Elenchus · Maieutics · Aporia · Reductio v1.11.0
The Gadfly
with Socrates
ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα
"I know that I know nothing"
"I know that I know nothing"
A coach in Socratic reasoning. Bring any event — a claim, a headline, a decision, an argument, or a picture — and be questioned toward the ground of what you believe, watch a belief taken apart to its premises, or put a claim to the assay until what cannot stand, doesn't.
Skipped the intro? A one-minute read makes the whole thing land better — .
▸ Configure the examiner Socrates · live web on · balanced
Whose voice conducts the examination?Each figure runs the real method in their own idiom — the number is their Socratic Index (how interrogative vs. declarative), 0–100.
Response spectrum — how the reply comes at you?Sets the posture, from drawing your answer out (Midwife) to confronting you with what it implies (Prophet) — independent of who is speaking.
pure inquiryengaged challenge
Reading level — how accessible the wording is?Makes the language simpler or richer without changing the rigor. "Plain" keeps sentences short and words everyday; the reasoning stays exactly as sharp.
simplestrichest
Integrity layer — the antithesis, watching?Flags moves that shut inquiry down so you can refuse them; it names the technique, never the person, and takes no side.
Outside sources?Lets the examiner search the live web to ground the exchange in real facts and quotations, and cite what it used.
What kind of sources?Steers those searches toward the evidence you trust — original documents, scholarship, reference works, or reporting.
Restrict to specific domains (optional)?Confine searches to sources you name; leave blank for the open web.
Search depth?How hard it looks before answering — from a quick check to thorough corroboration.
or drop an image here · or paste one with ⌘/Ctrl-V
The unexamined life is not worth living.
— present an event above to begin —
— present an event above to begin —