skills-for-humanity
Structured reasoning methodologies from history's most rigorous thinkers, packaged as Claude Code skills.
| Skills | |
|---|---|
| Think Sharper | /logic · /probability · /decision · /constraint · /game-theory · /epistemology · /investigation |
| Think Differently | /creativity · /analogy · /play |
| Think About People | /communication · /social · /emotional · /ethics · /identity · /narrative · /psychology · /mindset · /writing |
| Think in Time & Systems | /systems · /temporal · /historical · /resource · /strategy |
| See More Clearly | /aesthetic · /sensory |
Each skill is a complete procedure: a defined problem type, a sequence of moves, a structured output. Not a concept to apply — a method to run.
Lineage: de Bono · Meadows · Altshuller · Minto · Goldratt · Tetlock · Klein · Mill · Kant · Aristotle · Noddings · Rawls · Sun Tzu · Clausewitz · Musashi · Nash · Axelrod · Vickrey · Shapley · Spence
Install
npx @human-avatar/skills-for-humanity
Run again to update. Restart Claude Code when done.
Use
Describe your situation. Routes to the right methodology automatically. You don't need to know which skill fits — that's the point.
Every skill pauses before running and asks how deep you want to go.
Skills reference
Think Sharper
/logic
/logic— Entry point for the logic toolkit./logic-argument-validation— Check whether an argument's premises actually support its conclusion, and identify logical fallacies./logic-causality-mapping— Map causal relationships, trace dependencies, and reason about consequences before acting./logic-check— A fast, comprehensive logic report on any argument, plan, or reasoning — validates premises, tests inference, detects fallacies, surfaces hidden assumptions, and produces a verdict./logic-consistency-check— Surface internal contradictions, conflicting requirements, and edge cases that expose hidden conflicts in a document, spec, plan, design, or set of requirements./logic-constraint-mapping— Map the full constraint landscape for a decision, design, or plan — distinguishing hard limits from soft preferences, surfacing hidden constraints, and finding conflicts between them./logic-council— Run a reasoning problem, argument, plan, or decision through a council of 5 logical reasoning advisors who analyze it from distinct reasoning frameworks, peer-review each other, and synthesize a verdict on whether the reasoning holds.
/probability
/probability— Entry point for the probability toolkit./probability-base-rate-anchoring— Anchors estimates in historical base rates before adjusting for specific factors./probability-confidence-calibration— Tests whether stated confidence levels match available evidence — catching overconfidence and underconfidence./probability-expected-value-calculation— Calculates expected value to compare options under uncertainty./probability-scenario-weighting— Assigns explicit probabilities to distinct scenarios before making a decision.
/decision
/decision— Entry point for the decision toolkit./decision-criteria-weighting— Runs a weighted multi-criteria analysis — making explicit what matters, how much, and how each option performs against it./decision-option-mapping— Ensures all real options are visible before choosing — countering the false dichotomy that limits consideration to the first two options that came to mind./decision-premortem-analysis— Imagines the decision has been made and failed — then diagnoses why./decision-reversibility-analysis— Categorises a decision by reversibility and applies the appropriate level of process rigour.
/constraint
/constraint— Entry point for the constraint toolkit./constraint-hardness-testing— Tests whether a stated constraint is real — distinguishing genuine limits from assumptions, habits, or politics dressed as facts./constraint-rule-inversion— Flips a constraint into a creative driver — uses the limit as the generative force rather than working around it./constraint-scope-reduction— Finds the minimum that satisfies the actual requirement — stripping everything wanted but not needed./constraint-workaround-mapping— Finds paths around a fixed constraint without removing it — routing around a hard limit to reach the same goal.
/game-theory
/game-theory— Routes to the right game-theory skill for your strategic situation./game-theory-auction— Analyses bidding strategy and auction design — how much to bid, how to avoid the winner's curse, and how to design revenue-maximising or efficient auctions./game-theory-coalition— Analyses which coalitions form and how to divide gains fairly using cooperative game theory and the Shapley value./game-theory-equilibrium— Finds the stable outcome of a strategic interaction — the point where no player can improve their result by changing their strategy alone./game-theory-iterated— Analyses long-run repeated interactions — how cooperation forms, how trust is built, how defection spirals start, and which strategies sustain cooperation./game-theory-mechanism-design— Designs rules and incentive systems that produce desired outcomes even when players are self-interested./game-theory-prisoners-dilemma— Analyses cooperation problems where individual rationality produces collective irrationality./game-theory-signaling— Analyses credibility problems and designs signals that are believable because they're costly to fake.
