think-ladder-of-inference-checklisted

<!-- thinking-framework-skills | https://github.com/product-on-purpose/thinking-framework-skills | Apache-2.0 --> # Ladder of Inference Check People move from observation to action up an invisible, near-instant ladder: all available data, the data they select, the meaning they add, the assumptions they make, the conclusion they draw, the action they take. The leaps feel like facts. This skill slows the climb back down for a given conclusion: it reconstructs the rungs, exposes where selection and interpretation crept in, flags the riskiest leap, and tests at least one alternative interpretation of the same data. The output is an **annotated reasoning trace**, not prose. ## When to Use - A conclusion feels certain but actually rests on interpretation. - A disagreement traces to two people reading the same situation differently. - Auditing a contested inference, including the agent's own conclusion. - As a step in a reasoning-audit workflow, often after an evidence/inference sort. ## When NOT to Use - The conclusion follows from direct, verifiable data with no real inferential leap. - To generate ideas or options (wrong tool). - On trivial matters where the climb does not matter. - As a way to dress up and defend the conclusion you already hold. ## Instructions When asked to check the ladder of inference, follow these steps: 1. **State the conclusion** being examined, in one sentence. 2. **List the observable data available** - everything that could have been noticed, no