inversion-thinking

npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill inversion-thinking --agent claude-code

Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.

# Inversion Thinking Solve problems by working backwards - think about what guarantees failure, then avoid those things. ## Core Pattern Apply inversion by: 1. Inverting the problem - think about the opposite 2. Listing what would guarantee failure 3. Inverting those failures to find success 4. Identifying what to avoid, not just what to do **Key Innovation**: Finding non-obvious solutions by approaching from the opposite direction. Often easier to agree on what causes failure than what causes success. ## When to Use Use this approach when: - Forward thinking isn't yielding solutions - Want to identify risks and failure modes - Consensus on "what to do" is difficult - Problem seems too complex to solve directly - Want to find non-obvious approaches **Recognition test:** "Is forward thinking stuck?" If solutions aren't emerging, invert the problem. ## The Inversion Process ### Step 1: State the original goal ``` Original Goal: [What you want to achieve] ``` ### Step 2: Invert the problem ``` Inverted Problem: How do I guarantee FAILURE? ``` ### Step 3: List failure modes ``` Failure Modes: 1. [What would definitely cause failure] 2. [Another guaranteed way to fail] 3. [Third way to