/epistemology
/epistemology— Entry point for the epistemology toolkit./epistemology-epistemic-status— Produces an honest, rigorous calibration of what you know vs. believe vs. assume vs. hope across a domain./epistemology-justification— Analyzes what would actually justify believing a claim./epistemology-knowledge-types— Maps what kind of knowing is actually in play for a claim or question./epistemology-limits— Identifies what can't be known and why, then clarifies what can be established within those limits and reframes the question into its answerable part.
/investigation
/investigation— Entry point for the investigation toolkit./investigation-claim-decomposition— Breaks a complex claim into its smallest independently verifiable parts, classifies each sub-claim, and identifies which parts carry the most logical load./investigation-counter-hypothesis— Generates the best alternative explanations for the same observations./investigation-evidence-audit— Evaluates the quality, strength, and completeness of evidence for a claim./investigation-source-trace— Traces a claim back to its origin: who first made it, what evidence it rested on, and how it has been distorted in transmission./investigation-triangulation— Verifies a claim across genuinely independent sources, distinguishing amplification from true corroboration.
Think Differently
/creativity
/creativity— Entry point for the creativity toolkit./creativity-alternatives— Apply Edward de Bono's APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices) tool to deliberately generate options before evaluating any of them./creativity-assumption-excavator— Surface and challenge the hidden assumptions in any problem, plan, or framing./creativity-brainstorm— Run an orchestrated multi-method creative thinking sprint on a challenge./creativity-concept-fan— Apply Edward de Bono's Concept Fan to expand the solution space before committing to an approach./creativity-consider-factors— Apply Edward de Bono's CAF (Consider All Factors) tool to map every relevant factor before making a decision or taking action./creativity-lateral-thinking— Apply Edward de Bono's lateral thinking to escape dominant patterns and generate genuinely new directions./creativity-other-perspectives— Apply Edward de Bono's OPS (Other People's Shoes) tool to genuinely think from other perspectives./creativity-plus-minus-interesting— Apply Edward de Bono's Plus/Minus/Interesting (PMI) tool for balanced evaluation of any idea, proposal, plan, or decision./creativity-provocation— Apply Edward de Bono's Provocation Operation (Po) to use deliberately absurd or impossible statements as springboards to new ideas./creativity-random-entry— Apply Edward de Bono's Random Entry technique — use an unrelated word, object, or image as a creative springboard to break out of cognitive ruts./creativity-six-hats— Apply Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats for structured parallel thinking./creativity-water-logic— Apply Edward de Bono's water logic for flow-based, non-judgmental exploration.
/analogy
/analogy— Entry point for the analogy toolkit./analogy-boundary-testing— Finds where an analogy breaks down before it's relied upon./analogy-domain-transfer— Imports solutions from unrelated domains by finding structural similarities between your problem and solved problems elsewhere./analogy-perspective-shifting— Approaches a problem from completely different fields to break the assumption blindness that comes from domain expertise./analogy-structure-mapping— Identifies the deep structural correspondence between two situations — genuine isomorphism vs superficial similarity.
/play
/play— Entry point for the play toolkit./play-constraint-inversion— Removes or inverts the main constraint to see what becomes possible — then uses those unconstrained solutions to find real ones./play-perspective-reversal— Fully inhabits the opposing perspective — competitor, critic, user, or adversary — to find what is invisible from your own position./play-stimulus-generation— Introduces a random, unrelated element to break mental fixation — forcing new associations that bypass the groove of familiar thinking./play-worst-case-reversal— Deliberately designs the worst possible version — then reverses each failure mode into a design principle.
