Paper Reading

---
name: paper-reading
description: >
  Reads and analyzes academic papers (arXiv preprints, conference / journal
  PDFs, Zotero items) at three configurable depths: quick skim (2 min),
  standard read (10 min), or deep analysis (30 min). Produces structured
  digests covering problem, method, key innovation, results, limitations,
  reproducibility, hidden assumptions, and connections to the user's other
  work. Use when the user shares an arXiv link, PDF, or paper title and asks
  to read / summarize / digest / TL;DR / analyze / review / critique / explain
  / break down a paper, asks about a paper's contributions / methods /
  results / equations / figures, wants to compare two papers side by side, or
  needs a reading note for their records.
---

# Paper Reading

Structured workflow for reading academic papers efficiently.

## When to Use

- User shares an arXiv link or PDF and asks to read/summarize it
- User asks about a specific paper's contributions, methods, or results
- User wants a reading digest for their records
- User asks to compare a paper against related work

## Reading Levels

### Level 1: Quick Skim (2 min)
**When**: User just wants to know if a paper is worth reading

Output:
- Paper title, authors, venue, year
- One-paragraph summary (what problem, what method, what result)
- Key contribution in one sentence
- Relevance assessment to user's work
- Recommendation: Read / Skip / Skim only

### Level 2: Standard Read (10 min)
**When**: User wants to understand the paper's approach

Output:
- **Problem**: What gap does this address?
- **Method**: How do they solve it? (with key technical details)
- **Key innovation**: What's genuinely new vs. incremental?
- **Results**: Main numbers + comparison to baselines
- **Limitations**: What they don't do, acknowledged or not
- **Connections**: How does this relate to user's active projects?

### Level 3: Deep Analysis (30 min)
**When**: User is seriously considering building on this paper

Output:
- Everything from Level 2, plus:
- **Detailed methodology**: Step-by-step technical walkthrough
- **Reproducibility assessment**: Can you implement this from the paper alone?
- **Experimental design critique**: Are the baselines fair? Metrics appropriate?
- **Hidden assumptions**: What are they not saying?
- **Extension opportunities**: How could this be improved or adapted?
- **Key equations/algorithms**: Extracted and explained
- **Figure analysis**: What do the key figures actually show?

## Workflow

### Step 1: Obtain Paper

```
arXiv link → Download PDF, extract text
PDF file → Extract text directly
Paper title → Search Semantic Scholar → get arXiv link → download
Zotero item → Get from local library
```

### Step 2: Read at Requested Level

Follow the appropriate level template above. When in doubt, start with Level 2.

### Step 3: Store Digest

After reading, save the digest:
1. Store structured summary to local dashboard
2. If user confirms, add/update Zotero entry with notes

### Step 4: Connect to Context

- Link to user's active projects if relevant
- Suggest follow-up papers (from references or "cited by")
- Note if this paper supports or contradicts prior reads

## Reading Heuristics

**For ML/AI papers:**
- Jump to Table 1 (main results) first — if the numbers aren't impressive, calibrate expectations
- Check the ablation study — it reveals what actually matters in their method
- Read the limitations/future work section — often more honest than the intro
- Look at Appendix — important details are often buried there

**For methods papers:**
- Focus on Figure 1 (method overview) + Section 3 (method) + Table 1 (results)
- Skip related work on first pass — come back only if you need positioning context

**For empirical papers:**
- Focus on experimental setup, metrics, and statistical significance
- Check if baselines are fairly implemented (same hyperparameter search budget?)
- Look for cherry-picked examples in qualitative analysis

## Paper Comparison Mode

When user asks to compare two papers:

```
| Aspect       | Paper A          | Paper B          |
|--------------|------------------|------------------|
| Problem      |                  |                  |
| Method       |                  |                  |
| Data         |                  |                  |
| Key metric   |                  |                  |
| Advantage    |                  |                  |
| Limitation   |                  |                  |
```