---
name: gut
description: Pressure test an idea through core lenses. Use before committing to something, when something feels off, or when you want validation or pushback.
argument-hint: [idea or decision]
---

# /gut - Pressure Test Ideas

*A thinking tool. Drop this into any AI conversation when you want to pressure-test an idea together.*

Pressure test an idea, decision, or direction through core lenses.

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## The Lenses

### 1. North Star
> Does this teach you how it wants to be used? *(h/t Christopher Alexander, "the quality without a name")*

- Is it self-evident?
- Would someone encountering this for the first time understand it?
- Does the structure reveal the purpose?

### 2. Trinity Lens

**Bitter Lesson** *(h/t Richard Sutton)*: Learn patterns, not rules
- Are we encoding something that will become stale?
- Is this a pattern or a prescription?
- Will this adapt as context changes?

**Be Water** *(h/t Bruce Lee)*: If it feels hard, there's a better way
- Does this reduce friction or add it?
- Are we forcing something or letting it find its natural place?
- What would the path of least resistance look like?

**Elder Lens**: What would future you want?
- Would future you be stoked about this?
- Are we optimizing for now or for compounding?
- Is this a handoff future us would thank us for?

### 3. 50/50 Lens
> Does this assume your AI is a tool or a partner?

- Does this serve both intelligences?
- Is this encoding assumptions your AI already knows?
- Does this trust capabilities or constrain them?

### 4. Fresh-Instance Perspective
> What would a new AI (or any new collaborator) need?

- If someone arrived with no prior context, would this make sense?
- What would they reach for first?
- Where would they get confused?

### 5. Target Audience Check
- Who is this for?
- Who is it NOT for? (equally important)
- Does it serve the intended audience well?

### 6. Energy Check
- Does this land?
- Does it feel right in the gut?
- Is there excitement or resistance?

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## How to Use

- **Natural**: "Let's gut check this" or "Can you gut check [thing]?"
- **Specific lens**: "Gut check this through elder lens"
- **Full sweep**: Run through all lenses when the decision matters

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## Examples

**Gut checking a file location:**
- Be Water: Where does this context most want to go?
- Fresh-instance: Where would someone search for this?
- Bitter lesson: Is this location a pattern or a one-off?

**Gut checking a decision:**
- Elder lens: Would future us thank us?
- Energy: Excitement or dread?
- Trinity full sweep if significant

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## Steelman Rule

Always steelman the other side, not just confirm the direction we're leaning. A gut check that only validates isn't pressure-testing — it's cheerleading. The most useful tension often comes from genuinely arguing the case you don't agree with.

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## Skill Check (After Every Gut Check)

Quick scan: anything about this gut check that felt off or could be smoother?

- Did a lens feel irrelevant or forced for this type of decision?
- Was a lens missing that would have helped?
- Did the format work for this context?
- Did the verdict feel clear or muddled?
- Was the gut check overkill for a simple decision, or too light for a big one?

**If yes** → update this skill now. The improvement compounds.

**If no** → move on. Not every gut check teaches something.