inversion
Skill3 starsChanged 6 months agoMITView on GitHub
Use inversion to solve problems by reasoning backward from failure, bad outcomes, or the opposite of success. Use when identifying risks, running premortems, or escaping overly idealized thinking.
4 other projects use a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- tupe12334/instincttheir own version, first seen Aug 17, 2026
- danium/lateral-thinkingtheir own version, first seen Jul 9, 2026
- deciqAI/knowledge-skillstheir own version, first seen Jul 7, 2026
- jackjin1997/ClawForgetheir own version, first seen May 25, 2026
Other versions4 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 4
- danium/lateral-thinking★ 311same name
- deciqAI/knowledge-skills★ 13same name
- jackjin1997/ClawForge★ 12same name
- tupe12334/instinct★ 1same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
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The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
1 rule. About 0 are common, 1 is distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈1
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
- Distinctive: line 21
Ask: "What would be the worst decision/solution in this situation?"
≈ “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.
Files
Inversion
Overview
- Category: Problem Solving
- Purpose: Approach a problem from a different perspective
How to Use Inversion
Trigger Questions
- "Am I only thinking of ideal solutions or scenarios?"
Steps
- Ask: "What would be the worst decision/solution in this situation?"
- Identify why it would be bad
- Develop a good solution by examining reasons for bad decisions
Guiding Questions
- How could this go wrong?
- What would the opposite of this be?
- What would make a bad solution to this?
Practical Example: Pre-Mortem
Project managers use inversion through a "pre-mortem" exercise:
- Imagine the project has failed six months from now
- Examine potential failure scenarios
- Ask questions like:
- "What went wrong?"
- "What mistakes did we make?"
- "Why did this project fail?"
Key Benefit
Inversion helps you:
- See potential bad outcomes
- Anticipate and avoid potential mistakes
- Gain a different perspective on problems
Sources
- "Mental models for designers" by Wes O'Haire
- "Inversion" by James Clear
Source: https://untools.co/inversion/
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