---
name: thinking
description: Multi-mode analytical thinking — first principles decomposition, iterative depth analysis, multi-agent council debates, adversarial red teaming, and scientific hypothesis testing. USE WHEN first principles, decompose, deconstruct, challenge assumptions, iterative depth, multi-angle, deep exploration, council, debate, perspectives, weigh options, deliberate, multiple viewpoints, red team, critique, stress test, adversarial validation, parallel analysis, devil's advocate, find weaknesses, think about, figure out, experiment, iterate, hypothesis, define goal, design experiment, quick diagnosis, structured investigation.
---

# Thinking

Router for analytical thinking modes. Pick the mode that matches the shape of the problem and follow its SKILL.md.

## Modes

| Request Pattern | Mode |
|---|---|
| First principles, decompose, challenge assumptions, rebuild from scratch, root cause | `first-principles/SKILL.md` |
| Iterative depth, deep exploration, multi-angle analysis, multiple perspectives, surface hidden requirements | `iterative-depth/SKILL.md` |
| Council, debate, weigh options, deliberate, multi-viewpoint discussion | `council/SKILL.md` |
| Red team, attack idea, counterarguments, critique, stress test, devil's advocate, find weaknesses | `red-team/SKILL.md` |
| Think about, figure out, experiment, iterate, improve, optimize, hypothesis, quick diagnosis | `science/SKILL.md` |

## Choosing Between Modes

- **First Principles vs Red Team** — First principles deconstructs to fundamental truths; Red Team attacks the whole argument. Use together: decompose with first principles, then attack assumptions with red team.
- **Council vs Red Team** — Council is collaborative-adversarial (multi-agent debate surfaces the best path). Red Team is purely adversarial (finds fatal flaws). Council produces transcripts; Red Team produces steelman + counter-argument.
- **Iterative Depth vs Science** — Iterative Depth runs structured lens passes over the same problem. Science runs hypothesis-test-analyze cycles across time. Depth for understanding; Science for progress.

## Notes

Creativity and brainstorming triggers (be creative, divergent ideas, maximum creativity) are owned by the sibling `be-creative` skill, not this one.

Each mode's SKILL.md describes its own workflow routing, context files, and output format. Read only what you need.