Think About People
/communication
/communication— Entry point for the communication toolkit./communication-audience-modeling— Maps what the audience currently believes, actually cares about, and fears before communicating — because communication fails at the receiver, not the sender./communication-clarity-audit— Audits a communication for places where the message will be lost, misread, or misunderstood — before it's sent./communication-medium-selection— Matches the message to the right channel and format — the same content in the wrong medium loses most of its effect./communication-objection-mapping— Maps likely objections before delivering a proposal — objections that are anticipated feel addressed; objections that land as surprises derail.
/social
/social— Entry point for the social dynamics toolkit./social-coalition-mapping— Maps who needs to be aligned, who already is, and how to build the coalition a proposal needs to succeed./social-dynamics-analysis— Identifies group psychology shaping a discussion or team — groupthink, status dynamics, coalition formation, psychological safety./social-incentive-analysis— Maps the actual incentives driving behaviour — distinguishing stated motivations from the real incentive structures that shape what people do./social-power-mapping— Maps who holds power — formal authority, informal influence, gatekeeping, expertise — and how it flows.
/emotional
/emotional— Entry point for the emotional intelligence toolkit./emotional-motivation-mapping— Maps what genuinely drives different people — beyond stated reasons and job descriptions./emotional-resistance-diagnosis— Diagnoses why people are resisting — finding what's underneath the pushback./emotional-stakes-mapping— Maps what each stakeholder actually cares about underneath their stated position — because addressing the stated position while missing the real stake accomplishes nothing./emotional-trust-audit— Maps what is building and eroding trust in a relationship or situation — trust degrades silently until it fails loudly.
/ethics
/ethics— Entry point for the ethics toolkit./ethics-bias-check— Evaluate an algorithm, model, ranking system, recommendation engine, or automated decision process for discriminatory patterns and unfair outcomes./ethics-check— A fast, comprehensive ethics report on any decision, action, or situation — runs all five ethical frameworks in a single pass./ethics-consent-review— Review a UX flow, data practice, or communication pattern to verify that user consent is genuine — informed, voluntary, and meaningful./ethics-council— Run any decision, feature, policy, or action through a council of 5 ethical framework advisors who independently analyze it from different moral foundations, peer-review each other's reasoning, and synthesize a final verdict./ethics-crisis-triage— Rapid multi-framework ethical assessment when something has already gone wrong — a data breach, a harmful outcome, a discriminatory incident, a policy failure, or any situation requiring an urgent ethical response./ethics-data-audit— Audit a data collection, retention, or sharing decision against ethical standards./ethics-empathy-circle— Applies Jaron Lanier's Circle of Empathy framework to determine which entities deserve moral consideration and rights./ethics-impact-scan— Run a quick ethical impact assessment on a proposed feature, change, or decision before it ships./ethics-vendor-review— Evaluate a third-party vendor, supplier, partner, or integration against ethical standards before signing a contract or shipping their code or service.
/identity
/identity— Entry point for the identity toolkit./identity-character-testing— Asks what a person or organisation of genuine integrity would do — grounding decisions in character rather than calculation./identity-mission-alignment— Tests whether a proposed decision is genuinely aligned with stated mission — or is rationalising a departure from it./identity-values-clarification— Surfaces and tests actual operative values — distinguishing what is stated from what decisions actually reveal.
/narrative
/narrative— Entry point for the narrative toolkit./narrative-audience-modeling— Maps the audience's current beliefs, real goals, fears, and threshold conditions before communicating with them./narrative-frame-analysis— Identifies the current frame around a situation and generates alternative frames that reveal different truths./narrative-structure-mapping— Applies story architecture to any communication — proposal, presentation, strategy doc — so it moves people rather than informing them./narrative-tension-mapping— Finds or creates the tension that makes communication worth paying attention to.
/psychology
/psychology— Entry point for the psychology toolkit./psychology-behavior-change— Diagnose what's maintaining an entrenched behavior and design the right intervention to shift it./psychology-cognitive-biases— Diagnose which cognitive biases are actively distorting thinking in a specific situation./psychology-heuristics— Assess the fast-thinking pattern at work — when it's reliable, when it misleads, and whether to trust or override it./psychology-motivation— Diagnose what's actually driving behavior — the person's own, someone else's, or a group's./psychology-persuasion— Identify the right influence approach and construct it for the context.
