second-order-thinking
Skill3 starsChanged 6 months agoMITView on GitHub
Use second-order thinking to examine consequences beyond immediate effects. Use when evaluating decisions across time horizons, asking what happens next, or avoiding short-sighted optimization.
3 other projects use a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- tupe12334/instincttheir own version, first seen Aug 17, 2026
- deciqAI/knowledge-skillstheir own version, first seen Jul 7, 2026
- jackjin1997/ClawForgetheir own version, first seen May 25, 2026
Other versions3 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 3
- 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
2 rules. About 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈2
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 14
Purpose: Consider long-term consequences of decisions beyond immediate effects
- Distinctive: line 30
Ask about consequences at:
≈ “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
Second-order Thinking
Overview
Category: Decision Making
Purpose: Consider long-term consequences of decisions beyond immediate effects
Key Insights
- Most people stop at first-order thinking
- Examine decisions across different time horizons
- Applicable to both major and minor decisions
How to Use
Approach 1: Mental Exercise
- Identify an initial decision
- Examine immediate (first-order) effects
- For each effect, ask: "And then what?"
- Continue exploring subsequent consequences
Approach 2: Timeline Analysis
Ask about consequences at:
- 10 minutes
- 10 months
- 10 years
Practical Example: Buying a House Outside the City
First-Order Effects
- Garden
- More family space
- Living far from work
Second-Order Consequences
- Garden -> Growing produce -> Fresh herbs/vegetables
- More space -> More cleaning -> Potential home stress
- Far from work -> Need car -> Two hours daily commuting
Resources
Additional Tool
A worksheet is available to help practice second-order thinking, bundled with 9 other tools.
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