modbender 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:
- Clarify the problem (1-2 questions max)
- Surface assumptions - list what's being taken for granted
- Decompose to fundamentals - show the atomic truths
- Rebuild solution - construct from ground up
- 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