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itzcullitzcull/thinking-skills/skills/abstraction-laddering/SKILL.md

abstraction-laddering

Skill3 starsChanged 6 months agoMITView on GitHub

Use abstraction laddering to reframe problems by moving between higher-level why questions and lower-level how questions. Use when a problem statement feels too narrow, too vague, or needs more innovative solution framing.

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

3 rules. About 0 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • ≈0

    Common · estimate

    Many files like this have a rule of this kind.

  • ≈3

    Distinctive · estimate

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    Start with an initial problem statement

    line 18
  2. Distinctive:

    Ask "why" questions to expand scope (move up the ladder)

    line 19
  3. Distinctive:

    Ask "how" questions to develop concrete solutions (move down the ladder)

    line 20

≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

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Files
SKILL.md

Abstraction Laddering

Overview

  • Category: Problem Solving Tool
  • Purpose: Frame problems more skillfully by exploring different levels of abstraction

How to Use

Core Technique

  1. Start with an initial problem statement
  2. Ask "why" questions to expand scope (move up the ladder)
  3. Ask "how" questions to develop concrete solutions (move down the ladder)

Key Benefits

  • Helps "see the forest for the trees"
  • Enables finding innovative solutions
  • Can be used quickly, alone or in team settings

Example

Practical Illustration (Wes O'Haire, Dropbox)

Initial Problem: "Design a better can opener"

Moving Down (How?):

  • "Make it more appealing"

Moving Up (Why?):

  • "Get soup out of the can"
  • "Make it more convenient"

Visual Aid

The tool is represented as a ladder where you can:

  • Move up to expand problem scope
  • Move down to develop specific solutions

Resources

  • Worksheet available in a bundle with 9 other tools
  • Sources: Wes O'Haire's "Mental Models for Designers", Autodesk's abstraction laddering guide

Related Tools

  • First Principles
  • Issue Trees

Source: https://untools.co/abstraction-laddering/

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