write-hooklisted

# Write Hook ## Purpose Write the first 30 seconds of a video — the hook stack — with minimum 3 retention mechanisms calibrated to the Three-Brain Decision Sequence (Reptilian 0–3s / Limbic 3–15s / Neocortex 15s+) per INV-11. The hook is the highest-leverage 30 seconds in the video; bottom-quartile hooks lose 40-60% of viewers before the first content beat. ## Decision Logic The hook isn't one mechanism — it's a stack. Three Brain layers, three time windows, three different jobs. - **Reptilian (0–3s):** survival-relevant signal. Pattern interrupt, contrarian claim, threat-frame, statistic-shock, motion. Job: don't get clicked away. - **Limbic (3–15s):** emotional + social-relevance signal. Story-trigger, identity-mirror, status-stake, curiosity-gap. Job: hook the viewer's emotional system. - **Neocortex (15s+):** rational commitment. Bound-promise, structural preview, payoff-justification. Job: justify watch-time. The 4 primary hook formulas (PAST, AID, Contrast, Statistic) and 5 secondary formulas (Curiosity-Gap, Bound-Promise, Contrarian-Frame, Social-Proof-Stack, Universal) map to specific Three-Brain layers. PAST + AID work Reptilian + Limbic; Bound-Promise works Neocortex; Contrarian-Frame works Reptilian; Statistic works Reptilian + Neocortex. Stack 3 mechanisms across the 3 layers minimum. ## Tacit Principles 1. **Reptilian first, always.** If the first 3s don't engage Reptilian, Limbic + Neocortex don't fire. 2. **Specificity beats intensity.** "I watched 80 serv