skills-for-humanity

Master orchestration skill. Takes any situation in plain English, identifies the underlying goal, designs a multi-skill reasoning workflow, and executes it sequentially — feeding each skill's output into the next. Use when you say 'help me think through this', 'I need to figure out what to do', 'where do I start', or any time you want structured thinking applied end-to-end rather than routed to a single tool.

Tests whether the parts of something form a unified whole — finding the jarring inconsistencies that accumulate when different contributors work without a shared vision. TRIGGERS: 'coherence check', 'does this feel unified', 'something feels off', 'inconsistent', 'check the whole', 'does this hang together'.

Tests whether a solution is more complex than it needs to be — distinguishing necessary complexity from accidental complexity that accreted over time. TRIGGERS: 'elegance test', 'is this too complex', 'over-engineered', 'is there a simpler way', 'does this feel right'.

Identifies the underlying formal pattern at work — because most successful designs, arguments, and solutions share deep structural patterns, and naming the pattern unlocks the playbook. TRIGGERS: 'what pattern is this', 'pattern recognition', 'why does this work', 'identify the form', 'what structure is at play', 'what archetype is this'.

Finds the simpler version while preserving what matters — not arbitrary reduction, but finding the core and discarding what is not it. TRIGGERS: 'find the simple version', 'simplify this', 'what's the essence', 'less but better', 'strip it back', 'what could we remove'.

Entry point for the aesthetic toolkit. Routes to the right aesthetic skill based on your situation. Use when you say 'aesthetic', 'check the design', 'does this feel right', 'is this elegant', 'is this too complex', 'what pattern is this', 'find the simpler version', or want an aesthetic lens applied without knowing which specific tool fits.

Finds where an analogy breaks down before it's relied upon. Analogies fail silently — the damage happens when decisions are made on a mapping that doesn't hold in the relevant dimension. Triggers: 'stress-test this analogy', 'where does this comparison break', 'does this really apply', 'test the metaphor', 'where is the analogy wrong'.

Imports solutions from unrelated domains by finding structural similarities between your problem and solved problems elsewhere. Triggers: 'cross-domain analogy', 'what solves this elsewhere', 'find a parallel problem', 'look outside this field', 'borrow a solution'.

Approaches a problem from completely different fields to break the assumption blindness that comes from domain expertise. Triggers: 'fresh eyes', 'outside perspective', 'what would a [different expert] say', 'beginner's mind', 'approach from another field'.

Entry point for the analogy toolkit. Routes to the right analogy skill based on your situation. Use when you say 'analogy', 'is this like that', 'find a comparison', 'import a solution from elsewhere', 'fresh eyes on this', 'where does this metaphor break', or want analogical reasoning applied without knowing which specific tool fits.

Identifies the deep structural correspondence between two situations — genuine isomorphism vs superficial similarity. Triggers: 'does this analogy hold', 'map the structure', 'is this really like that', 'structural similarity', 'test the comparison'.

Maps the attention economy of a mind or situation — what captures it, what depletes it, and how to protect it. Use when asked 'why can't I focus', 'attention keeps getting pulled away', 'how do I protect deep work', 'what's stealing my focus', 'I keep getting distracted', or when designing environments, workflows, or communications that need to respect cognitive bandwidth.

Manages the limits of working memory — chunking, offloading, and reducing unnecessary complexity to free capacity for what matters. Use when asked 'this is too complex to hold in my head', 'I keep losing track of where I am', 'how do I make this simpler to think about', 'the design is overwhelming', 'people aren't retaining this', or when information architecture, learning design, or communication complexity needs to be optimised for working memory limits.

Surfaces and audits the internal representations that drive perception and decision-making. Use when asked 'what assumptions am I making', 'why do I keep seeing this the same way', 'what model is driving this decision', 'I think I'm missing something about how this works', 'what's my mental model here', or when a belief or decision pattern needs to be examined from the inside.

Applies thinking-about-thinking as a practical tool — monitoring comprehension, calibrating confidence, and knowing what you do not know. Use when asked 'how confident should I be about this', 'am I actually understanding this or just recognising it', 'what do I not know that I should know', 'I think I understand this but I keep getting it wrong', 'calibrate my confidence', or when the quality of reasoning on a complex problem needs to be assessed from the outside.

Entry point for the cognition toolkit. Routes to the right cognition skill based on your situation. Use when you say 'cognition', 'how am I thinking about this', 'why can't I focus', 'what mental model is driving this', 'am I thinking clearly', 'this is too complex to hold in my head', 'what do I actually know here', or want applied cognitive science without knowing which specific tool fits.

Maps what the audience currently believes, actually cares about, and fears before communicating — because communication fails at the receiver, not the sender. Triggers: 'model the audience', 'audience analysis', 'who am I talking to', 'what do they care about', 'why aren't they getting it'.

Audits a communication for places where the message will be lost, misread, or misunderstood — before it's sent. Triggers: 'clarity audit', 'will this be understood', 'check my message', 'edit for clarity', 'where will this be misread'.

Matches the message to the right channel and format — the same content in the wrong medium loses most of its effect. Triggers: 'which channel', 'email vs meeting', 'should this be async or sync', 'medium fit', 'how should I deliver this'.

Maps likely objections before delivering a proposal — objections that are anticipated feel addressed; objections that land as surprises derail. Triggers: 'anticipate objections', 'what will they push back on', 'steelman the opposition', 'prepare for resistance', 'objection mapping'.

Entry point for the communication toolkit. Routes to the right communication skill based on your situation. Use when you say 'communication', 'how do I say this', 'will this land', 'which channel', 'what will they push back on', 'does this make sense', or want communication help without knowing which specific tool fits.

