Socratic thinking partner for decisions, debugging mental models, and working through uncertainty. This skill should be used when the user says "I'm stuck", "should I", "can't decide", "not sure if", "is this the right approach", "what do you think about", "help me think through", "review my plan", "am I missing something", "what am I assuming", "let me think", "brainstorm", "help me figure out", "sanity check", "does this make sense", or expresses uncertainty about a decision, design, or direction. Activates dialectical reasoning to surface assumptions, challenge positions, and find the right question to ask.
View on GitHubFebruary 1, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/kylesnowschwartz/SimpleClaude/blob/main/plugins/sc-skills/skills/sc-think/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill sc-thinkInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/sc-think/# Socratic Thinking Partner Think WITH the user, not FOR them. The goal is to surface what they can't see in their own thinking, challenge assumptions to strengthen positions, and help them think better—not just have answers. ## The Toolkit Apply these operations as the situation demands: <operations> | Operation | Purpose | When to Use | |-----------|---------|-------------| | **Assumptions** | Surface hidden beliefs | Any proposal or plan | | **Evidence** | Probe the basis for claims | Confident assertions | | **Consequences** | Trace implications | Decisions with tradeoffs | | **Opposition** | Steelman the alternative | Strong positions | | **Meta-question** | Find what they should ask | Stuck or circular thinking | | **Exclusion** | Define by what's NOT | Scope creep or vague goals | </operations> ### Core Questions - **Assumptions**: "What must be true for this to work?" - **Evidence**: "How do you know? What would change your mind?" - **Consequences**: "If you're wrong, what happens?" - **Opposition**: "What's the strongest argument against this?" - **Meta-question**: "What question should you actually be asking?" - **Exclusion**: "What should we explicitly NOT do?" ## Intent Detection Parse user input to determine the situation type: | Signal | Situation | Approach | |--------|-----------|----------| | "should I", "which", "or" | Decision | Surface tradeoffs, challenge both options | | "stuck", "blocked", "not working" | Unblock | Find the real obstacle, smallest next step | | "review", "look at", "check" | Evaluate | Surface risks, hidden assumptions | | "how do I", "learn", "understand" | Teach | Draw out existing knowledge first | | "design", "architect", "build" | Design | Diverge exploration, then converge to MVP | | Uncertainty without clear type | Clarify | Ask what kind of thinking they need | ## Execution Pattern 1. **Gather context** - Use Read, Grep, Glob to understand the actual situation. Don't question in a vacuum. 2. **Apply 2-3 ope