Expand Ideas with Multiple Perspectives & Context

Why multiple perspectives matter

Understanding an idea deeply means seeing it from different angles. The Expand tool adds depth by providing four structured perspectives on any concept or claim.

Each perspective is concise (1-2 sentences) but reveals connections you might have missed.

What you'll get

Real-World Applications: Concrete examples and case studies showing the idea in practice.

Historical Context: How the concept evolved, past precedents, or historical parallels.

Related Concepts: Connected ideas, disciplines, or frameworks that deepen understanding.

Future Considerations: Potential developments, risks, long-term effects, or emerging trends.

Common use cases

• Research: Quickly identify related work and historical precedents
• Strategy: Explore implications and future scenarios for decisions
• Learning: Build richer mental models by connecting concepts
• Writing: Add depth to arguments with real-world examples and context

How to use effectively

Select focused ideas: Works best on single concepts or claims rather than full arguments. "Machine learning bias" works better than three paragraphs about AI ethics.

Use iteratively: After getting perspectives, select one that interests you and Expand it again to go deeper.

Combine with other tools:

• Run Distill first to extract core ideas, then Expand them
• Use Explain alongside Expand to build comprehensive understanding
• Follow with Question to challenge the new perspectives

Working with expanded perspectives

Don't accept everything at face value. The perspectives are starting points for exploration, not definitive answers.

Verify key claims: If a historical context or application seems important, look it up to confirm accuracy and get more detail.

Follow interesting threads: When a related concept catches your attention, select it and run Expand or Explain to explore further.

Integrate selectively: Use what enriches your understanding. Not every perspective will be equally relevant to your work.

Best practices

Use Expand when you need breadth quickly. It's designed to surface connections across time (history/future), space (applications), and disciplines (related concepts).

If a perspective feels shallow, that's intentional—each section is concise to give you multiple angles fast. Select what interests you and dig deeper with other tools.

The tool works on both your own writing and source material. When reading papers or articles, Expand key claims to see what context might be missing.