diff --git a/xo-expression/doc/notes.rst b/xo-expression/doc/notes.rst
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index 00000000..c27ffcbb
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+++ b/xo-expression/doc/notes.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+Random notes.
+
+Type inference.
+
+Expressions represent parsed abstract syntax trees.
+We use the same data structure to represent syntax trees both before and after
+type inference.
+
+We record each Expression's type using a type_ref instance.
+A type_ref does two things:
+1. gives the expression's type a unique name
+2. records expression's concrete type once type infrerence has completed.
+
+Type inference resolves each Expression's type to a concrete TypeDescr.
+An Expression tree can't be compiled unless all reachable Expression nodes
+are resolved to concrete types, i.e. type inference has completed successfully.
diff --git a/xo-expression/include/xo/expression/typeinf/type_ref.hpp b/xo-expression/include/xo/expression/typeinf/type_ref.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4f65ce98
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+++ b/xo-expression/include/xo/expression/typeinf/type_ref.hpp
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+/** @file type_ref.hpp **/
+
+#pragma once
+
+namespace xo {
+    namespace scm {
+        using type_var = xo::flatstring<11>;
+
+        /** @class type_ref
+         *  @brief name and eventual resolution for type associated with an expression.
+         *
+         *
+         **/
+        struct type_ref {
+
+
+        };
+    } /*namespace scm*/
+} /*namespace xo*/
+
+/** end type_ref.hpp **/
diff --git a/xo-reader/README b/xo-reader/README
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index 00000000..59a6e677
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+++ b/xo-reader/README
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+1. in parser we need.. type unification?
+2. or perhaps just need to introduce type variables.
+
+3. we can't resolve type for a recursive pair of functions until we've seen both of them..
+   tho we could require letrec
+
+def foo = lambda (n : i64) { let (n == 0) then 1 else n * foo(n - 1); };
+
+strategy:
+----------
+
+while parsing def, instead of creating DefineExpr with nullptr TypeDescr:
+a. create DefineExpr with TypeVariable.
+(We have to do this because can't tell nullptr's apart,..)
+
+- generalize xo::reflect::TypeDescrBase
+
+// compose these into Expressions.
+//
+struct TypeTemplateRef {
+  bool is_concrete() const { return td_ && td_->is_concrete(); }
+
+  // generated name, so we can map between types.  Don't want to create TypeDescr
+  // every time we have a typed location. there'd be a lot of them, and hard to collect
+  flatstring<11> id_;
+  // if TypeDescr is concrete (fully described), this describes it
+  TypeDescr td_;
+};
+
+// what we know about a type
+//
+struct TypeTemplate : public Refcounted {
+  static bool equal(bp<TypeTemplate> lhs, bp<TypeTemplate> rhs);
+
+  TypeTemplateRef ref_;
+
+  // additional descriptive info...
+};
+
+// effectively these are constraints?
+//
+using TypeSubstitutionMap = map<string, rp<TypeTemplate>>;
+
+will have typeunifier in parserstatemachine
+
+struct TypeUnifier {
+   // extend as unification proceeds
+   //
+   TypeSubstitutionMap substitutions_;
+};
+
+alt strategy
+-------------