🧠 Thinking Frameworks

Provides structured deep analysis and decision-making using 20 human thinking frameworks like critical thinking, first principles, red team, and design think...

Skill: Thinking Frameworks

Location: skills/thinking-frameworks/

Description: 20 human thinking frameworks for deep analysis and decision-making. Adapted from Claude Code commands to OpenClaw skills.

Triggers

Use these thinking frameworks when the user:

• Explicitly requests a thinking mode (e.g., "use critical thinking", "first principles analysis", "red team this")
• Asks for deep analysis of a problem, decision, or plan
• Uses command syntax: /thinking <framework> <topic> or /<framework-name> <topic>
• Needs structured reasoning for complex decisions

Available Frameworks

Framework	Trigger Keywords	Use When
critical-thinking	critical, critique, analyze assumptions	Questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, detecting biases
first-principles	first principles, first principles thinking, elon musk approach	Strip away assumptions, rebuild from fundamental truths
systems-thinking	systems, system thinking, holistic, causal loops	Understanding interconnected systems, feedback loops, emergence
design-thinking	design thinking, empathize, prototype	User-centered problem solving, creative iteration
lateral-thinking	lateral, creative, outside the box	Breaking conventional patterns, finding novel solutions
six-thinking-hats	six hats, de bono, white/red/black/yellow/green/blue	Multi-perspective analysis, group decision framing
socratic-method	socratic, questioning, progressive questions	Deep exploration through guided questioning
bayesian-thinking	bayesian, update beliefs, prior, evidence	Probabilistic belief updating with new evidence
second-order-thinking	second order, "and then what", consequences	Long-term consequence chains, unintended effects
inversion-thinking	inversion, invert, reverse, how would this fail	Problem by flipping, finding failure modes
dialectical-thinking	dialectical, thesis antithesis synthesis, hegel	Resolving contradictions through synthesis
abductive-reasoning	abductive, best explanation, inference	Inferring the most likely explanation from observations
mental-models	mental models, munger, multidisciplinary	Cross-disciplinary framework application
red-team	red team, adversarial, attack plan	Finding weaknesses through adversarial analysis
steelman	steelman, steel man, strongest argument	Strengthening opposing views before countering
probabilistic-thinking	probabilistic, probability, uncertainty	Decision-making under uncertainty
analogical-reasoning	analogical, analogy, map from known	Learning from parallel domains through mapping
counterfactual-thinking	counterfactual, "what if", alternative history	Exploring alternative scenarios and outcomes
opportunity-cost	opportunity cost, trade-off, alternative forgone	Evaluating true costs including foregone alternatives
premortem	premortem, assume failure,事前验尸	Proactive failure analysis before implementation

Usage

Direct Command

text

/thinking critical-thinking Should we switch from REST to GraphQL?
/red-team Our plan to launch in 3 markets simultaneously
/premortem The new pricing model we're about to ship

Natural Language

text

"Use first principles to analyze this problem: [problem]"
"Red team this plan for me: [plan]"
"Think about this using second-order thinking: [situation]"

Implementation

1. Detect the requested framework from user input
2. Load the corresponding reference file from references/
3. Apply the framework's structured steps to the user's topic
4. Present analysis following the framework's methodology

Notes

• Frameworks are complementary — combine when appropriate (e.g., critical-thinking + red-team)
• Default to concise output unless user requests depth
• These are thinking aids, not rigid formulas — adapt to context
• All frameworks are MIT licensed from the original thinking-skills repo