84 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
84 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: ck-problem-solving
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description: Apply systematic problem-solving techniques when stuck. Use for complexity spirals, innovation blocks, recurring patterns, assumption constraints, simplification cascades, and scale uncertainty.
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---
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# Problem-Solving Techniques
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Systematic approaches for different types of stuck-ness. Each technique targets a specific problem pattern.
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## When to Use
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- Complexity spiraling: multiple implementations, growing special cases
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- Innovation blocks: conventional solutions inadequate
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- Recurring patterns: same issue appearing across domains
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- Assumption constraints: forced into "only one way"
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- Scale uncertainty: production readiness unclear
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- General stuck-ness: unsure which approach to take
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## Don't Use When
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- Problem is straightforward and well-understood
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- Simply need more time or information, not a different approach
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## Quick Dispatch
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| Stuck Symptom | Technique |
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|---------------|-----------|
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| Same thing implemented 5+ ways, growing special cases | Simplification Cascades |
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| Conventional solutions inadequate, need breakthrough | Collision-Zone Thinking |
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| Same issue in different places, reinventing wheels | Meta-Pattern Recognition |
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| Solution feels forced, "must be done this way" | Inversion Exercise |
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| Will this work at production? Edge cases unclear? | Scale Game |
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## Core Techniques
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### 1. Simplification Cascades
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Find one insight eliminating multiple components. "If this is true, we don't need X, Y, Z."
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**Key insight:** Everything is a special case of one general pattern.
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**Red flag:** "Just need to add one more case..." (repeating forever)
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### 2. Collision-Zone Thinking
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Force unrelated concepts together. "What if we treated X like Y?"
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**Key insight:** Revolutionary ideas emerge from deliberate metaphor-mixing.
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**Red flag:** "I've tried everything in this domain"
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### 3. Meta-Pattern Recognition
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Spot patterns appearing in 3+ domains to find universal principles.
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**Key insight:** Patterns in how patterns emerge reveal reusable abstractions.
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**Red flag:** "This problem is unique" (probably not)
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### 4. Inversion Exercise
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Flip core assumptions. "What if the opposite were true?"
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**Key insight:** Valid inversions reveal context-dependence of assumed "rules."
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**Red flag:** "There's only one way to do this"
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### 5. Scale Game
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Test at extremes (1000x bigger/smaller, instant/year-long) to expose fundamental truths.
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**Key insight:** What works at one scale fails at another.
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**Red flag:** "Should scale fine" (without testing)
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## Application Process
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1. Identify stuck-type — match symptom to technique above
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2. Apply technique systematically
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3. Document insights — record what worked and what failed
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4. Combine if needed — some problems need multiple techniques
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## Powerful Combinations
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- **Simplification + Meta-pattern** — find pattern, then simplify all instances
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- **Collision + Inversion** — force metaphor, then invert its assumptions
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- **Scale + Simplification** — extremes reveal what to eliminate
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- **Meta-pattern + Scale** — universal patterns tested at extremes
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