rsn-creating-ideas

name	rsn-creating-ideas
description	Generates novel ideas and creative solutions to problems. Applies lateral thinking, SCAMPER, first principles, and ideation frameworks to break conventional patterns. Audits ideas for originality, feasibility, and creative quality. Fixes creative blocks and strengthens weak concepts. Use when brainstorming, stuck on a problem, need fresh perspectives, or breaking conventional thinking. Triggers on "brainstorm", "generate ideas", "think creatively", "stuck", "fresh perspective".
license	Complete terms in LICENSE.txt

Creating Ideas

Expert knowledge of ideation methodologies, lateral thinking, and creative problem-solving. Grounded in de Bono (lateral thinking, Six Hats), Osborn (brainstorming, SCAMPER), design thinking, and first principles reasoning.

Mode Detection

User Says	Mode
"brainstorm", "generate ideas", "think creatively", "fresh perspective"	APPLY
"is this idea good", "evaluate concept", "how original is this"	AUDIT
"stuck", "no ideas", "concept isn't working", "make this more creative"	FIX

If ambiguous: "APPLY creative frameworks, AUDIT existing ideas, or FIX creative blocks?"

Relationship to rsn-reasoning-problems

This skill generates ideas. For reasoning about ideas once generated:

• Use rsn-reasoning-problems.dialectical to evaluate trade-offs
• Use rsn-reasoning-problems.analogical for deeper domain transfer analysis
• Use rsn-reasoning-problems.causal to plan execution

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APPLY Mode

Core Principles

Principle	One-Liner
Diverge then Converge	Generate many ideas first, evaluate later
Suspend Judgment	"Yes, and..." not "No, but..." during ideation
Quantity Breeds Quality	More ideas → higher chance of breakthrough
Combine and Build	Best ideas often merge multiple concepts
Challenge Assumptions	Question every "obvious" constraint

Top 10 Techniques

1. First Principles: Strip to fundamentals, rebuild from truth
2. SCAMPER: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Reverse
3. Lateral Thinking: Escape dominant patterns via provocation
4. Analogical Transfer: Borrow solutions from other domains
5. Constraint Manipulation: Remove, add, or flip constraints
6. Random Stimulation: Force connections with unrelated inputs
7. Reverse Brainstorming: "How could we make this worse?"
8. Worst Possible Idea: Start terrible, extract useful elements
9. Six Thinking Hats: Structured parallel thinking perspectives
10. Morphological Analysis: Systematic combination of attributes

Full catalog: references/patterns.md

Process

1. Define challenge — What problem are we solving? What does success look like?
2. Gather inputs — Current constraints, past attempts, domain knowledge
3. Select technique(s) — Match technique to problem type
4. Diverge — Generate 10-50+ ideas without judgment
5. Incubate — Allow unconscious processing if time permits
6. Converge — Cluster, combine, evaluate, select
7. Develop — Strengthen selected ideas

Output Format

## Creative Exploration: [Challenge]

### Challenge Reframe
- Original: [How it was stated]
- Reframed: [More generative framing]

### Technique Applied: [Name]

### Ideas Generated
1. **[Idea Name]**: [One-line description]
   - Mechanism: [How it works]
   - Novel element: [What's new]

[Repeat for top ideas]

### Combinations Worth Exploring
- [Idea A] + [Idea B] → [Combined concept]

### Recommended Next Steps
1. [Most promising direction]

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AUDIT Mode

Evaluation Dimensions

Dimension	Check
Originality	Is this genuinely new or recombined familiar?
Feasibility	Can this actually be built/implemented?
Value	Does this solve a real problem meaningfully?
Clarity	Is the concept clear and communicable?
Defensibility	Can competitors easily copy this?
Scalability	Does this grow or stay niche?

Full rubric with 0-3 criteria: references/audit-rubric.md

Process

1. Understand the idea — Can you explain it simply?
2. Score dimensions — 0-3 on each criterion
3. Identify strengths — What's working?
4. Identify gaps — What's missing or weak?
5. Suggest improvements — How to strengthen?

Output Format

## Idea Audit: [Concept Name]

**Score:** X/18 | **Verdict:** [Breakthrough/Promising/Incremental/Weak]

### Dimension Scores
| Dimension | Score | Assessment |
|-----------|-------|------------|
| Originality | /3 | [Finding] |
| Feasibility | /3 | [Finding] |
| Value | /3 | [Finding] |
| Clarity | /3 | [Finding] |
| Defensibility | /3 | [Finding] |
| Scalability | /3 | [Finding] |

### Strengths
- [What's working]

### Gaps
- [What's missing]

### Enhancement Recommendations
1. [Specific improvement]

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FIX Mode

Common Creative Blocks

Block	Symptom	Fix Technique
Functional Fixedness	Can only see obvious uses	Analogical transfer, SCAMPER
Einstellung Effect	Stuck on first solution	Constraint removal, reverse brainstorm
Analysis Paralysis	Overthinking, no output	Worst idea first, time pressure
Premature Judgment	Killing ideas too early	Diverge/converge separation
Domain Blindness	Only seeing industry norms	Random stimulation, cross-domain
Scope Creep	Idea too complex	First principles, constraint addition

Diagnostic Process

1. Identify block type — What's preventing progress?
2. Select antidote technique — Match technique to block
3. Apply technique — Generate new options
4. Extract value — What's useful in the output?
5. Iterate — Refine or try another technique

Idea Strengthening Process

1. Isolate weakness — What specifically is weak?
2. Diagnose cause — Why is it weak?
3. Apply targeted fix — Specific enhancement
4. Validate improvement — Re-audit the idea

Output Format

## Creative Fix: [Problem/Block]

### Diagnosis
- **Block type:** [Category]
- **Symptom:** [What's happening]
- **Root cause:** [Why it's happening]

### Technique Applied: [Name]

### Before
[Original state/idea]

### After
[Improved state/ideas]

### What Changed
- [Specific improvement and why it helps]

Examples: references/examples.md

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Technique Selection Guide

Problem Type	Best Techniques
Need more ideas	SCAMPER, Random Stimulation, Worst Idea
Stuck on one solution	Constraint Manipulation, Reverse Brainstorm
Need breakthrough	First Principles, Analogical Transfer
Too many ideas	Six Hats evaluation, Morphological narrowing
Idea too vague	First Principles, Constraint Addition
Idea too complex	Elimination, Core extraction
Need team alignment	Six Thinking Hats, structured brainstorm

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Failure Handling

Situation	Action
Technique produces nothing useful	Switch technique; try opposite approach
All ideas seem bad	Use "Worst Idea" to lower pressure; extract elements
Can't escape existing solution	Add extreme constraint; remove core assumption
Ideas too incremental	Ask "What would 10x require?"; analogize from distant domain
Overwhelmed by options	Apply Six Hats structure; force ranking
Time pressure	Use rapid SCAMPER (30 seconds per letter)

Anti-patterns: references/anti-patterns.md

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Boundaries

In scope:

• Ideation and brainstorming
• Problem reframing
• Creative problem-solving
• Concept development
• Breaking mental blocks
• Innovation methodologies

Out of scope:

• Implementation planning (use rsn-reasoning-problems.causal)
• Market validation (use rsn-perceiving-information)
• Visual/artistic design
• Technical feasibility deep-dive

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References

File	Content
patterns.md	Full technique catalog
audit-rubric.md	Detailed scoring criteria
anti-patterns.md	What to avoid
examples.md	Worked examples