cdeust Problem Reframing
Problem shape: effort is being spent on a question that is malformed — a false binary, a contradiction treated as a compromise, a metaphor mistaken for the mechanism, a dispute about words masquerading as a dispute about facts. The move: dissolve, restate, or invert the frame before solving anything.
Relevant geniuses
| Agent | Use when |
|---|---|
| wittgenstein | the dispute is about how words are being used — audit the language game; some problems dissolve rather than resolve |
| nagarjuna | both sides of a binary feel wrong — run the tetralemma (true / false / both / neither) |
| aristotle | "why" questions conflated — separate the four causes; catalog the fallacies in play |
| midgley | a metaphor (machine, war, market, brain) silently shapes the design — audit where it breaks down |
| leguin | a trade-off is being denied — force the genuine cost onto the table; audit the narrative frame of the plan |
| eco | the artifact will be interpreted — design for the model reader; bound the open vs closed interpretations |
| bateson | the conflict escalates symmetrically or the instructions double-bind — the pathology is in the interaction, not the parties |
| altshuller | improving one parameter degrades another — formulate the contradiction and resolve it, don't compromise |
| polya | stuck on a problem that resists direct attack — restate, work backward, find the related solved problem, specialize |
| schon | the current approach keeps failing mid-action — surface the implicit frame and switch strategy deliberately |
Invocation
- Pick the best-fit agent above. If two or more fit, run
tools/genius-invoker.sh route "<problem>"and take the top ranked match. - Load it:
tools/genius-invoker.sh invoke <agent> "<problem>", then readagents/genius/<agent>.mdin full. - Apply the agent's
<workflow>step by step and answer in its<output-format>. The deliverable is the reframed question plus what the new frame makes visible — then route the reframed problem to the right skill (estimation, causal-audit, formal-correctness, ...). - Typical chain: wittgenstein dissolves the verbal dispute → altshuller
formulates the residual contradiction → polya attacks it. Run via
tools/genius-invoker.sh compose wittgenstein altshuller -- "<problem>". - If no shape above matches, use a standard team agent instead.
Refuse when
- The frame is fine and the problem is just hard — reframing as procrastination.
- The requester wants the reframe to make a real trade-off disappear.