/mindset
/mindset— Entry point for the mindset toolkit./mindset-flow— Applies Csikszentmihalyi's flow framework to diagnose why optimal experience isn't occurring and redesign the conditions for it./mindset-growth— Applies Carol Dweck's growth mindset research as a practical methodology — the actual mechanics, not the motivational poster version./mindset-positive— Applies positive psychology as a rigorous practice — not pop-psychology positivity./mindset-reframe— Applies cognitive reframing as a rigorous methodology — CBT-adjacent but not therapy./mindset-stoic— Applies the full Stoic toolkit as a practical thinking methodology.
/writing
/writing— Routes to the right writing skill for any fiction, non-fiction, or professional writing challenge./writing-arc-design— Maps and repairs character arcs and thematic arcs by aligning external plot events with internal change./writing-argument— Builds and repairs persuasive arguments by surfacing the warrant, auditing evidence, addressing counterarguments, and identifying rhetorical substitutes./writing-audience-calibration— Calibrates writing for a specific reader by profiling their knowledge, concerns, and relationship to the topic — then rewriting for that reader without changing the substance./writing-character-development— Engineers psychologically compelling characters by mapping want vs. need, wound, defence mechanism, and defining contradiction./writing-copy— Writes and audits marketing copy, landing pages, ad copy, email copy, and product descriptions using the attention-desire-action framework./writing-dialogue— Diagnoses and repairs dialogue for subtext, voice differentiation, exposition, and forward momentum./writing-executive-summary— Produces executive summaries, 1-page briefs, and board-level documents by extracting the situation, key findings, implications, and recommendation — answer-first, one page maximum./writing-inconsistency-audit— Runs four systematic passes to identify timeline errors, character logic violations, world-rule breaks, and physical continuity errors./writing-line-editing— Applies five-category line-editing passes to identify and repair redundancy, nominalisations, passive voice, rhythmic monotony, and throat-clearing./writing-plot-structure— Diagnoses structural failures in a story using the five-beat dramatic framework — inciting incident, first turning point, midpoint, dark night, climax./writing-pov— Audits point-of-view for violations, consistency, and fit./writing-prose-elevation— Raises the quality of competent but flat prose by targeting abstraction, weak verbs, and sensory absence./writing-report— Writes and audits business reports, briefing documents, and information reports for answer-first structure, precision, hierarchy, and navigability./writing-restructure— Diagnoses and repairs structural problems in non-fiction, essays, and documents — wrong order, buried lead, wrong ending, proportion errors./writing-rhetoric— Analyses what a piece of writing is doing rhetorically — its rhetorical situation, explicit argument vs. buried frame, appeals map, and loaded language./writing-scene-construction— Diagnoses and repairs individual scenes using the want/obstacle/outcome framework./writing-technical— Writes and audits technical documentation, API docs, user guides, and specifications for completeness, sequence, precision, and audience calibration./writing-tone-alignment— Diagnoses and repairs tone drift — shifts in register, formality, warmth, or rhythm that make a piece feel like it was written by multiple people or in multiple moods./writing-voice-consistency— Extracts a voice fingerprint from strong existing passages and uses it to audit and repair voice departures./writing-worldbuilding— Audits a fictional world for internal consistency, texture, economy, and constraint-story alignment.
Think in Time & Systems
/systems
/systems— Entry point for the systems thinking toolkit./systems-archetype-matching— Applies the 8 classic system archetypes (Senge) to diagnose recurring system behavior./systems-emergence-detection— Identifies system-level properties that exist nowhere in any individual component./systems-feedback-mapping— Identifies all reinforcing (+) and balancing (−) feedback loops in a system./systems-leverage-analysis— Finds where small interventions produce large, lasting change using Donella Meadows' leverage point hierarchy.
/temporal
/temporal— Entry point for the temporal thinking toolkit./temporal-cycle-detection— Identifies what recurring cycle a situation is an instance of and where in that cycle you currently are./temporal-futures-mapping— Explores possible, probable, and preferable futures using scenario thinking./temporal-horizon-mapping— Maps consequences of a decision across short, medium, and long time horizons./temporal-timing-analysis— Assesses whether now is the right time to act, wait, or prepare.
