Intentional interest graph

The spark

i was thinking that is annoying how my algorithms on various apps take me down rabbit holes. I was wondering if I could build an app with a graph database like neo4j or similar to allow users to explore and connect their interests intentionally. It could then surface YouTube videos or social media posts connecting to this intentional graph to avoid going down unintentional rabbit holes. Plus I think it would be fun to be able to build a knowledge graph not completely dissimilar from brain. But a productized version that was visually fun and entertaining.

What I think you're reaching for

The feed is a graph you didn't draw. You want the inverse: you grow the graph on purpose, and media only shows up if it hangs off an edge you actually made. Brain is the private, research-grade version of that object. This spark is the consumer, playful one — same shape, different job (attention, not citation).

Connections (held loosely)

• 2026-06-07-brain-as-add-capture-layer — same mind, other face of the problem. That spark is about not losing your leaps. This one is about not being dragged by theirs.
• idea-volatility-in-adhd — loosely — rabbit holes are volatility too: attention gets captured and the original intent disappears, same as an uncaptured thought.
• externalize-and-resurface — the graph is the externalized interest list; the feed is the resurfacing layer, except you want it gated by edges you chose.
• The encyclopedia we just stood up in brain — a productized, visual knowledge graph is basically that reading surface with a public UI and a media layer on top. Not a wiki page; a live cousin.

Where this could go

• A consumer app: you add interests and draw links; YouTube / X / etc. only surface items that attach to a node or an edge you already own. The product promise is "no path you didn't pave."
• Brain's public-facing cousin: keep the vault as the serious store, ship a fun graph explorer that non-researchers would actually open.
• A sharper question than the stack: does an intentional graph reduce rabbit holes, or does it become another recommendation engine the moment you auto-suggest the next node?

A possible next move

Leave it to marinate. If it still has heat after the beach, graduate it to a thread (intentional-graph or similar) and decide whether the first spike is a toy UI on brain or a separate product sketch.