Spot patterns appearing in 3+ domains to find universal principles.
Find patterns in how patterns emerge.
Extract universal principles from patterns appearing across multiple domains.
Core principle: When the same pattern appears in 3+ domains, it's probably universal.
Use when:
| Pattern Appears In | Abstract Form | Where Else? |
|---|
| CPU/DB/HTTP/DNS caching | Store frequently-accessed data closer | LLM prompt caching, CDN |
| Network/storage/compute layering | Separate concerns into abstraction levels | Architecture, organization |
| Message/task/request queuing | Decouple producer from consumer with buffer | Event systems, async |
| Connection/thread/object pooling | Reuse expensive resources | Memory management |
Pattern spotted: Rate limiting in API throttling, traffic shaping, circuit breakers, admission control
Abstract form: Bound resource consumption to prevent exhaustion
Variation points: What resource, what limit, what happens when exceeded
New application: LLM token budgets (same pattern - prevent context window exhaustion)