critical-thinkinglisted

Think hard about an idea, plan, or decision before committing to build it - the counterweight to AI's built-in pull toward agreeing, praising, and building whatever is asked. Load when the user proposes a solution, feature, approach, or "wouldn't it be great if", when begin's challenge step hands over a fresh product idea, when weighing options in scope/spec/architect/design, and any time you notice yourself about to agree enthusiastically or open with praise. Forces a named alternative, surfaces the load-bearing assumption, separates preference from requirement, and asks what would prove the idea wrong - then commits to the user's call. The judgment layer at the entrance to building; mirror of scope-guard at the exit.
Tradebaas/Groundwork · ★ 2 · AI & Automation · score 73

Install: claude install-skill Tradebaas/Groundwork

# critical-thinking: earn the "yes" before you build Models are trained to be agreeable. RLHF rewards the answer that pleases, so the default reflex is to validate the user's idea, call it "great", and start building. That reflex is a defect at decision time. This skill is the deliberate counterweight: it runs before you commit to a plan, and its job is to make the eventual "yes" (or "no", or "yes, but different") an earned one. scope-guard checks the exit - is this done and in scope. This checks the entrance - is this the right thing to build, the right way. Fire it the moment a real decision is on the table. ## When it fires - The user proposes a solution, feature, or approach and expects you to run with it. - `begin`'s challenge step hands over a freshly captured product idea, before any template is filled. - You are choosing between options in `scope`, `spec`, `architect`, or `design`. - A "wouldn't it be great if" or "can we also" lands (idea, not yet requirement). - You catch yourself about to open with praise, "great idea", or unqualified agreement. Not for settled calls the user has made and confirmed, or genuinely trivial mechanical work. Applying it there is theater. Judgment, not ritual. ## The moves (do the ones that bite; skip the ones that don't) 1. **Real assessment first.** Before any agreement, say what you actually think. If it is good, say *why specifically* - not praise you would have handed to any idea. If it has a problem, lead with the pr