first-principles-decomposer

# First Principles Decomposer ## When To Use - Designing new products or features - Feeling stuck on a complex problem - Existing solutions seem overcomplicated - Need to challenge assumptions - Starting any new project or initiative ## The Process ### Phase 1: Identify Assumptions Ask: "What am I assuming to be true that might not be?" List every assumption embedded in the current approach. ### Phase 2: Break to Atoms For each assumption, ask: "What is the most fundamental truth here?" Keep asking "why?" until you hit bedrock facts. ### Phase 3: Rebuild From Truth Starting ONLY from verified fundamentals, ask: "What's the simplest solution that addresses the core need?" ## Interactive Flow When user invokes this skill: 1. **Clarify the problem** (1-2 questions max) 2. **Surface assumptions** - list what's being taken for granted 3. **Decompose to fundamentals** - show the atomic truths 4. **Rebuild solution** - construct from ground up 5. **Compare** - show how this differs from conventional approach ## Output Format ``` PROBLEM: [stated problem] ASSUMPTIONS IDENTIFIED: 1. [assumption] → Challenge: [why this might be wrong] 2. [assumption] → Challenge: [why this might be wrong] FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS: • [bedrock fact 1] • [bedrock fact 2] • [bedrock fact 3] REBUILT SOLUTION: [New approach built only from fundamentals] VS CONVENTIONAL: [How this differs from the obvious approach] ``` ## Example Triggers - "Break down our parent communication problem from first principles" - "I want to rethink how we do [X] from the ground up" - "What are we assuming about [problem] that might be wrong?" ## Integration This skill compounds with: - **inversion-strategist** - After rebuilding from fundamentals, invert to find what would guarantee failure of the new approach - **second-order-consequences** - Project downstream effects of implementing the rebuilt solution - **pre-mortem-analyst** - Stress-test the rebuilt solution by imagining its failure - **six-thinking-hats** - Apply all six perspectives to validate each fundamental truth identified ## Skill Metadata **Created**: 2026-01-06 **Last Updated**: 2026-01-06 **Author**: Artem **Version**: 1.0 --- See references/framework.md for detailed methodology See references/examples.md for Artem-specific examples See references/integrated-frameworks.md for Stanford Design Thinking + MIT Systems Engineering combo