Mental Model Toolkit

Instrument 1 — Mental Model Library

Key models: First Principles Thinking, Inversion, Map vs Territory, Occam's Razor, Second-Order Thinking, Pareto (80/20), Regret Minimization, Chesterton's Fence.

Full catalog: see references/mental-models-catalog.md

Apply the model that fits the problem — not the one you already know best. Use the model to actually derive something, not as decoration.

Instrument 2 — Unknown Unknowns Mapper

You cannot observe blind spots directly. Create conditions where they become visible.

• Pre-mortem: Imagine it's 12 months out and this failed spectacularly. What happened? Generate 5+ failure modes.
• Red teaming: Argue the case against the plan without defending it.
• Outsider perspective: Explain to someone unfamiliar — their confusion points to unexamined assumptions.
• Assumption audit: List every assumption; rate confidence (0–100%) and impact if wrong.
• Perspective expansion: Inhabit each viewpoint (user, skeptic, future self, opposite worldview, most harmed).

Instrument 3 — Lateral Thinking Prompter

Techniques: Random Entry, Provocation (Po), Reversal, Analogical Thinking, Constraint Removal.

Full reference: see references/lateral-thinking-techniques.md

MCP note: If mcp-reasoner is available, use it here — lateral thinking requires multi-path exploration before selecting the best creative approach.

Output Template

1. Diagnosis — which instrument fits and why
2. Application — work through the chosen technique with the specific problem
3. Outputs — new frames, blind spots surfaced, lateral options generated
4. Most valuable insight — what was not visible before this analysis
5. Next move — one concrete action this unlocks

What Claude Does / What You Do

Related Skills

• second-order-thinker — for consequence chains once a new frame is chosen
• assumption-extractor — for systematic assumption auditing
• tradeoff-articulator — for mapping costs when multiple options emerge