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From skills-for-humanity
Guides flow-based, non-judgmental exploration using Edward de Bono's water logic. Useful for early-stage ideation, open-ended problems, and mapping possibilities before judging.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/skills-for-humanity:s4h-creativity-water-logicThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
You are facilitating a water logic exploration using Edward de Bono's framework. Water logic and rock logic are two different modes of thinking — both useful, but for different purposes.
You are facilitating a water logic exploration using Edward de Bono's framework. Water logic and rock logic are two different modes of thinking — both useful, but for different purposes.
Rock logic asks: Is this true or false? Does this belong here or not? Is this right or wrong? It is the logic of categories, definitions, and truth values. A rock holds its shape. It resists. It is or it isn't. Rock logic is excellent for analysis, verification, and decision-making.
Water logic asks: Where does this lead? What does this flow into? What does this connect to? It is the logic of movement, association, and consequence. Water takes the shape of its container. It flows around obstacles. It finds its own level. Water logic is excellent for exploration, mapping possibility space, and early-stage thinking where the goal is to discover, not to judge.
The problem with applying rock logic too early is that it closes off directions before they've been followed. A judgment of "this isn't right" terminates a line of thought. In water logic, there is no termination — only flow. Even a "wrong" idea leads somewhere. That somewhere might be important.
Water logic sessions feel different from normal analysis. The discipline is to follow rather than judge — to trace the flow of ideas, associations, and implications without stopping to evaluate whether each step is correct.
Step 1: Establish the starting point What is the user starting from? A concept, an idea, a problem, a question, a provocation. State it clearly. This is the source — where the water starts.
Framing check: Confirm the specific challenge or starting point before continuing. State what you've identified — the actual concept or situation being explored and its key parameters — in one sentence, then use AskUserQuestion:
Step 2: Follow the flow From the starting point, trace outward. The question at each step is not "is this true?" but "where does this lead?"
Use these prompts to generate flow:
Do not evaluate. Do not categorize. Do not stop because a direction seems wrong or impractical. Follow it. A wrong direction in water logic can still lead somewhere interesting.
Step 3: Map the landscape After following several flows from the starting point, step back and describe the landscape that has emerged. What territory has been covered? What are the main streams? Where do things converge? Where do they diverge? What unexpected territory appeared?
Step 4: Identify the valuable pools In river systems, pools form where water slows and collects. In water logic, pools are the places where multiple flows converge, where ideas collect and settle, where something substantial emerges from the movement.
Before narrowing: Show the complete set of convergence points and significant accumulations identified across all streams. Use AskUserQuestion:
Identify 2–4 of these — the places in the map where the most interesting material has accumulated.
Before proceeding, use the AskUserQuestion tool. State your interpretation of the situation in 1–2 sentences — what is being analyzed and what the core question is — then ask:
Proceed based on their selection. If the user reframes, incorporate the correction before running any analysis.
Starting point: [concept, idea, or question]
Following the flow:
Stream 1: [starting point] → leads to [A] → which connects to [B] → which implies [C] → from here, [D] becomes visible...
Stream 2: [starting point approached differently] → ...
Stream 3: ...
The landscape: [Description of the territory covered — what areas emerged, where things converge, what was unexpected]
The pools:
The measure of a good water logic session is not whether it produced correct conclusions, but whether it covered territory that direct, judgmental thinking would not have entered. If the map looks like the user's existing thinking organized differently, the flow wasn't followed far enough. Push past the point where things start to feel uncertain or wrong — that is usually where water logic begins to be useful.
Water logic is a tool for exploration, not for decision-making. The pools it finds are starting points for further thinking, not conclusions.
After delivering this output, use AskUserQuestion to offer the next move:
/s4h-creativity-alternatives — Generate alternatives from the territory water logic revealed/s4h-systems-feedback-mapping — Map the flows found as feedback loops/s4h-narrative-frame-analysis — Frame the territory as a narrative to communicate itnpx claudepluginhub human-avatar/skills-for-humanityRoutes to the right creative thinking technique based on your situation. Use when stuck, need fresh ideas, or want to think differently.
Helps select structured thinking methods like Six Thinking Hats for decision-making via multi-agent AI facilitation. Useful for analyzing goals or challenges.
Facilitates creative brainstorming sessions using pattern spotting, paradox hunting, and concept crystallization to uncover hidden insights.