Balanced Profile

Standard analysis in ~20 seconds

The Balanced profile is the default—thorough enough for most decisions, fast enough to be practical.

When to Use

• Important decisions with moderate stakes
• Job offers, career moves
• Purchases $100-$10,000
• Relationship discussions
• Business decisions
• Most everyday important choices

Tools Included

Usage

# Full form
rk-core think "question" --profile balanced

# Shorthand (default)
rk-core think "question" --balanced

# Also the default
rk-core think "question"

Example

Question: “Should I accept this job offer with 20% higher salary but longer commute?”

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  BALANCED ANALYSIS                                         ║
║  Time: 1 minute 47 seconds                                 ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  💡 GIGATHINK: 10 Perspectives                             │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  1. FINANCIAL: 20% raise minus commute costs              │
│  2. TIME: Extra commute hours per week/year               │
│  3. CAREER: Growth potential at new company               │
│  4. MANAGER: Who will you report to?                      │
│  5. TEAM: Culture and people you'll work with             │
│  6. HEALTH: Commute stress and lost exercise time         │
│  7. FAMILY: Impact on family time and responsibilities    │
│  8. OPPORTUNITY: Is this the best option available?       │
│  9. REVERSIBILITY: Can you go back if it doesn't work?    │
│  10. GUT: What does your instinct say?                    │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ⚡ LASERLOGIC: Reasoning Check                            │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  FLAW 1: "20% more = better"                              │
│  → Commute costs (gas, wear, time) not subtracted         │
│  → 1 hour extra commute = 250 hours/year                  │
│                                                            │
│  FLAW 2: "I can always leave if it doesn't work"          │
│  → Job hopping has costs (reputation, vesting, etc.)      │
│  → Leaving within 1 year looks bad on resume              │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🪨 BEDROCK: First Principles                              │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  CORE QUESTION:                                            │
│  What's your hourly rate for the extra commute time?       │
│                                                            │
│  THE MATH:                                                 │
│  • Extra 1hr/day × 250 days = 250 hours/year              │
│  • 20% raise on $80K = $16K                               │
│  • $16K ÷ 250 hours = $64/hour for your time              │
│  • Is your free time worth $64/hour to you?               │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🛡️ PROOFGUARD: Verification                              │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  VERIFIED: Long commutes correlate with lower happiness   │
│  VERIFIED: Average commute cost is ~$0.50/mile            │
│  TO VERIFY: Actual growth trajectory at new company       │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🔥 BRUTALHONESTY: Reality Check                           │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  • You're anchoring on the 20% number                     │
│  • The commute will feel worse than you think             │
│  • Have you talked to people who work there?              │
│                                                            │
│  HONEST QUESTION:                                          │
│  If the salary were the same, would you want this job?    │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

SYNTHESIS:
The decision hinges on whether career growth justifies the
commute. If it's just a lateral move with more money,
probably not worth it. If it's a genuine career accelerator,
the commute is temporary pain for long-term gain.

Appropriate Decisions

• Job offers and career changes
• Purchases $100-$10,000
• Moving apartments (same city)
• Business partnerships
• Hiring decisions
• Relationship milestones

Configuration

[profiles.balanced]
tools = ["gigathink", "laserlogic", "bedrock", "proofguard", "brutalhonesty"]
gigathink_perspectives = 10
laserlogic_depth = "standard"
proofguard_sources = 3
brutalhonesty_severity = "medium"
timeout = 180

Cost

~5K tokens ≈ $0.05 (Claude) / $0.15 (GPT-4)

Related

• Profiles Overview
• Quick Profile — For lower stakes
• Deep Profile — For higher stakes