs
~
~ — Tension / Tradeoff
~Unresolved tension
~Competing consideration
~Speed vs. quality
~Cost vs. team morale
?
? — Open Question
?Unknown
?Unresolved
?Needs an answer
?Who owns the onboarding docs?
?Visa required for Lisbon?
@
@ — Context / Meta
@Owner · Deadline
@Status tag
@Ambient metadata
@owner: @design · due: Fri
@status: blocked
|
| — Source / Reference
|Read-only data
|Citation
|External reference
|via: RFC 4918, §9.3
|source: Q2 audit report
*
* — Note / Clarification
*Side note · Caveat
*Clarifying context
*only applies in EU regions
*revision still in progress
+
+ — Advantage / Pro
+Positive signal
+Benefit
+Reason in favor
+3× faster than current
+no vendor lock-in
−
− — Disadvantage / Con
−Cost
−Downside
−Reason against
−doubles infra cost
−45 min longer commute
#
# — Tag / Label
#Category marker
#Label
#Searchable topic tag
#security · #auth
#q3 · #launch
Where Typed Thinking Works
Any document.
Any context.
Any context.
=Where CLN Works
.Any document
.Any context
+No special editor
+No plugins
→Convention turns note into typed document
Meeting Notes
.Separate decisions
.Separate actions
.Separate risks
.Done in real time
!Never re-read a note
Incident Post-Mortems
=Timeline
=Root cause
=Action items
!Fix first
Decision Logs
=Context
+Pros
-Cons
~Tensions
→Verdict
Book Summaries
=Core ideas
.Key actions
.Caveats
?Open questions
+Scannable forever
AI Outputs
.Paste Claude response
.Into CLN format
!Survives compression
-Does not dissolve
Sprint Retros
+What went well
-What to improve
.What to do next
*Forces classification
Learn the System
Everything in the Wiki.
=The System
.Deep reference for every operator,
pattern, concept
*Written in CLN
*Demonstrating by being
∴
Why your eye finds ! before you read the line
=Why CLN works
.Finds ! before reading
.The 200ms window
?
Why writing in CLN makes you remember more
=Why you remember more
.Choosing an operator
.Forces classification
→Deepest encoding
▌
Color-coded sections — without any formatting tools
=Color-coded sections
.Left-border accents
.Group related lines
+Zero plugins needed
##
Link any line to any other line, in plain text
=Link line to line
.Anchor with ##id
.Cross-reference »[text]
.Navigate any document
Start Here
Your path to typed thinking.
=Your Path to CLN
.Start at zero
.Five rungs
→Arrive at a system that teaches itself
Start · Rung 0–1
Why your notes
are untyped.
are untyped.
The cognitive science behind CLN. Pre-attentive processing, textons, and the 200ms
window — written for engineers, not neuroscientists.
Entry point
Read first →
Learn · Rung 1–2
Learn CLN
in 10 minutes.
in 10 minutes.
Interactive onboarding. Twelve operators, four levels of nesting, markers and status
—
from zero to writing your first document.
Interactive
Start →
Reference · Rung 2–3
Super Demo —
everything in one doc.
everything in one doc.
Nine chapters. All operators, block accents, nesting, addressing, directives, visual sections, inline formatting — real-world documents and analysis templates. Updated to v2.10.
Full reference
Explore →