/historical
/historical— Entry point for the historical reasoning toolkit./historical-cycle-detection— Identifies what recurring cycle the current situation is an instance of — and where in that cycle you currently are./historical-failure-analysis— Extracts recurring failure modes from similar past situations — most failures have happened before in recognisable patterns./historical-lesson-extraction— Extracts the transferable principle from a specific historical case — separating the contingent surface details from the underlying rule that applies across contexts./historical-precedent-analysis— Finds and applies genuinely similar historical situations to inform a current decision — distinguishing true precedents from superficial analogies.
/resource
/resource— Entry point for the resource toolkit./resource-allocation-analysis— Distributes limited resources across competing needs — making the trade-offs explicit rather than implicit./resource-bottleneck-analysis— Identifies what is actually constraining throughput — using Theory of Constraints logic: the system can only move as fast as its slowest point./resource-leverage-mapping— Finds the highest-leverage use of available resources — where the same input produces the most output./resource-waste-audit— Finds where resources are being lost, duplicated, or underused — the seven wastes applied to knowledge work.
/strategy
/strategy— Routes to the right strategy skill for any adversarial or competitive reasoning situation./strategy-alliance— Maps parties, identifies natural allies and swing parties, and assesses alliance stability for coalition-building in competitive contexts./strategy-deception— Manages information asymmetry in legitimate competitive contexts — what to protect, what impressions work in your favor, and what your opponent may be concealing from you./strategy-force-economy— Finds the minimum intervention that achieves the objective — especially when you're outgunned or under-resourced./strategy-intelligence— Audits what you actually know vs. what you're assuming about yourself and your opponent before acting./strategy-positioning— Builds the conditions for competitive unassailability before the contest begins./strategy-terrain— Maps the competitive landscape to identify where you have advantage, where contests are evenly matched, and where engagement is costly./strategy-timing— Analyzes whether to act now or wait, reads your opponent's rhythm, and identifies trigger conditions for the right moment./strategy-victory— Defines what winning actually means before the contest begins — prevents the pyrrhic trap of winning in ways that lose the larger goal.
See More Clearly
/aesthetic
/aesthetic— Entry point for the aesthetic toolkit./aesthetic-coherence-check— Tests whether the parts of something form a unified whole — finding the jarring inconsistencies that accumulate when different contributors work without a shared vision./aesthetic-elegance-testing— Tests whether a solution is more complex than it needs to be — distinguishing necessary complexity from accidental complexity that accreted over time./aesthetic-pattern-detection— Identifies the underlying formal pattern at work — because most successful designs, arguments, and solutions share deep structural patterns, and naming the pattern unlocks the playbook./aesthetic-simplicity-analysis— Finds the simpler version while preserving what matters — not arbitrary reduction, but finding the core and discarding what is not it.
/sensory
/sensory— Entry point for the sensory observation toolkit./sensory-detail-mining— Finds specific details being overlooked — the most important information is often present but not being registered./sensory-signal-detection— Separates meaningful signal from background noise — finding what actually matters among everything present./sensory-structured-observation— Applies disciplined observation to a situation — suspending interpretation to see what's actually there before deciding what it means.
Examples
/logic
You believe working from home makes you more productive because you get more done on those days. /logic-check finds the flaw: you only work from home when you have focused work scheduled anyway — the variable you think is causing the effect is just correlated with it.
/probability
A doctor tells you a test for a rare disease is 99% accurate and you tested positive. /probability-base-rate-anchoring shows why you're probably still fine: when the disease affects 1 in 10,000 people, even a highly accurate test produces mostly false positives.
/decision
You've been offered a chance to move abroad for a year. It feels like a binary yes/no. /decision-option-mapping surfaces four options you weren't considering: go for six months, negotiate remote work, defer by a year, or go with a return clause.
/constraint
You want to write a novel but insist you have no time. /constraint-hardness-testing asks whether the constraint is real — and finds it's a habit dressed as a fact. The actual constraint is that you haven't protected a 45-minute slot.
/game-theory
You and a housemate both hate cleaning the kitchen but neither wants to go first. /game-theory-prisoners-dilemma shows why this equilibrium is stable and what actually breaks it: not goodwill, but a credible commitment mechanism.
