first-principles-decomposer

# 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:

1. **Clarify the problem** (1-2 questions max)
2. **Surface assumptions** - list what's being taken for granted
3. **Decompose to fundamentals** - show the atomic truths
4. **Rebuild solution** - construct from ground up
5. **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

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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