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generative-thinkinglisted

Break out of a locked problem frame by picking one disciplined move — reframe, provocation (Po), random stimulus, SCAMPER, inversion, perspective shift, or constraint play — and committing to it before evaluating. Use when stuck, when options feel narrow or obvious, when iterations produce variations of the same idea, or when the user says "widen this", "break out of", "think differently", "I'm stuck", "feels too obvious", "stress-test the framing", "what am I missing". Complements challenging (which evaluates) and convening-experts (which synthesizes viewpoints); this skill generates distance, not judgment.
oaustegard/claude-skills · ★ 124 · Code & Development · score 84
Install: claude install-skill oaustegard/claude-skills
# Generative Thinking — One Move, Committed Fixation is the default state. When a generator (human or LLM) has been working on a problem, attention concentrates on the current framing and subsequent ideas tend to be local variations on it. This skill is the interrupt: spend one move stepping sideways, then resume. The discipline matters more than the move. Pick ONE technique per invocation, run it without second-guessing, and produce explicit reframings or candidate entry points — not a brainstorm list in the same frame. ## When to reach for this Claude activates this skill when: - The last 2+ iterations are variations of one idea (fixation signal) - The user says "widen this", "think bigger", "I'm stuck", "what am I missing", "too narrow", "break out of" - A problem is framed as a binary ("X or Y") and neither option is good - An agent loop is producing convergent variations — suspect the frame, not the search depth - The user explicitly wants a pre-mortem on the *framing* (not the plan) before committing Do NOT activate this skill as a default before every consequential task — fixation is the trigger, not stakes. If the current frame is working, let it work. ## Core discipline Three rules that apply across every move below. Violations make the output ideation-flavored but structurally identical to what came before. 1. **Generation before evaluation.** De Bono's core distinction: lateral thinking cares about *movement value*, not truth value. A provocation is not a p