analogical-thinkinglisted

# Analogical Thinking Skill Apply structural pattern recognition across domains to solve novel problems. Based on the cognitive science of analogical reasoning (Hofstadter, Gentner, Munger). ## When to Use - Stuck on a problem where domain-specific tools aren't working - Trying to understand a new concept or system - Brainstorming solutions — need fresh perspectives - Explaining something complex to someone - Designing architecture or systems — looking for proven patterns - Debugging — the bug pattern may exist in a different domain ## The 4 Core Questions Before jumping to solutions, ask: 1. **How does this work?** — Describe the underlying mechanism, not the surface appearance 2. **Where else have I seen something that works this way?** — Search across ALL domains you know, not just the current one 3. **What domain has a solved version of this problem?** — Find the analog that already has an answer 4. **What breaks when I push this comparison too far?** — Identify where the structural parallel ends ## Procedure ### Step 1: Surface the Problem Structure Strip away domain-specific language and describe the problem in structural terms: - What are the components? - What are the relationships between components? - What are the flows/transformations? - What are the constraints? Example: "Users are abandoning the signup flow" → structural: "A multi-step process where each step has dropout, and the value proposition isn't visible until the end." ### Step 2: Search for S