Tests whether a stated constraint is real — distinguishing genuine limits from assumptions, habits, or politics dressed as facts. Triggers: 'is this really a constraint', 'challenge the assumption', 'who says we can't', 'is this actually fixed', 'test the constraint'.

Flips a constraint into a creative driver — uses the limit as the generative force rather than working around it. Triggers: 'invert the constraint', 'use the limitation', 'constraint as feature', 'what if this limit was the requirement'.

Finds the minimum that satisfies the actual requirement — stripping everything wanted but not needed. Triggers: 'minimum viable', 'what's the minimum', 'strip this back', 'what do we actually need', 'scope reduction', 'simplify the requirement'.

Entry point for the constraint toolkit. Routes to the right constraint skill based on your situation. Use when you say 'constraint', 'given this limit', 'we can't do X', 'is this really fixed', 'use the limitation', 'minimum viable', 'how do we do this anyway', or want constraint thinking applied without knowing which specific tool fits.

Finds paths around a fixed constraint without removing it — routing around a hard limit to reach the same goal. Triggers: 'work around this', 'given this constraint', 'path around the blocker', 'how do we do this anyway', 'constrained solution'.

Apply Edward de Bono's APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices) tool to deliberately generate options before evaluating any of them. Use when the user is about to make a decision, wants more options before choosing, feels like they only see two paths, is planning something and wants to make sure they've considered all the approaches, or tends to go with the first good idea.

Surface and challenge the hidden assumptions in any problem, plan, or framing. Use when the user feels stuck despite trying multiple approaches, a problem seems intractable, a plan keeps failing for unclear reasons, something 'obvious' keeps producing unexpected results, or before using any other creative thinking tool when the problem itself might be wrongly framed. This is the prerequisite skill — run it when the ground itself might be wrong.

Run an orchestrated multi-method creative thinking sprint on a challenge. Use when the user wants to make real progress on a hard problem, says 'I need to think through this properly', wants a thorough creative exploration rather than a single technique, has a big decision or challenge and wants the full toolkit applied, or just says 'help me think through this'. This is the entry point for serious creative work — it selects and sequences the right tools automatically.

Apply Edward de Bono's Concept Fan to expand the solution space before committing to an approach. Use when the user has a goal or problem and wants to see the full range of ways to achieve it, feels locked into one solution, is evaluating options and wants to make sure they haven't missed any, or wants to think at different levels of abstraction before deciding.

Apply Edward de Bono's CAF (Consider All Factors) tool to map every relevant factor before making a decision or taking action. Use when the user is about to decide something important, wants to make sure they haven't missed anything, is planning an action and needs to think through consequences, or has been surprised by things they didn't anticipate. CAF is the pre-flight checklist for consequential decisions.

Apply Edward de Bono's lateral thinking to escape dominant patterns and generate genuinely new directions. Use when the user is stuck on a problem, wants alternatives to their current approach, says 'I keep thinking about this the same way', wants to think outside the box, or needs fresh angles on any challenge — creative, strategic, technical, or personal.

Apply Edward de Bono's OPS (Other People's Shoes) tool to genuinely think from other perspectives. Use when the user needs to understand how others will respond to a decision, wants to anticipate objections, is designing something for other people, is in a conflict or negotiation, or needs to check whether they've considered the people affected by a situation. OPS is structured empathy — not sentiment, but reasoning.

Apply Edward de Bono's Plus/Minus/Interesting (PMI) tool for balanced evaluation of any idea, proposal, plan, or decision. Use when the user wants to evaluate something fairly, is tempted to immediately accept or reject an idea, needs to think through pros and cons more carefully, or wants to avoid snap judgments. Plus/Minus/Interesting is the antidote to confirmation bias in evaluation.

Apply Edward de Bono's Provocation Operation (Po) to use deliberately absurd or impossible statements as springboards to new ideas. Use when the user wants to break out of conventional thinking, says 'let's try something radical', wants to use provocation as a creative tool, or is stuck and needs an unconventional jolt. Also trigger when the user uses the prefix 'Po:' before a statement.

Apply Edward de Bono's Random Entry technique — use an unrelated word, object, or image as a creative springboard to break out of cognitive ruts. Use when the user is stuck, wants unexpected inspiration, asks for a random creative prompt, wants to approach something from a completely fresh angle, or says they've exhausted their usual thinking. The randomness is the point — don't skip it.

Apply Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats for structured parallel thinking. Use when the user wants to think through a decision, plan, or idea from multiple angles; wants to avoid groupthink or one-dimensional analysis; is preparing for a meeting or discussion; or wants a complete map of a situation before committing. Also use when the user mentions 'devil's advocate', 'playing it safe', 'gut feeling', or wants both optimism and caution applied to the same thing.

Entry point for the creativity toolkit. Routes to the right creative thinking technique based on your situation. Use when you say 'creativity', 'think creatively', 'I need fresh ideas', 'help me think differently', 'I'm stuck', or want creative help without knowing which specific tool applies. For comprehensive multi-method sessions, this runs them in sequence.

Apply Edward de Bono's water logic for flow-based, non-judgmental exploration. Use when the user is in early-stage exploration and premature categorization is killing promising directions, wants to follow where ideas lead without forcing conclusions, is working on something open-ended where 'is this right?' is the wrong question, or needs to map possibilities before judging them. Water logic is the alternative to rock logic.

Runs a weighted multi-criteria analysis — making explicit what matters, how much, and how each option performs against it. Triggers: 'weighted decision matrix', 'multi-criteria analysis', 'help me choose between', 'compare these options', 'decision matrix'.