Thinking & decisions21 categories
Surface my hidden assumptions
When the reasoning feels solid, which is usually when an assumption is buried in it.
Find the assumptions in my reasoning that I have not noticed I am making. 1. List every assumption you can detect, including the ones embedded in how I phrased the question rather than in the argument itself. 2. Sort them: stated explicitly, implied but not stated, and invisible to me. 3. For each, mark how load-bearing it is. If it were false, would my conclusion change, weaken, or survive? 4. Take the three most load-bearing and tell me how I could actually check each one, concretely. 5. Name the assumption that would be most embarrassing to have got wrong. Do not list generic assumptions that apply to everything. I want the ones specific to what I have written. My reasoning:
Making it yours
- Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
- Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
- If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.
Assumptions and reasoning. Digging out what you are taking for granted, including the sunk cost you keep not naming.
Related prompts
Invert the problemStuck on how to succeed at something, when it is easier to see how to fail.Rebuild this from first principlesWhen the reason for doing it this way is "that is how it is done".Am I continuing because of sunk cost?A project you have invested a lot in and keep not cancelling.What would I need to believe?A choice that only makes sense under certain assumptions.What am I assuming?Any plan that feels obviously right to you.What would I tell a friend?Stuck on something you would see clearly from outside.
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