/epistemology
Everyone in your social circle agrees on a contested topic and it feels like obvious truth. /epistemology-epistemic-status maps how much of your belief rests on actual evidence versus social contagion — and which parts would survive if your environment were different.
/investigation
You've heard that people only use 10% of their brain. /investigation-source-trace traces the claim back to its supposed origin and finds no credible scientific source — it appears to have emerged from a misquote and spread through repetition.
/creativity
You've been writing the same kind of music for three years and everything sounds the same. /creativity-lateral-thinking forces you to approach the next track as if you were scoring a silent film — and the constraint breaks the pattern.
/analogy
You're struggling to explain how machine learning works to someone with no technical background. /analogy-domain-transfer imports the structure of learning to ride a bike: you don't study the physics, you fall, adjust, and eventually your body just knows.
/play
Your short story feels predictable but you can't see where. /play-worst-case-reversal asks you to design the most boring possible version of the story — and the list of failure modes reveals exactly what the current draft is doing.
/communication
You sent a message that was meant to be supportive and the other person felt criticised. /communication-clarity-audit finds the two sentences that read as judgement to the receiver even though they weren't written that way.
/social
A group project has stalled and nobody can explain why. /social-dynamics-analysis identifies that one person holds informal veto power over decisions and everyone else is routing around them without naming it.
/emotional
A close friend keeps cancelling plans at the last minute. /emotional-resistance-diagnosis maps what might be underneath the behaviour — not flakiness, but something they're avoiding that the plans surface.
/ethics
You found someone's wallet containing a significant amount of cash and no ID. /ethics-council walks through five ethical frameworks and finds they mostly converge — with one genuinely dissenting position that's worth taking seriously.
/identity
You keep agreeing to commitments that make you miserable. /identity-values-clarification surfaces the gap between what you say you value and what your decisions actually reveal — and names the value that's been running your choices without your endorsement.
/narrative
You're giving a speech that matters to you but it keeps landing flat in rehearsal. /narrative-tension-mapping finds that you've removed all the stakes in an attempt to sound measured — and that's exactly what's killing it.
/psychology
You've tried to quit a habit five times and it keeps returning. /psychology-behavior-change diagnoses what's maintaining it: not lack of willpower, but a specific trigger-routine-reward loop that none of your previous attempts addressed.
/mindset
You've been dreading a difficult conversation for three weeks and it's getting worse. /mindset-stoic separates what's in your control from what isn't — and finds the avoidance is costing more than the conversation would.
/writing
Your essay makes a strong argument but readers say it doesn't land. /writing-rhetoric reveals the structure leads with the conclusion before earning it — the reader hasn't been brought along, so the argument feels asserted rather than demonstrated.
/systems
Every time your team fixes one problem, two more appear. /systems-feedback-mapping finds the reinforcing loop: the fixes are creating conditions that generate the next set of problems faster than the team can resolve them.
/temporal
You're deciding whether to go back to study and the short-term cost feels prohibitive. /temporal-horizon-mapping maps the decision at one year, five years, and twenty — and shows that the framing that makes it look impossible only holds at the shortest horizon.
/historical
You're starting an ambitious creative project and feel pressure to have a breakthrough immediately. /historical-failure-analysis maps how most significant creative works actually developed: slowly, with long unproductive stretches that looked like failure until they weren't.
/resource
You have three hours to prepare for an important conversation and you're trying to prepare for everything. /resource-bottleneck-analysis finds the real constraint: there are two specific questions you can't answer and everything else is already solid.
/strategy
You want to win a local chess tournament. /strategy-positioning shows that the decisive work happens before the match: in the openings you prepare, the players you study, and the psychological state you arrive in.
/aesthetic
Your apartment feels wrong but you can't articulate why. /aesthetic-coherence-check finds that three incompatible design eras are competing in the same room — and the feeling of wrongness is the parts refusing to form a whole.
/sensory
You've read the same paragraph four times and nothing is sticking. /sensory-signal-detection asks what's actually present in your environment right now that you've stopped registering — and finds three things competing for the same attention channel.