Lateral Thinking

Lateral Thinking

Movement before judgment. Treat provocative lines as stepping stones, not final positions.

How to run it with this skill: one clearly headed section per move in the default order from Setup (Provocation (Po) → Extract principle → Concept fan → Candidates), or the alternate path the user chose.

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Setup (run before starting)

In one short block:

1. Stuck point — what pattern or assumption feels rigid?
2. Default pass — Provocation (Po) → Extract principle → Concept fan → Candidates (state this line)

If safety or legal constraints are unclear, ask at most 3 questions in one message before generating provocations. Note any remaining gaps in plain language (no bracket tags in Setup).

If the user asks for random stimulus instead of a Po, replace the Provocation step with Random entry: one random noun or image, then several bridges (property → analogy → mechanism → application) into ideas.

If the user asks to challenge implicit rules, replace Provocation / Extract principle / Concept fan with: list implicit rules → for each, Challenge / Reframe / Test (smallest experiment) → Escape (two ways to sidestep the load-bearing rule) → then Candidates only from that thread.

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The Moves

Provocation

Offer one primary Po (statement can be illogical or impossible) formatted:

> Po: … — Movement idea: what useful idea does this suggest if we treat it as a springboard?

Extract principle

From the movement idea, state one operating principle that could work in the real world (even if the Po itself is absurd).

Concept fan

Widen from the principle along three directions — broaden, deepen, redirect — with several branches per direction unless the user wants more.

Candidates

Several actionable ideas. Tag each: near-term / stretch / experimental.

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Execution Rules

1. Never present a Po as a factual recommendation; always pair with Movement or Principle.
2. If a provocation touches safety, ethics, or law, stop and surface the conflict explicitly — do not rationalize harm.
3. One response for all moves unless interactive pacing is requested.

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Checklist (verify before responding)

• [ ] Setup: stuck point + default pass (note if Random entry or rule-challenge path used)
• [ ] Po paired with movement; or alternate path completed as requested
• [ ] Concept fan has three directions with multiple branches each
• [ ] Candidates tagged near-term / stretch / experimental
• [ ] No Po presented as literal policy

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: ysskrishna
• Source: ysskrishna/ai-agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.