Creating Ideas

Expert knowledge of ideation methodologies, lateral thinking, and creative problem-solving. Grounded in de Bono (lateral thinking, Six Hats), Osborn (brainstorming, SCAMPER), design thinking, and first principles reasoning.

Mode Detection

User Says Mode

"brainstorm", "generate ideas", "think creatively", "fresh perspective" APPLY

"is this idea good", "evaluate concept", "how original is this" AUDIT

"stuck", "no ideas", "concept isn't working", "make this more creative" FIX

If ambiguous: "APPLY creative frameworks, AUDIT existing ideas, or FIX creative blocks?"

Relationship to rsn-reasoning-problems

This skill generates ideas. For reasoning about ideas once generated:

• Use rsn-reasoning-problems.dialectical to evaluate trade-offs

• Use rsn-reasoning-problems.analogical for deeper domain transfer analysis

• Use rsn-reasoning-problems.causal to plan execution

APPLY Mode

Core Principles

Principle One-Liner

Diverge then Converge Generate many ideas first, evaluate later

Suspend Judgment "Yes, and..." not "No, but..." during ideation

Quantity Breeds Quality More ideas → higher chance of breakthrough

Combine and Build Best ideas often merge multiple concepts

Challenge Assumptions Question every "obvious" constraint

Top 10 Techniques

• First Principles: Strip to fundamentals, rebuild from truth

• SCAMPER: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Reverse

• Lateral Thinking: Escape dominant patterns via provocation

• Analogical Transfer: Borrow solutions from other domains

• Constraint Manipulation: Remove, add, or flip constraints

• Random Stimulation: Force connections with unrelated inputs

• Reverse Brainstorming: "How could we make this worse?"

• Worst Possible Idea: Start terrible, extract useful elements

• Six Thinking Hats: Structured parallel thinking perspectives

• Morphological Analysis: Systematic combination of attributes

Full catalog: references/patterns.md

Process

• Define challenge — What problem are we solving? What does success look like?

• Gather inputs — Current constraints, past attempts, domain knowledge

• Select technique(s) — Match technique to problem type

• Diverge — Generate 10-50+ ideas without judgment

• Incubate — Allow unconscious processing if time permits

• Converge — Cluster, combine, evaluate, select

• Develop — Strengthen selected ideas

Output Format

Creative Exploration: [Challenge]

Challenge Reframe

• Original: [How it was stated]
• Reframed: [More generative framing]

Technique Applied: [Name]

Ideas Generated

1. [Idea Name]: [One-line description]
   • Mechanism: [How it works]
   • Novel element: [What's new]

[Repeat for top ideas]

Combinations Worth Exploring

• [Idea A] + [Idea B] → [Combined concept]

Recommended Next Steps

1. [Most promising direction]

AUDIT Mode

Evaluation Dimensions

Dimension Check

Originality Is this genuinely new or recombined familiar?

Feasibility Can this actually be built/implemented?

Value Does this solve a real problem meaningfully?

Clarity Is the concept clear and communicable?

Defensibility Can competitors easily copy this?

Scalability Does this grow or stay niche?

Full rubric with 0-3 criteria: references/audit-rubric.md

Process

• Understand the idea — Can you explain it simply?

• Score dimensions — 0-3 on each criterion

• Identify strengths — What's working?

• Identify gaps — What's missing or weak?

• Suggest improvements — How to strengthen?

Output Format

Idea Audit: [Concept Name]

Score: X/18 | Verdict: [Breakthrough/Promising/Incremental/Weak]

Dimension Scores

Strengths

• [What's working]

Gaps

• [What's missing]

Enhancement Recommendations

1. [Specific improvement]

FIX Mode

Common Creative Blocks

Block Symptom Fix Technique

Functional Fixedness Can only see obvious uses Analogical transfer, SCAMPER

Einstellung Effect Stuck on first solution Constraint removal, reverse brainstorm

Analysis Paralysis Overthinking, no output Worst idea first, time pressure

Premature Judgment Killing ideas too early Diverge/converge separation

Domain Blindness Only seeing industry norms Random stimulation, cross-domain

Scope Creep Idea too complex First principles, constraint addition

Diagnostic Process

• Identify block type — What's preventing progress?

• Select antidote technique — Match technique to block

• Apply technique — Generate new options

• Extract value — What's useful in the output?

• Iterate — Refine or try another technique

Idea Strengthening Process

• Isolate weakness — What specifically is weak?

• Diagnose cause — Why is it weak?

• Apply targeted fix — Specific enhancement

• Validate improvement — Re-audit the idea

Output Format

Creative Fix: [Problem/Block]

Diagnosis

• Block type: [Category]
• Symptom: [What's happening]
• Root cause: [Why it's happening]

Technique Applied: [Name]

Before

[Original state/idea]

After

[Improved state/ideas]

What Changed

• [Specific improvement and why it helps]

Examples: references/examples.md

Technique Selection Guide

Problem Type Best Techniques

Need more ideas SCAMPER, Random Stimulation, Worst Idea

Stuck on one solution Constraint Manipulation, Reverse Brainstorm

Need breakthrough First Principles, Analogical Transfer

Too many ideas Six Hats evaluation, Morphological narrowing

Idea too vague First Principles, Constraint Addition

Idea too complex Elimination, Core extraction

Need team alignment Six Thinking Hats, structured brainstorm

Failure Handling

Situation Action

Technique produces nothing useful Switch technique; try opposite approach

All ideas seem bad Use "Worst Idea" to lower pressure; extract elements

Can't escape existing solution Add extreme constraint; remove core assumption

Ideas too incremental Ask "What would 10x require?"; analogize from distant domain

Overwhelmed by options Apply Six Hats structure; force ranking

Time pressure Use rapid SCAMPER (30 seconds per letter)

Anti-patterns: references/anti-patterns.md

Boundaries

In scope:

• Ideation and brainstorming

• Problem reframing

• Creative problem-solving

• Concept development

• Breaking mental blocks

• Innovation methodologies

Out of scope:

• Implementation planning (use rsn-reasoning-problems.causal)

• Market validation (use rsn-perceiving-information)

• Visual/artistic design

• Technical feasibility deep-dive

References

File Content

patterns.md Full technique catalog

audit-rubric.md Detailed scoring criteria

anti-patterns.md What to avoid

examples.md Worked examples